21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
the maps need help, 7 Jun 2000
By Joshua Winters - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Lonely Planet : Pakistan (Paperback)
I just returned from two months in Pakistan, and I primarily used the Lonely Planet. Using the Lonely Planet for travel can tend to give one the feeling that all countries look and taste the same, and are inhabited by mostly backpackers and english-speaking hotelkeepers. The hotels recommended manage to sustain a surprisingly similar clientele throughout the Middle East and South Asia at least, and it starts to wear thin after a bit. The maps of many cities were not up to LP standards, Peshawar's Old City being a notable example. The Rawalpindi section could use an update, and I must say that the food recommendations generally seem to be stabs in the dark, in which case one is better off stabbing in the dark according to his own tastes. Accomodation selection criteria must be devoid of any Architectural or historical interest factors, but is quite successfully utilitarian. Many wonderfully intriguing and inexpensive old hotels are skipped. The ubiquity of this guide tends to ghetto the Western backpackers in little enclaves, useful both if you wish to avoid them like the plague, or you relish their company. The historical notes are surprisingly knowledgeable in most areas, though some notes concerning the British Raj period are either tritely anti-colonial or of dubious veracity, sometimes both. The Paksitani bureaucracy is a much more flexible entity than the authors would suggest, and things like Foreigner's Registration and exit taxes are not necessarily carved in stone. In conclusion, this guide definitely caters to the trek-minded eco-groover, with disproportionate emphasis laid on the Northern Areas, and on repeating tired environmentalist mantras.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A real companion throughout Pakistan, 28 Dec 2000
By Maurizio Giuliano - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Lonely Planet : Pakistan (Paperback)
Perhaps just below the usual Lonely Planet standard, this guidebook surely is a wonderful companion for your journey through Pakistan, filled with interesting as well as entertaining data and information, as well as tips for the traveller. There are some minor lacks, such as bad coverage of the battered Kashmir region, and perhaps too much focus on the usual tourist sites. Yet, all in all, the best guidebook on the country I ever found.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for a great country, 23 Dec 2005
By M. Z. Amin - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pakistan and the Karakoram Highway (Lonely Planet Regional Guides) (Paperback)
Pakistan is among the tourism world's best kept secrets, and this book throws open those secrets very well. Lonely Planet has always been good with detail and comprehensive coverage, and that trend continues with its coverage on Pakistan.
Without the off-the-beaten track records, I would have missed some of the greatest historical and cultural artifacts that Pakistan has to offer. And the guide truly works as you trek up north into Pakistan's majestic mountains that offer the most mind-blowing natural beauty - even India's Kashmir area is nothing compared to the rugged and untouched beaty of the Swat River Valley all the way to whitewater rafting areas in Gilgit.
So when you head to Pakistan, definitely take this book along.