Eating Across Pakistan: A Food Trail from Lahore to Hunza

Any honest pakistan food trail starts with the admission that there is no single Pakistani cuisine. Punjabi, Pashtun, Sindhi, Balti and Wakhi kitchens have less in common than people assume. We plan trips around that variety rather than against it.

Lahore, the heartland

Lahore is where most clients eat the food they imagined when they pictured Pakistan. Slow-cooked nihari for breakfast at Muhammadi Nihari, paya at Phajja in the walled city, charcoal-grilled seekh kebab at Gawalmandi after dark. We have a full Lahore supper-week piece linked below.

Peshawar, the Pashtun kitchen

A different food culture entirely. Chapli kebab the size of a saucer, slow-roasted lamb karahi at Namak Mandi, green tea served in tiny glasses between courses. Less spice than Punjab, more meat, more bread.

Islamabad, modern Pakistani

The capital is where Pakistan's contemporary restaurant scene happens. Des Pardes, Monal up on the Margalla hills, the new wave of chef-driven places in F-7. Useful for clients who want a quiet first or last night before the mountains.

Gilgit-Baltistan, apricot, walnut, buckwheat

Mountain food is its own world. Chapshurro (Hunza meat-stuffed bread), giyaling pancakes with apricot oil, mamtu dumplings in Skardu, buckwheat khameeri bread in Khaplu. We arrange home meals with families in Altit, Ganish and Hushe, the single most-remembered meals of most clients' trips.