Lahore - the cultural capital of Pakistan!
Owing to the range and variety of landscape and culture, the Conde Nast Traveller – a popular travel magazine ranked Pakistan as the top tourist destination of 2020. The popularity of Pakistan is, mostly, owing to the astonishing mountain ranges and scenic beauty of the northern areas, however, this beautiful country is more than the natural beauty of the North. The historical city of Lahore promises to provide a world-class experience into the Mughal era through the tours of monuments and the grand architecture. Commenting on the beauty of the city, the magazine precisely stated;
In lahore, the sight of 100,000 worshippers crammed into the sandstone 17th-century badshahi mosque will leave you breathless, while mughal-era architectural masterpieces stand resplendent on bustling street corners.
Lahore is Pakistan’s second largest city after Karachi, and the capital of the north-eastern Punjab province. It is widely considered the country’s cultural capital. The heart of Lahore is the Walled or Inner City, a very densely populated area of about one square kilometre. Founded in legendary times, and a cultural centre for over a thousand years, Lahore has many attractions for the tourist. The Mughal and Sikh legacy survives in the Lahore Fort, Badshahi Mosque and Gurdwara, the Mall is lined with colonial-gothic buildings from the British Raj, and the suburbs of Gulberg and Defence feature palatial mansions and trendy shopping districts.
Legend has it that it was founded about 4,000 years ago by Loh, son of Rama, the hero of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Reminiscent of its hoary past are the remains of a subterranean temple attributed to Rama, in the northern part of the Royal Fort. Lahore is at least 2,000 years old. After Islam came to South Asia, it became a centre of learning, and attracted some of the region’s greatest mystics, writers and artists. The people of Lahore, when they want to emphasize the uniqueness of their town say “Lahore, Lahore aye” (Lahore is Lahore). Lahore is the city of poets, artists and (until 2007) the centre of the Pakistani film industry.
Apart from being the cultural and academic centre of the country, Lahore has the finest Mughal architecture in Pakistan. For more than 200 years (beginning from about 1524), Lahore was a thriving cultural centre of the Mughal Empire, and Mughal emperors beautified Lahore, with palaces, gardens and mosques.
Lahore was Akbar’s capital from 1584 to 1598. He built the massive Lahore Fort on the foundations of a previous fort, and enclosed the city within a red brick wall boasting 12 gates. Jahangir and Shah Jahan (who was born in Lahore) extended the fort, built palaces and tombs, and laid out gardens.
Jahangir loved the city, and he and his wife Noor Jahan are buried at Shahdara on the outskirts of Lahore. Aurangzeb (1658-1707) gave Lahore its most famous monuments: the Badshahi Masjid (Royal Mosque) and the Alamgiri gateway to the fort.
Lahore has a semi-arid climate not receiving enough rainfall to feature the humid subtropical climate. The hottest month is June, where temperatures routinely exceed 45 °C (113 °F). The monsoon season starts in late July, and the wettest months are July and August, with heavy rainfalls and evening thunderstorms with the possibility of cloudbursts and flash floods. The coolest month is January, with dense fog.
The results of the 2017 Census determined the population to be at 11,126,285,with an annual growth rate of 4.07% since 1998. Gender-wise, 52.35% of the population are male, 47.64% are female, and 0.01% are transgender. Lahore is a young city with over 40% of its inhabitants below the age of 15.
The Punjabi language is the most-widely spoken native language in Lahore with 80% of Lahore counting it as their first language according to the 2017 Census, Lahore is the largest Punjabi-speaking city in the world. Urdu and English are used as official languages and as mediums of instruction and media administration.
LAHORE GUIDED TOUR
PLACES TO VISIT IN LAHORE
