From the snowy peaks of Gilgit-Baltistan to the sun-baked plains of Sindh, Pakistan holds an astonishing range of historic sites that reveal its deep and diverse pre-Islamic past. For centuries, it was home to flourishing Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms, centers of learning, and pilgrimage sites. Over 300 historic sites are known in Pakistan.
Buddhism, too, left a monumental legacy. The Gandhara region, with sites like Taxila, Takht-i-Bahi, and the giant Buddhas once standing in Swat, produced exquisite art blending Greco-Roman and Indian styles. Jain influences, though less prominent, appear in temple ruins and inscriptions in Sindh and Balochistan, tied to mercantile networks.
From the Indus Valley cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa to later Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain monuments, Pakistan’s archaeological landscape is diverse. Though vandalized and decaying rapidly, these sites reflect millennia of cultural interplay, where river valleys, deserts, and mountains have each cradled their own sacred traditions.