Islamabad
Pakistan's planned capital, laid out in the 1960s on a grid of green sectors below the Margalla Hills, and home to the Faisal Mosque.
- Arrival
- Islamabad International · ISB
- To the city
- About 25 km south-west of the city
- Private jets
- Two 3,658 m runways at ISB
- Best time
- October to December
The city
A capital drawn on a grid.
Islamabad was planned from scratch and became the capital in 1967, taking over from Karachi. The Greek planner Constantinos Doxiadis divided it into sectors about two kilometres square, lettered A to I, so an address here reads like a map reference. The Margalla Hills close the northern edge, and Rawalpindi, the older twin city, runs on to the south.
Autumn is the time to come. From October to December the days are dry and between 18 and 29 °C. July and August bring the monsoon, with close to 290 mm of rain in August, and late spring is hot.
- Faisal Mosque Vedat Dalokay's mosque of 1986, with room for 74,000 worshippers.
- Pakistan Monument The national monument, completed in 2007.
- Saidpur A restored village that was here long before the capital, now inside the city.
Arriving
A new airport west of the city.
Islamabad International opened in May 2018, about 25 km south-west of the city near Fateh Jang, and replaced the old airport in Rawalpindi. It has two runways of 12,000 feet and was the first airport in Pakistan with double airbridges for the A380.
- Delhi 1 h 15
- Kathmandu 2 h 05
- Doha 3 h 15
- Amman 4 h 50
- Amsterdam 7 h 40 long-range jet
When to go
October to December.
Islamabad has four real seasons. January afternoons reach 16 °C, June 36 °C, and the monsoon of July and August brings the wettest weeks of the year. Late winter and early spring are damp too, so autumn is the driest pleasant season.
- 16° J 67
- 17° F 96
- 21° M 109
- 27° A 80
- 32° M 54
- 36° J 78
- 33° J 274
- 31° A 289
- 31° S 98
- 29° O 35
- 23° N 25
- 18° D 46
Where to stay
Between the hills and the lake.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
The best tables in town.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Pakistan. These are hotel restaurants: two in the Serena, among the best rated on Tripadvisor, and the Marriott’s formal Japanese room.
- Dawat Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice 2025 Pakistani $$$$ Islamabad Serena Hotel, G-5
- Wild Rice Tripadvisor fine dining, rated 4.5 Pan-Asian $$$$ Islamabad Serena Hotel, G-5
- KIKU Islamabad Marriott Hotel, formal dress Japanese, teppanyaki Islamabad Marriott Hotel, Shalimar 5
Flying to Islamabad?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.