Best Day Trips from Islamabad Within Three Hours

The best day trips from Islamabad within three hours are Taxila for Gandharan ruins (about an hour away), Murree and Kotli Sattian for pine hills (one to two hours), and, further south, Rohtas Fort, Katas Raj and the Khewra Salt Mine, each two to two and a half hours by road. Taxila and Murree are the easiest; Rohtas is the best for history; Katas Raj and Khewra pair well as one long day in the Salt Range. Leave early for all of them.

This guide gives each trip its drive time, what you will see, and a simple one-day plan, then helps you choose between them.

Drive times are for normal traffic with an early start. Weekends, holidays and bad weather add to all of them.

Taxila: Gandhara on the doorstep

Taxila, about 35 km north-west of Islamabad, was one of the great cities of the ancient world, a centre of Buddhist learning in the Gandhara period. Its archaeological sites were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. There are several sites spread over a few kilometres, so you need a car to move between them.

What to see:

• Taxila Museum, with one of the finest collections of Gandharan sculpture anywhere: Buddhas, reliefs, coins and jewellery from the surrounding sites. Start here.
• Dharmarajika, a great stupa and monastery.
• Sirkap, the excavated streets of a city laid out in the 2nd century BC.
• Jaulian, a monastery on a hilltop with some of the best-preserved carved stupas, and a short climb to reach it.

The museum is run by the Punjab archaeology department, which lists it as open from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm in summer and 9 am to 4 pm in winter, with a break for Friday prayers, and closed on the first Monday of each month. The museum and the main sites charge small entry fees.

A day at Taxila

1. Leave Islamabad by 8.30 am; you are at the museum within the hour.
2. Taxila Museum for an hour and a half.
3. Dharmarajika and Sirkap before lunch.
4. Lunch in Taxila or on the way back.
5. Jaulian in the afternoon, then home by early evening.

Avoid the hottest months: from May to August the open sites are hard going after mid-morning.

Murree: the old hill station

Murree is the closest hill station to the capital, about an hour up the Murree Expressway in normal traffic. It is crowded and built up, but it is cool in summer, snowy in winter and easy to reach. Walk the Mall, take in the views from Kashmir Point and Pindi Point, and eat something hot.

The problem is traffic. On summer weekends, on Eid and after the first snowfall, the last stretch into Murree can take hours. Go midweek if you can, leave Islamabad by 8 am, and head home by mid-afternoon.

In winter, take closures seriously. In heavy snow the authorities restrict traffic into Murree, and 23 people died in stranded cars in the snowstorm of January 2022. Check the traffic police and weather updates before you set off, keep a full tank and warm clothes in the car, and turn back if you are told to. If you would rather go on to Nathia Gali, our guide to the drive from Islamabad to Nathia Gali covers the Murree Expressway, the toll and the traffic.

A day in Murree

1. Leave by 8 am and drive the Murree Expressway.
2. Morning: walk the Mall Road and up to Kashmir Point before the crowds.
3. Lunch in town.
4. Afternoon: Pindi Point for the view south, then head down by 3 pm to beat the evening queue.

Kotli Sattian: pines without the crowds

Kotli Sattian is a quieter, less developed alternative to Murree, in the hills to its south. The road runs from Islamabad past Lehtrar, where there is an old forest rest house, into dense pine forest, and reaches Kotli Sattian in about an hour and a half to two hours.

The attraction is the forest itself: pine-covered ridges, old colonial forest rest houses and police posts, and viewpoints looking east towards Kashmir. Karor, between Kotli Sattian and Murree, has an 1888 forest rest house and a clifftop sunset view, and the Panjpeer rocks, a ridge-top viewpoint with a shrine, are a popular hike in the area. Facilities are simpler than in Murree, so expect tea stalls and basic meals rather than a choice of restaurants.

A day in Kotli Sattian

1. Leave by 8 am by the Lehtrar road.
2. A stop at Lehtrar for tea and the forest.
3. Late morning at Kotli Sattian, and a walk in the pines.
4. Afternoon at Karor for the view, then back before dark; the hill roads are narrow and unlit.

