North-West Frontier Province

Impenetrable mountains, intractable people, and impossibly romantic cities are just some of the reasons why the North-Western Frontier Province is perhaps the most memorable of Pakistan's destinations.

Most visits begin in Peshawar, the rough and ready provincial capital. The highlight here is the Old City - a brawl of vendors selling everything from tribal jewelry to leather pistol holsters. Clopping horse-drawn tongas choke the streets which are thick with fearsome-looking Pashtuns - members of a vast tribal society - Afghans and Chitrali. A short distance outside Peshawar (but a million miles away) is the Smugglers Bazaar. It's definitely not what you'd expect: turbaned merchants in tents have been replaced by Westernized malls stocking the latest TVs, VCRs and refrigerators. There's even a shop flogging Marks & Spencer's merchandise. The fabled Khyber Pass, sprinkled with tiny army forts, is nearby.

North of Peshawar is the district of Swat, reckoned to have the loveliest scenery in Pakistan's northern valleys, and Chitral, a relatively unspoiled area of lush valleys, hot springs and great walks. Vertigo sufferers should steer clear of Indus Koshitan to the west, a land of colossal peaks and bottomless canyons with more good walks.

You can get domestic flights from Peshawar to any number of Pakistani destinations, as well as direct flights to Qatar, Tashkent, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Jeddah. Buses and minibuses go to and fro from Lahore and Rawalpindi all day, although the train is as cheap, and safer than, the buses. Peshawar is 150 Km (93 Mi) west of Islamabad.