About the guides
How we research our guides
Where the facts in our travel guides come from, how we handle prices and dates that change, and how to tell us about a mistake.
Where the facts come from
Each guide is built from published sources that a reader could check: tourism, archaeology and wildlife departments, the National Highway Authority and district administrations, airline and museum websites, the Pakistan Meteorological Department's climate records, and national newspapers such as Dawn, The News, The Express Tribune and Arab News.
Road distances are measured on OpenStreetMap routing rather than copied from other websites, and drive times are given as planning estimates, because mountain roads rarely match a map.
Dates, prices and things that change
Ticket prices, fares, opening hours, road closures and security advice change. Where a guide gives one, it says when the figure was checked. A guide shows the date it was last updated under its title.
When sources disagree, the guide says so and gives both figures. When something could not be confirmed, the guide says that plainly or leaves it out. We would rather print no price than a wrong one.
Safety and travel advice
Guides to areas with a current security concern carry a safety section with what happened and when. We note the UK government's travel advice where it applies, because it can affect travel insurance for foreign passport holders. Pakistani travellers are not bound by it, and the guide says so.
Photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under open licences, and each one is credited to its photographer with the licence beside it. Every photo is checked before it is used, and a photo that does not show the place named is rejected, even if that leaves a guide without one.
Updates and corrections
Guides are revised when the facts change: a pass that reopens, a museum that changes its hours, a route that closes. We also look at what readers search for and add the answers that were missing.
If you find a mistake, tell us through the contact page. We check it against a source, correct the guide and update its date.
Advertising and independence
Explore Pakistan plans and sells trips, and this site may show advertising. Neither affects what a guide says. Hotels, restaurants and operators do not pay to be mentioned, and a guide will say when a place is closed, crowded or not worth the journey.