On a clear Saturday morning on the 18th of April this month, the road out of Lahore led not just to another city, but to a quieter, older world. The Taxila Heritage Tour, organised by Lahorenamah in collaboration with Fabulous Tours, unfolded as an immersive journey into one of South Asia’s most layered historical landscapes, where time seems to exist in fragments rather than a straight line.
Once a crossroads of ancient civilisations, Taxila’s landscape was shaped by the movement of ideas, faith, and trade, and still carries traces of that layered past today. The day began at the Taxila Museum, where participants were introduced to a remarkable collection of Gandharan artefacts, stone and stucco forms that quietly carried centuries of Buddhist thought alongside Greco Roman influence. It set the tone for a journey that would move between what is preserved and what must be imagined.
From there, the group made its way to the Dharmarajika Stupa and Monastery, one of the region’s most significant Buddhist sites, where the tour found its centre of gravity. Believed to date back to the 3rd century BCE and often associated with Emperor Ashoka, the stupa was originally constructed to house sacred relics of the Buddha, drawing pilgrims from across the ancient world. What stands today is a vast circular mound, its core encircled by smaller votive stupas added over centuries, each one a marker of continued devotion.
Encircling the main structure are the remains of the monastery complex, chapels, courtyards, and monastic cells that point to a once thriving community of learning and practice.
It was here that Dr. Nidaullah Sehrai of the University of Peshawar brought the site to life, speaking at length about its historical and spiritual significance. His in-depth narration moved beyond dates and dynasties, inviting participants to imagine the rhythms of monastic life that once unfolded here, the gatherings, the teachings, the quiet discipline.
There is a material richness to Dharmarajika that lingers even in ruin. Fragments of stucco and sculptural remains reveal the artistic traditions of the Gandhara region, where local craftsmanship absorbed Hellenistic influence, creating a visual language that feels at once familiar and distant. The site was not built in a single moment but shaped over generations, expanding, adapting, enduring.
From there, the group continued to the hilltop remains of the Jaulian Buddhist Monastery, where a different kind of stillness settled in. The climb gave way to a site that felt almost self-contained, its meditation cells and worn pathways holding traces of a life structured around study and reflection. The final stop, Sirkap, revealed yet another layer, a planned Indo-Greek city with a grid like layout that spoke of order, exchange, and the blending of cultures.
Somewhere between sites, the journey paused for a more immediate kind of immersion, a pit stop at a local roadside dhabba. Here, the group gathered over plates of chapli kebab, spicy, crisp at the edges, and fresh, hot naan pulled straight from the tandoor. It was a moment of warmth and ease, conversations flowing as easily as the food, grounding the day’s historical exploration in the textures and flavours of the present.
This tour marked the first in a thoughtfully curated three part series. The second, taking place today, on the 25th of April, continues the Gandhara Heritage journey to Khanpur, where sites such as the Jandial Temple and Mohra Muradu extend the narrative further, offering new glimpses into the region’s layered past.
“Through the Heritage Tours by Lahorenamah, the idea is to take people of Lahore beyond the city into other communities, landscapes, and lived histories, creating opportunities to connect with people, perspectives, and places often overlooked,” states Umair Hashmi, the founder of Lahorenamah. “It’s an effort to encourage a more conscious, rooted, and sustainable way of engaging with heritage, while slowly reshaping how we experience and understand our surroundings. This marks the beginning of an initiative rooted in coexistence and shared understanding. Anyone can simply register with us by signing up through our social media platforms.”
At its core, Lahorenamah remains grounded in a photojournalistic approach to storytelling, one that spans the ancient, medieval, and modern histories of the region. Its work is guided by a commitment to honesty and impartiality, using visual and narrative documentation to tell stories that might otherwise fade into the background.
What stood out just as much as the sites themselves was the group that moved through them. Largely made up of Gen Z participants, the energy was unmistakable, curious, engaged, and quietly enthusiastic. Phones were out, photos were taken, but there was also a visible effort to pause, to listen, to take it in. It was not passive sightseeing, but an active encounter with history.
In that sense, the significance of tours like these extends far beyond a single day’s itinerary. They open up pathways into parts of Pakistan that often remain overlooked, encouraging a deeper, more personal relationship with place.
For domestic tourism, especially among younger audiences, this kind of engagement feels essential. It shifts travel from consumption to connection and from surface level visits to something far more rooted.
Header image: Sonya Rehman