Bhir Mound Taxila
Nine days through the Buddhist heritage of Gandhara — Taxila, Peshawar, Takht-i-Bahi and the Swat valley.
The oldest city of Taxila
The Bhir Mound is the oldest of the ruins of Taxila, in Punjab. It was excavated by Sir John Marshall from 1913 to 1925, with further work by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1944–45, Dr. Mohammad Sharif in 1966–67, and more recent excavations in 1998–2000 and 2002.
The ruins form an irregular shape about 1 km from north to south and 600 m from east to west. The oldest layer dates from the 6th and 5th centuries B.C.; the second from the 4th century B.C., when Alexander the Great arrived; the third from the Mauryan kings of the 3rd century B.C.; and the top layer from the period after. The streets were narrow and haphazard, and the houses had no outside windows — 15 to 20 rooms opened onto an inner courtyard.
Day-by-day itinerary
- Day 1
Arrive in Islamabad
Transfer to your hotel for the night.
- Day 2
Taxila — museum, Bhir Mound & Dharmarajika
Drive to Taxila and visit its museum, with a rich collection of Gandhara art. After lunch, explore the Bhir Mound — a bustling city from the 6th century B.C. until Alexander arrived in 326 B.C. and was welcomed by its ruler, King Ambhi — and the Dharmarajika Stupa, a relic stupa built by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century B.C. Overnight in Taxila.
- Day 3
Sirkap, Jaulian & Mohra Muradu, then Peshawar
Visit Sirkap, the planned city of the Bactrian Greeks, with its columns and double-headed eagle; then Jaulian, a monastery where around 150 monks once studied, and Mohra Muradu. After lunch drive the historic Grand Trunk Road to Peshawar — the route of traders, travellers and invaders from Alexander to the Mughals and the British.
- Day 4
Peshawar
The Peshawar Museum, with galleries on Gandhara, the tribes of the North West Frontier, and the Kalash and Chitral. In the afternoon, the historic Qissa Khwani — the storytellers’ bazaar — where traders once swapped tales over tea while their horses and camels rested in the caravanserais.
- Day 5
To Swat via Charsadda & Takht-i-Bahi
Drive via Charsadda — ancient Pushkalavati, capital of Gandhara — and Shahbaz Garhi, with its Kharoshthi inscriptions from the age of Ashoka, to the hilltop monastery of Takht-i-Bahi. Continue over the Malakand Pass, where a young Winston Churchill served, to Swat.
- Day 6
Swat
A full day at the Swat Museum and the valley’s Buddhist sites.
- Day 7
Return to Islamabad
Drive back via the Malakand Pass, Nowshera and Attock.
- Day 8
Mankiala Stupa & Rohtas Fort
Excursion to the Mankiala Stupa, standing alone on the Potohar plateau at the eastern edge of Gandhara, then on to Rohtas Fort, built by Sher Shah Suri, with the Haveli Man Singh and its great gates.
- Day 9
Islamabad & Rawalpindi, departure
Sightseeing in the twin cities — Rawalpindi’s truck-art market, the Lok Virsa heritage museum and the Daman-e-Koh viewpoint — before your evening flight.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Bhir Mound excavations, Taxila — Ministry of Culture, Public domain
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