Last Wednesday, on 28th of February 2018, we finally went on Sightseeing Lahore city tour bus. I skipped Tennis after office that day and rushed to Gadaffi stadium from where it starts. Sightseeing Lahore is an amazing initiative by the government of Punjab. Our bus tour was from 7 – 10 pm.

Some months ago, we did Rangeela Rikshaw Lahore tour which was one hell of a ride. The best part were the paindoo full volume Punjabi songs. Since then, I have been dying to go on this double decker bus tour also. My husband is a member of Lahore Astronomical Society (LAST) who planned this trip; we decided to tag along.

As soon as we got on the open upper story of the bus, our most capable tour guide Farhan welcomed us on board and started with some interesting facts about the city. He was definitely one of the best tour guides I have ever seen in my life. I have traveled all over the world with guides from a variety of origins. Farhan was very knowledgeable, had great communication skills, was funny and sang very well. He knew very well how to keep all travelers comfortable, informed and well entertained. The buses are spotless and well maintained. It was an amazing experience overall.

Quick Facts

• Lahore is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi
• Lahore is the 19th largest city in the world population wise
• It is the capital of Punjab province and it is currently the largest populated city in the world that has a native Punjabi population
• Lahore is called ‘the city of gardens’
• Lahore canal is 82 km long
• It is located at the border with India
• Lahore is situated in the upper Indus plain on the river Ravi, a tributary of the Indus
• Lahore is a so-called City District that is divided into 9 different towns. Nishtar, Iqbal, Samanabad, Gulberg, Data Ganj Bakhsh, Aziz Bhatti, Wagah, Shalimar and Ravi

Name

According to traditions, Lahore is named after a famous Hindu god Ram who had two sons Lahu and Kasu. Lahore and Kasur cities were both named after his sons.

Culture

Lahore is often regarded as a cultural heaven of Pakistan, since it houses numerous art collections, outstanding cuisine, festivals and theatres. Religion is important to Lahori’s too, which is why the city has many mosques, shrines and temples.

Bus Tour

We saw the following places from the bus:

• Aicheson college on Thandi Sarak (the weather really started feeling cold on that road due to trees joining from the top from both sides of the road)
• Kinnaid college
• Pakistan Institute of Cardiology
• Governors house. (We were told it was bought by the Britishers for Rs. 2500/-)
• Lawrance gardens (also called Bagh-e-Jinnah)
• Quaid-e-Azam Library

Unfortunately due to Orange line train construction work, we had to detour from Mall road.

• Alhamra arts council
• Lahore zoo – 4th oldest zoo in the world as it was made in 1872. It has 1400 animals and price is Rs. 20 for kids and Rs. 40 for adults
• Feletti’s hotel in Lahore is the oldest hotel of the city and was made in 1880
• BRB canal. Farhan asked us if we know what it stands for. Almost all of us said ‘Be Right Back Canal’. He also laughed with us. It’s actually Bambanwala-Ravi-Bedian Canal
• Railway Headquarter
• Haji Camp
• Landa Bazar
• Railway station – It was made in 1860 and has colonial architecture from the Victorian era
• Asians biggest cloth market
• Pakistan’s biggest Automobile market
• Lahore Fort – It was constructed by Jalal ud din Muhammad Akbar in 1566
• Sheesh mahal: Deewan-e-Khas, Deewan-e-Aam made in Rs. 2 lac
• Iqbal park, Minto park
• On 23rd March 1940, 1 billion people gathered here
• Azadi flyover right infront of Minar-e-Pakistan
• Badshahi mosque made in 1673 only in 2 years without machinery. It is the 5th largest mosque in the world. 1 lac people can pray here.

Then we had a one-hour long stay at the food street where we enjoyed Mutton Karhai, Kalonji naan, hot gulab jamuns and freezing Kulfi. The way back was a lot of fun where we sang songs, and hooted at the guys who were dancing in the bus.

Some roads we traveled on:

• Mall road
• Lahore-Kasur road
• Edgerton road
• Empress road
• Allama Iqbal road
• Lahore Railway road
• Circular road

Songs in the bus:

• Dosti esa nata
• Lahore lahore hai
• Paar chana k
• Aja re mohi saiyaan

Songs we sang

• Punjabi version of ‘Last Christmas I gave you my heart’
• ‘My name is Anthony Gonsalves’
• Arjit Singh would cry after hearing our version of ‘Channa mereya’

Booking details

Price of the city tour bus ticket is only Rs. 200.

Here is the link to their Facebook page.

Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab

www.sightseeinglahore.gop.pk

042-99231360

I highly recommend you all to book your tour.

Thanks for reading. Let me know if you enjoyed this post. I will be waiting for your comments.