Pakistan travel desk
Manufacturers, buyers and investors in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and the export towns of Punjab — and the northern mountains when time allows. Run by a team that lives here.
Fly into
Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad
From China
About 6 hours from Guangzhou
Chinese passports
Online visa + security rules
Best months
Oct–Mar cities, Apr–Oct north
Business language
English and Urdu
Time zone
3 hours behind Beijing
Packages
5 days
Karachi · Lahore
From US$1,350flights extra
Manufacturers meeting dealers and distributors in the two cities that set the price.
6 days
Lahore · Faisalabad · Sialkot · Gujranwala
From US$1,550flights extra
Buyers sourcing textiles, sports goods, surgical instruments, leather and electrical goods.
4 days
Karachi or Lahore
From US$1,050flights extra
Visitors to the leather, textile and solar fairs.
9 days
Islamabad · Taxila · Hunza
From US$2,450domestic flights included
Business owners who want to see the mountains — and the Buddhist heritage of Gandhara.
8 days
Islamabad · Hunza · Skardu
Quoted for your datesper person, twin share
Groups and families who want the Karakoram, from April to October.
Your dates
Any city, plus the free zones
Price on applicationfor companies, chambers and investors
Investors and delegations meeting regulators, partners and special economic zones.
Per person, twin share. Single rooms, and the escort and armoured car required for some routes, cost extra.
Trade fairs
Karachi and Faisalabad
Textile machinery, yarn, dyes and garment technology — the industry's main meeting point.
Karachi
Footwear, leather goods and their machinery and materials.
Lahore
Leather garments, gloves, footwear and accessories from Pakistan's exporters.
Pakistan
Solar panels, inverters and batteries — one of the fastest-growing categories in the country.
Fair dates are set by the organisers and can move; we confirm them when you book.
Before you fly
Apply online through Pakistan's official visa portal. A business visa needs an invitation letter from a Pakistani company issued through the e-Business invitation system; CPEC-related travel has its own business visa. Allow at least two weeks.
Visas for Indian citizens have been suspended since April 2025. Until that changes we cannot arrange travel to Pakistan on an Indian passport — we meet in Dubai instead.
Most nationalities apply online for a tourist or business visa; many get the business visa with an invitation letter we provide. We check your passport before you book.
Carry your visa approval, invitation letter, hotel bookings and return ticket. A local SIM needs biometric registration with your passport — we arrange it, or you can roam.
Visa rules change; we confirm yours before you book. Checked October 2026.
Security
Pakistan's authorities provide dedicated protection for Chinese nationals: police are informed of your movements in advance, and police escorts accompany travel between cities.
In districts rated high-risk, and for larger groups, armoured vehicles are required. We plan routes so you need them as little as possible, and quote them per route.
We use hotels that are cleared to host foreign guests and keep to planned routes and daylight travel. Spontaneous market walks are planned walks.
Balochistan and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are off our itineraries. Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and the Punjab export towns are where the business is.
Guests on other passports travel with lighter arrangements; we advise per trip.
Getting there
China Southern flies from Guangzhou to Lahore and Islamabad — about six hours.
Direct flights to Islamabad; PIA restarts its weekly Islamabad–Beijing service from 30 October 2026.
Daily connections through Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh to all three cities.
Karachi to Lahore is under two hours by air; Lahore to Islamabad four hours on the motorway.
Where business happens
The port and the commercial capital: Saddar's mobile and electronics markets, wholesale bazaars, and the SITE and Korangi industrial areas.
Punjab's capital and its consumer heart: Hafeez Centre for phones and IT, Hall Road for electrical goods, and the dealers who supply the province.
Government, regulators and the investment board; quieter, greener, and the base for the north.
The textile city: spinning, weaving and home textiles.
A world exporter of sports goods, surgical instruments and leather — with its own airport.
Fans, electrical goods, ceramics and metalwork.
On the ground
Guests from China
Many Pakistanis have studied in China; we work with interpreters who speak both.
WeChat works normally in Pakistan, though local business runs on WhatsApp — we set up the groups.
Everything is halal and pork is not served; Chinese restaurants in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi for the evenings.
Restricted by law; some international hotels serve foreign guests.
Taxila and Swat hold some of the oldest Buddhist sites on the Silk Road — a highlight for many of our Chinese guests.
The road from Kashgar over the Khunjerab Pass, open in the warmer months — the most spectacular way in or out.
When the work is done
In Lahore
Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort and the food streets of the old city.
An hour from Islamabad
Gandhara monasteries, stupas and a museum of Buddhist art.
Fly to Gilgit, then about 2½ hours by road
Attabad Lake, the Baltit and Altit forts, and the high peaks.
An hour's flight from Islamabad
Gateway to K2, with lakes and cold deserts.
In the city
Faisal Mosque, the Margalla Hills and Daman-e-Koh at sunset.
From Hunza, seasonal
The China–Pakistan border at 4,693 metres.
Sample itineraries
5 days
6 days
9 days
One price
Questions
Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad receive Chinese business visitors every week. With the official security arrangements, planned routes and approved hotels, our guests travel safely; we do not take guests to the areas the authorities restrict.
Apply online at least two weeks before you fly. A business visa needs our invitation letter, which we issue once your meetings are set.
Yes. We arrange the visits in advance — the export houses there are used to foreign buyers.
Many electrical goods need PSQCA conformity and devices with radios need PTA approval. We brief you before you meet buyers.
Our Pakistan desk
Your host
Leads our Pakistan desk — the dealers, the markets and the people you will meet in Karachi and Lahore.
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Prices are per person, twin share, and indicative until confirmed for your dates. Security arrangements for Chinese passport holders are quoted per route. Visa rules and fair dates change — we confirm them when you book.