Lahore, the Mughal city of gardens and forts

There is a Punjabi saying that whoever has not seen Lahore has not been born. The city has a proud sense of itself, and with reason. It has been a great city for a thousand years: a capital of the Ghaznavid sultans, of the Mughal emperors at the height of their power, and of the Sikh empire of Ranjit Singh in the early nineteenth century. Under British rule it became the capital of the Punjab, and since 1947 it has been the second city of Pakistan and the capital of its largest province. It is a city of more than ten million people, and it is generally thought of as the cultural heart of the country, a place of colleges, poets, painters and food.

The fort and the mosque

At the north-western edge of the old walled city stands Lahore Fort, a vast complex of palaces, halls, gardens and gateways built and rebuilt by successive Mughal emperors, from Akbar in the sixteenth century to Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb in the seventeenth. It contains the Sheesh Mahal, a palace hall whose walls and ceilings are covered with thousands of tiny pieces of mirror glass, set in plaster, glittering in the light. Its long outer wall is decorated with a remarkable frieze of tile mosaics showing elephants, horsemen, angels and hunting scenes.

Facing the fort across a great courtyard is the Badshahi Mosque, built by the emperor Aurangzeb in the 1670s, one of the largest mosques in the world, of red sandstone inlaid with white marble. Its courtyard can hold tens of thousands of worshippers. Beside it is the samadhi, the memorial, of Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of Punjab, with its gilded domes, a reminder of the city's long and mixed history.

Gardens, mosques and the walled city

The Shalimar Gardens, laid out by Shah Jahan in the 1640s on the edge of the city, are a classic Mughal garden: three terraces of water channels, fountains, pavilions and trees, in the Persian style. Together with the fort, they are a World Heritage Site.

Inside the walled city, a maze of narrow lanes, bazaars and old havelis, the Wazir Khan Mosque, from the 1630s, is covered in some of the finest tile work and painted decoration in South Asia. It has been carefully restored. The walled city's gates, such as the Delhi Gate, lead into bazaars selling spices, fabric, sweets and brass.

The Lahore Museum, on the Mall, has superb collections of Gandharan Buddhist sculpture and Mughal miniatures. Outside it stands the Zamzama, the great cannon that Rudyard Kipling made famous in the opening scene of Kim. Kipling's father was once the museum's curator.

Lahore's Sufi shrines are another side of the city. The shrine of Data Ganj Bakhsh, a Sufi saint of the eleventh century, is the most important in Lahore and one of the most visited in South Asia, its courtyards crowded with pilgrims day and night. On Thursday evenings, at some of the city's shrines, devotees gather for qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis, sung by groups of singers with harmonium and drums.

Food, and the border

Lahore is famous throughout Pakistan for its food. The old city's food streets serve grilled meat, kebabs, nihari, a slow-cooked beef stew eaten for breakfast, and halwa puri, fried bread with a sweet semolina pudding and spiced chickpeas. Lassi comes in tall glasses.

A short drive east, at the Wagah border crossing with India, a flag-lowering ceremony takes place every evening. Soldiers of both countries perform a high-kicking, strutting display in front of cheering crowds on both sides.

G Adventures' Best of Pakistan: Lahore, Islamabad and Passu Glacier, ten nights, includes Lahore and the Wagah border, along with Islamabad, Saidpur village, Khanabad village, the Chakwal canyon, and Passu, Karimabad, Hunza and its forts and Borith Lake in the north.

G Adventures' Pakistan: Lahore and Hiking the Karakoram Mountains, ten nights, combines Lahore and Islamabad with Khaplu, Shigar and Thoqsi Khar in Baltistan. G Adventures' Pakistan: Karakoram Highway, Local Eats and Village Life, twelve nights, includes Lahore with Islamabad, the Hunza valley and the Karakoram Highway.

Lahore is best visited in the cooler months, from about October to March. Summer is extremely hot. As for anywhere in Pakistan, check the latest Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice before booking.