Punjab

* Punjab, its name meaning 'Land of Five Rivers', is the richest, most fertile and most heavily populated province of Pakistan. Geographically, it is a land of contrasts, from the alluvial plain of the Indus River and its tributaries to the sand-dunes of the Cholistan Desert, from the verdant beauty of the pine-covered foothills of the Himalaya to the strangely convoluted lunar landscape of the Potwar Plateau and the Salt Range.


* It hasn't always been so green. Until the British harnessed the power of the rivers with their hydrological expertise much of the water was wasted and flooding was a persistent problem. Large expanses of the Punjab are still barren but several irrigation projects which have been established since Partition are bringing prosperity to previously uncultivated areas.

Pakistan has well defined seasons; Winter (December - February), Spring (March - April), Summer (May - September) and Autumn (October - November). During summer in plains, the temperature may go as high as 45C. Between July and August, the monsson brings an average 38 to 51 cm of rain to plains and 152 to 203cm in tower Himalayan valleys of Murree. Kaghan, Swat and Azad Kashmir.
The best time to visit northern Punjab is in the Spring, from February to April, and in the Autumn, from September to November. Southern Punjab is extremely hot in Summer, so Multan is at its best in Winter, from November to February.