Pakistan: Women's Expedition

Learn what life looks like for women living in Pakistan’s vibrant capital city and ancient mountain villages. Join a local female leader as she takes you on a unique journey to the Hunza Valley. See the communities and landscapes associated with the hallowed Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains and meet pioneering women working on female empowerment projects throughout the region. Trek to alpine lakes, ancient glaciers and the remnants of ruined empires, then witness the evolution of modern Pakistan in the country’s capital of Islamabad. From cooking classes to village visits, this women’s only expedition will have you sharing more than just photographs.

• The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline only and may change. On some occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our preferred accommodation. In these cases, we will use a similar standard of accommodation.
• Throughout the trip, we request that our properties prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination or on some trips, have use of shared day rooms until all rooms are available.
• ACCOMMODATION:
• Some of the accommodation along the way is basic or simple, staying in local guesthouses and homestays. Some may have shared bathroom facilities with cold water only. We use a mixture of air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned rooms. Some areas of Pakistan experience daily load shedding. This is where the power may be turned off at certain times of the day and usually occurs for a few hours in early afternoon. Most hotel properties have a restaurant or cafe serving local meals.
• SHOWERS:
• Showers at some hotels only have hot water at peak times (usually morning and evening). Outside of these times you may need to speak to reception to obtain hot water.
• ROOM ISSUES:
• If you have any issues with your room, please speak to the hotel and your tour leader right away rather than your travel agent so that the problem can be addressed without delay.
• PAKISTAN HOMESTAYS
• As a responsible travel company, we believe in facilitating positive and meaningful exchanges between our travellers and locals at the places we visit. Homestays are a great vehicle for us to facilitate this!
• What will you do during a homestay? Well…it’s hard to tell. As you know a day in a family’s life varies from day to day. We don’t want this experience to feel forced (on you or on them) so we ask families to simply carry on with their lives and that, if there is anything that you may be interested in being part of, they ask you to join in. As such you may be invited to help cook dinner, or to go to the local market for groceries, or to join a soccer game! While your leader will give you some tools to interact with your family (such as some simple local words/phrases) big smiles and lots of sign language can go a long way!
• That said, it’s also important that you understand that you are not obliged to participate in these activities. We believe that the more you put in the more you get out of an experience, but we also understand that you may just want to chill out, grab a book or your camera and go for a wander – and that is fine too.
• Ultimately, we believe that by simply being there, observing family and friends dynamics is a step forward towards understanding the local way of life.
• In homestays we will sometimes share one common sleeping space, just how local people sleep. Plenty of blankets are provided. Ask for more if you are cold. Layering up with thin thermals and a fleece material will help during very cold nights too.
• Lastly, be aware that some homestays in Pakistan have shared drop toilets and no showers. So mind your step and bring your biodegradable wet-wipes!
• DAY ROOMS & EARLY CHECK IN:
• Please note in some destinations we will provide use of day rooms. These rooms are provided for shared group use before or after overnight train journeys. We have some days where we arrive at our destination before check in time and a day room is not included. If you have booked a Single Supplement for your trip, it will not apply to these day rooms. Your leader may be able to assist you in booking a room for your sole use (depending on availability) until our regular trip rooms become available for an additional charge. Please talk to your leader at the Welcome Meeting if this is a service you would like to request.