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Getting
To Pakistan
Most
flights from European and Asian centres arrive
in Karachi, though a few also go to Islamabad,
Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Gwadar (Baluchistan).
Much more interesting is taking an overland
route. A railway links Lahore with the Indian
railway system through Amritsar, and another
from Quetta crosses briefly into Iran. After
the Grand Trunk Road, the most famous road
into Pakistan is the Karakoram Highway, over
the 4730m (15,514ft) Khunjerab Pass from Kashgar
in China; roads also run from India and Iran.
A bus service between Delhi and Lahore is
also up and running. Sea passage is a possibility,
with cargo ships calling at Karachi from either
the Middle East or Bombay.
Traveling in Pakistan
Getting
around Pakistan is not always comfortable,
but it's incredibly cheap. The state-owned
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has
scheduled flights to 35 domestic terminals
and daily connections between the major centres.
One of the bonuses of flying is that some
of the air routes, especially to the northern
areas and Chitral, are spectacular. Buses
go anywhere, anytime - but the treacherous
mountain roads make the going very tough.
Vans, wagons, pick-ups and jeeps are also
a popular form of road transport. Train travel
is slower and easier on the nerves but there
are no routes into the mountains. City transport
is dominated by buses, taxis, auto-rickshaws
and two-wheeled, horse-drawn tongas.
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