Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan.
Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory — with a metropolitan population of over 2.3 million. Built as a planned city along the Margalla Hills in the 1960s and established in 1967, Islamabad replaced Karachi as Pakistan's national capital. It is located in the northern Punjab region, north of the city of Rawalpindi — with which it forms a metropolitan area of over 5.7 million inhabitants.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Islamabad
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Faisal Mosque
The Faisal Mosque is the national mosque of Pakistan, located in Islamabad, the capital of the country. It is the sixth-largest mosque in the world and located on the foothills of Margalla Hills.
4.8 km · mosque in Islamabad (Pakistan) · Wikipedia - 02Lal Masjid
The Lal Masjid, officially the Markazi Jāmi Masjid Islamabad is a Congregational mosque located in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. The mosque was constructed in 1966 and is one of the oldest mosques in the city.
3.1 km · mosque in Pakistan · Wikipedia - 03Pakistan Monument
The Pakistan Monument is a national monument and heritage museum located on the western portion of the Shakarparian Hills in Islamabad, Pakistan. The monument was constructed to symbolize the unity of the Pakistani people; and is dedicated to those who sacrificed their "today" for a better "tomorrow".
400 m · monument in Islamabad · Wikipedia - 04Quaid-i-Azam University
Quaid-i-Azam University, founded as the University of Islamabad, is a public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedicated to postgraduate study, but later expanded to an interdisciplinary university offering both undergraduate and postgraduate education.
9 km · public university in Islamabad, Pakistan · Wikipedia - 05Margalla Hills
The Margalla Hills is a hill range within the Margalla Hills National Park in the northwestern Punjab region in Pakistan, forming the northern edge of the Islamabad Capital Territory, just south of Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They are part of the Himalayan foothills on the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot and form a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion.
6.9 km · hill range north of Islamabad, Pakistan · Wikipedia - 06National Library of Pakistan
The National Library of Pakistan is located in the vicinity of the Red Zone, Islamabad, Pakistan. Argued to be the country's oldest cultural institution, the library is a leading resource for information— ancient and new.
5.1 km · national library · Wikipedia - 07Allama Iqbal Open University
Allama Iqbal Open University is a national university in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is named after Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the country's national poet.
1.3 km · public university in Islamabad, Pakistan · Wikipedia - 08Rawal Lake
The Rawal Lake of northwestern Punjab in Pakistan is an artificial reservoir that provides the water needs for the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The facility is maintained by Punjab Irrigation Department.
5.9 km · lake in Pakistan · Wikipedia - 09Margala Hills National Park
Margalla Hills National Park is a national park in Pakistan located in Islamabad Capital Territory, near its northern boundary with Haripur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The park includes the Margalla Hills, which form the foothills of the Himalayas, along with Shakarparian Park and Rawal Lake.
6.6 km · national park in Pakistan · Wikipedia - 10Lok Virsa Museum
Heritage Museum, also known as Lok Virsa Museum, is a museum of history and culture located in the Shakarparian Hills of Islamabad, Pakistan. It is administered by the National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage.
1.1 km · cultural institute, museum, ethnology museum in ICT, Pakistan. · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Lok Virsa Museum
Islamabad's premier museum featuring more than 25 large galleries in four blocks linked through passages depicting cultural linkages with Iran, Central Asia and China.
- 02Golra Pakistan Railways Heritage Museum
- 03Pakistan Museum of Natural History
This is more a place for school trips than a tourist destination - however there is an impressive blue whale skeleton outside.
- 04National Art Gallery
Opened in 2007, the gallery is a modern, light filled, air conditioned edifice that would not be out of place in many European cities.
- 05Daman-e-Koh
A lookout point in the hills above E-6 with great views of the city on a clear day/night.
- 06Fatima Jinnah Park
Also known as the F-9 park, it is considered one of the largest in South Asia.
From Wikivoyage: Islamabad, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
The Margalla Hills are effectively foothills of the Himalayas – and are very easily accessible from Islamabad. However these are quite big, steep hills, and shouldn't be underestimated – if you are planning on a walk up to the top of the first ridge (i.e.
From Wikivoyage: Islamabad, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
At first glance the visitor may feel that Islamabad offers little to excite the taste-buds, however beneath the surface there is a thriving restaurant scene. There are many typical dhabbas (small restaurants) which offer traditional food. Many of the better restaurants are away from the main markets of F6 and F7. Most do not serve alcohol, but some allow you to bring your own. Call ahead to ask.
From Wikivoyage: Islamabad, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Islamabad
- Airports
- Islamabad (ISB), 27 km · Bacha Khan (PEW), 147 km · Srinagar (SXR), 161 km
- Stations
- Benazir Bhutto International Airport, 9.1 km · PAF Base Nur Khan, 9.1 km · Islamabad railway station, 3.6 km · Nur (Rawalpindi) railway station, 8.5 km
- Peshawar → Islamabad139 km · quickest by road, 2h 37m · ₨1,380–1,840
- Sialkot → Islamabad195 km · quickest by road, 3h 57m · ₨1,680–2,240
- Faisalabad → Islamabad256 km · quickest by road, 4h 57m · ₨2,490–3,320
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Islamabad
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Islamabad. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Go nextIslamabad is well situated for day trips and weekend trips to nearby cities and attractions.
- Go nextKetas Temples and the Khewra Salt mines makes for a pleasant day trip - the Salt Mines are good to visit in the summer as a place to escape the punishing heat of the salt range.
- Go nextRohtas Fort 2-hour drive south of Islamabad off the GT road - enormous old fort that makes for a great day trip from Islamabad.
- Go nextPeshawar can be visited in a long day trip - about 2½ hours on the motorway - visit the museum, have lunch, then go for a guided wander around the old town before heading back to Islamabad.
- Go nextminivan from G-9 markaz for Rs 700 (2025)), from there take a shared taxi to the border.
From Wikivoyage: Islamabad, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01328 km
- 02420 km
- 03468 km
- 04495 km
- 05567 km
If you know how people move in Islamabad – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Islamabad
Islamabad is 11 km from Rawalpindi, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Saidpurvillage in Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan5.5 km
- Chak Shahzadvillage in the Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan7.3 km
- I-10, Islamabadhuman settlement in Pakistan5.7 km
- Satellite Town, Rawalpindihuman settlement in Pakistan6.6 km