Recently Viewed
From Islamabad: Guided Tour of Taxila Ruins - Explore Ancient Buddhist Civilization
4.9
16 Ratings
Taxila
Embark on a guided tour of the Taxila Ruins from Islamabad and delve into the ancient Buddhist civilization that thrived over 2000 years ago. Discover the rich history, visit the Taxila Museum, explore the Jaulian Buddhist Monastery, and more with an English guide.
Embark on a guided tour of the Taxila Ruins from Islamabad and delve into the ancient Buddhist civilization that thrived over 2000 years ago. Discover the rich history, visit the Taxila Museum, explore the Jaulian Buddhist Monastery, and more with an English guide.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Taxila Museum - Discover the Taxila Museum and be inspired by the ancient history and artifacts of the Buddhist civilization. For those eager to delve into and learn about Buddhist history in Pakistan, the Taxila Museum is an ideal destination.
- Jaulian Buddhist Monastery - Visitors are often amazed by the Jaulian Buddhist Monastery in Taxila,…
- Taxila Museum - Discover the Taxila Museum and be inspired by the ancient history and artifacts of the Buddhist civilization. For those eager to delve into and learn about Buddhist history in Pakistan, the Taxila Museum is an ideal destination.
- Jaulian Buddhist Monastery - Visitors are often amazed by the Jaulian Buddhist Monastery in Taxila, which boasts some of the best-preserved Buddha sculptures. This site is a ruined Buddhist monastery dating back to the 2nd century CE.
- Dharmarajika Stupa And Monastery - The Dharmarajika Stupa is among the ten largest ancient stupas in South Asia. As the largest and earliest religious complex in Taxila, it was built by King Asoka the Great to enshrine the holy relic of the Buddha. The relics of Lord Buddha from this site have now been moved to the Taxila Museum.
- Sirkap - This UNESCO World Heritage site transports visitors back to an ancient civilization that was once a thriving community. It truly prompts reflection on what life might have been like nearly 2000 years ago.
What's Included
- Private air-conditioned transportation
- All taxes and service fees included
- Admission tickets to attractions
- English-speaking tour guide service
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Islamabad
- Private air-conditioned transportation
- All taxes and service fees included
- Admission tickets to attractions
- English-speaking tour guide service
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Islamabad
What's Not Included
- Gratuities (optional).
- Food & beverages
- Gratuities (optional).
- Food & beverages
Additional Information
Discover Taxila, an ancient Buddhist civilization that thrived over 2000 years ago. Renowned for having one of the world’s earliest universities, Taxila was a global hub of knowledge. Its strategic location led to numerous empires seeking control over the centuries. In 1980, Taxila was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in 2006, The Guardian…
Discover Taxila, an ancient Buddhist civilization that thrived over 2000 years ago. Renowned for having one of the world’s earliest universities, Taxila was a global hub of knowledge. Its strategic location led to numerous empires seeking control over the centuries. In 1980, Taxila was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in 2006, The Guardian newspaper named it the top tourist destination in Pakistan.
Visitors will explore the Taxila Museum, Taxila Ruins, Jaulian Buddhist Monastery, Dharmarajika Stupa and Monastery, among other attractions. An English-speaking guide will accompany the tour, with hotel pick-up and drop-off from Islamabad included.
Location
Taxila Museum
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(16 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Fggp
Jan 25, 2026
Taxila calls you. Don’t miss this opportunity to get to know this part of the stunning country of Pakistan when you are traveling. You - Spectacular excursion very interesting and excellently guided by Mr. Gulham Murtaza. You enjoy it from start to finish. We visited wonderful cities destroyed of course and Buddhist monasteries, stupas of more than 2000 years of history. places where pilgrims from different cities attended to worship Buddha. It is a site declared a historical heritage of the world that you can not miss visiting. I had the privilege of having a great guide super professional and excellent person very knowledgeable of the history and customs of the peoples that lived in the different times, with whom we became friends. I can't help but thank Gulham for everything you've taught me and the beautiful well-known places. Fully recommended excursion
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Henrik
Jun 5, 2025
A truly special day in Taxila – with the best guide you could ask for - Our second day with Ghulam Murtaza took us to the ancient ruins of Taxila – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and it was another unforgettable experience. Thanks to his excellent connections and deep local knowledge, we were able to access areas that are usually closed to the public, making the day even more unique and enriching.
