Lahore

Lahore, the cultural and historic heart of Pakistan, is a grand and vibrant city that reached its zenith as a capital of the mighty Mughal Empire, leaving a legacy of spectacular monuments. Facing each other across a great square stand the magnificent Badshahi Mosque, one of the largest in the world, and the UNESCO World Heritage Lahore Fort, with its ornate palaces and the dazzling Sheesh Mahal of mirrors. Beyond lie the atmospheric, teeming lanes of the old Walled City, the elegant Shalimar Gardens, Sikh and colonial landmarks, and a legendary food culture.

History

No firm record of Lahore's early history survives: Alexander's historians mention no city here in 326 BC, Ptolemy's Labokla may refer to it, and the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang described a large, prosperous, unnamed city in the area in 630. The first document to name Lahore is the Hudud al-'Alam of 982, which speaks of impressive temples, large markets and huge orchards, and it seems to have been the capital of the Odi Shahi ruler Anandapala before Mahmud of Ghazni took it between 1020 and 1027; his governor Malik Ayaz rebuilt the devastated city and built walls and a masonry fort in 1037-1040, it became the Ghaznavid eastern capital in 1152 and the sole capital after Ghazni fell in 1163, a centre of Persian poetry, and in 1206 the first capital of the Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. From 1584 it was the Mughal capital under Akbar, who rebuilt its citadel, Aurangzeb raised the Badshahi Mosque in 1673, and after decay in the 18th century, contested between the Durranis and the Sikhs, it revived as the capital of Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire. The East India Company annexed it in 1849, making it capital of Punjab Province, and the fort and Shalimar Gardens have been a World Heritage Site since 1981 (Wikipedia, Lahore).

What's there

• The Badshahi Mosque - the vast, majestic Mughal mosque.
• Lahore Fort - the UNESCO fort and its Sheesh Mahal of mirrors.
• The Walled City - the teeming old bazaars and havelis.
• The Shalimar Gardens - the elegant Mughal water gardens.

When to go

October to March, the cooler, drier season, for the most comfortable sightseeing, as summers are intensely hot; spring also brings pleasant weather and festivals. Evenings in the Walled City, when the food street of Fort Road comes alive beneath the floodlit Badshahi Mosque, are magical.

Good to know

Lahore is a huge, busy, sometimes chaotic South Asian metropolis, with heat, traffic and the usual big-city precautions, so its appeal is its magnificent monuments, rich culture, warmth and food rather than ease or calm. For Mughal splendour, vibrant street life and some of the subcontinent's best food and hospitality, though, Lahore is unforgettable.

Nearby

The Wagah border ceremony with India and the Punjab plains are close by.

Key facts