Rohtas Fort: Sher Shah Suri's great fortress

Rohtas Fort, near Dina in Jhelum district, is one of the finest forts in South Asia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Sher Shah Suri began it in about 1541, and its walls, 68 bastions and 12 gates wrap a whole hilltop, with a village still living inside. It is two to two and a half hours down the GT Road through Gujar Khan and Sohawa, with the turn at Dina.

The main sights are the carved Sohail Gate and its small museum, the Shahi Masjid, the stepwells, and Haveli Man Singh and Rani Mahal in the inner citadel, which give the best view. As a protected site it is open from 7 am in summer and 8 am in winter, until 30 minutes before sunset, with a small ticket bought at the gate. Our Rohtas Fort guide has the gates, the timings and a walking route.

A day at Rohtas

1. Leave by 8 am down the GT Road.
2. Arrive by about 10.30, when it is still cool.
3. Two to three hours in the fort, on foot, following the walking route.
4. Lunch in Dina or Jhelum, then home, or add Mangla Dam, about half an hour from Dina.

Katas Raj and Khewra: a long day in the Salt Range

Katas Raj and Khewra lie close together in the Salt Range, south of the M-2 motorway, and make a natural pair.

Katas Raj Temples

Katas Raj, near Choa Saidan Shah in Chakwal district, is a complex of Hindu temples built around a sacred pond, the oldest parts dating from around the 6th century. In Hindu tradition the pond was formed by the tears of Shiva. There are also the remains of a Buddhist stupa and a haveli associated with the Sikh general Hari Singh Nalwa. The pond has repeatedly run low because nearby cement factories drew down the groundwater, and in 2017 the Supreme Court ordered them to find water elsewhere.

From Islamabad, take the M-2 to the Kallar Kahar interchange, then drive about 24 km to Choa Saidan Shah: about two hours in all. Allow an hour or two at the site. It is a place of worship, and during Hindu festivals such as Maha Shivaratri it receives pilgrims; dress modestly and be respectful.

Khewra Salt Mine

Khewra is one of the oldest and largest salt mines in the world, and its show tunnels are one of the most popular family days out in Punjab. Inside are chambers of pink and red rock salt, brine pools, salt bridges, a mosque built from salt bricks, and an assembly hall more than 75 metres high. A small train runs into the mine.

It is about 160 km from Islamabad, about two to two and a half hours: take the M-2 to the Lilla interchange, then about 30 km towards Pind Dadan Khan. The Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation, which runs it, lists entry at about PKR 475 for adults, with lower rates for students, children and older people, plus PKR 285 for the train (2026). It opens daily from 9 am to 6 pm. Prices change, so check the PMDC's visitor page before you go.

A Salt Range day

1. Leave Islamabad by 7.30 am on the M-2.
2. Katas Raj from about 9.30, exiting at Kallar Kahar.
3. Khewra by early afternoon, through Choa Saidan Shah; allow two hours in the mine.
4. Back to the M-2 at Lilla and home by evening.

It is a long day, with around five hours of driving in all, so start early and keep the stops short. Kallar Kahar lake, by the motorway interchange, makes a quick break on the way.

Which day trip should you choose?

• Short on time or with small children: Taxila, or Khewra if the children are old enough to enjoy the tunnels.
• Summer heat: Murree or Kotli Sattian, for the cooler air. Avoid the open sites of Taxila, Rohtas and Katas Raj from May to August.
• Winter: Taxila, Rohtas and the Salt Range are at their best from November to February. Murree has snow, and snow traffic.
• History: Rohtas first, then Taxila.
• Avoiding crowds: Kotli Sattian, or any of them on a weekday.

If you are driving yourself, fill up before you leave the city and keep some cash for tickets, parking and tea. With a family, hiring a car with a driver makes a long day like the Salt Range much easier, and nobody has to drive home tired.

These trips suit people who have seen the capital itself; if you have not, start with our guide to places to visit in Islamabad. And if you would like a day trip built into a longer trip north, send us your dates.

Frequently asked questions