The museum visit was fascinating and brought the region’s history vividly to life. Ghulam’s explanations were insightful and engaging, helping us truly understand the significance of what we were seeing.
Lunch was once again a highlight – authentic, local, and absolutely delicious. All the arrangements ran smoothly, just as agreed, and we felt completely taken care of throughout the day.
Spending time with Ghulam felt like spending the day with a Pakistani friend – warm, thoughtful, and always ready to share his country’s treasures with genuine passion.
Highly recommended – again
Review provided by Tripadvisor
769asiak
Jul 2, 2024
Amazing trip - We had an amazing one day visit to Jaulian and Bhamian with Mr Murtaza and another wonderful archeologist lady tour guide. Both of them created lovely friendly ambiance and gave us a very professional insight into history and modernity of the Buddhist stupas sites. Wonderful and very refreshing experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Heathj889
May 20, 2024
Amazing tour of ancient Buddhist ruins - Thank you Ghulam for showing me around the sites of Taxila! What a super interesting collection of sites. The Taxila Museum was filled with some of the most well-preserved Buddhist artefacts that I have seen anywhere in the world. Walking down the Main Street of Sirkap, with its distinctive Ancient Greek layout, was a unique experience. And the stupas at Jaulian were absolutely incredible! Definitely a must-see when visiting Pakistan.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
986shigetsus
Mar 9, 2024
A great cultural and historical experience - Was great! Ghulam Murtaza quickly understood that I loved the local
Culture so adapted the tour to show me the local country life which was great! Also was very good at knowing when to talk to add information and when to soak in the atmosphere which is vital when enjoying a new place. Def recommend this!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Haider_h
Jan 21, 2024
Highly recommended - Superb trip to Taxila, one of the ancient historical sites of Pakistan. Our guide Maqsood was informative and supportive throughout. We stopped for traditional Pakistani chai and lunch along the way. Taxila is huge and we visited 4 different sites there, including two ancient Buddhist monasteries and a Greek city. All in all a fascinating journey with commentary from Maqsood throughout. He even threw in a speedboat ride at the end!
Review provided by Viator
763ahm
Jan 17, 2024
Amazing guide, Amazing ancient city and amazing tour. Highly recommended - Very interesting city! Taxila is never to be missed tour while your visit in Pakistan, lots of culture, history and ancient ruins.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan0schf
Oct 18, 2023
100% culture - I had an outstanding experience together with my guide Maqsood and I would say you MUST do this tour when you come to Islamabad. The heritage and the mix of influence of the visited places in Taxila is fascinating and worth every Dollar. I also had the chance to get views of the local life and learn many things about the country.
A big thank you to Maqsood and the careful driver!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Donna_a
Jun 1, 2023
Exceptional Archeologic Sites - Need More Visitors! - My guide paid attention to things that caught my interest along the journey and made room in the tour to take a closer look, even if off-topic (e.g., the elaborately decorated trucks). Individual guides at the sites were extremely knowledgeable and highlighted the confluence of multiple cultures in this area over the time period from about 500 BCE to 500 CE. These are fascinating and important ruins without a lot of tourist traffic (or tourist infrastructure) so if you want to avoid the crowds it's a great place to spend some time.
Review provided by Viator
Chewlink
Sep 11, 2024
A day of history and more - So! Much! History! Maqsood is super well connected so what he doesn't already know about Taxila's history, he can find someone to tell you. And it's not just history, it's also chai and chole at a truck stop and stories of everything in between. Also! Maqsood is very good at making sure you look very good in pictures!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
