Today, we'll begin our adventure north by traveling across the Northwest Frontier and into the picturesque Swat Valley. Until recently, this location was closed to foreign travelers, but it has now reopened, providing us with an excellent opportunity to learn about the region's historic Buddhist history. After checking into our accommodation, we'll visit the local museum, which houses many outstanding Gandharan antiques, as well as other Buddhist monuments.

After breakfast, we'll take a breathtaking drive through Chakdarra, where a young Winston Churchill saw action in the 1890s, before entering the old kingdom of Chitral via the Lowari Tunnel. This afternoon, we'll lather up and go local sightseeing. The Chitral Fort housed the beleaguered British garrison in 1895 and today houses the guns hauled over the steep Hindu Kush passes to break the siege. The exquisite Grand Mosque is located next to the Fort. Our major focus, though, will be roaming around the market, which has a mix of traditional and modern things sold by the mostly Pashtun inhabitants. Our hotel will serve dinner.

Today's wildlife adventure begins as we travel up to the area around the old hunting lodge in Chitral Gol National Park. We will have a great opportunity to see the rutting season for the famed Markhor wild goat, and we will see hundreds of them fighting and playing - it is the young of the Markhor that the elusive snow leopard is interested in. If we're extremely lucky, we might get a sight of one of these magnificent creatures. In the evening, we shall return to Chitral and the comfort of our hotel.

Today, after completing some paperwork, we travel to the Kalash Valley of Rumbor and the settlement of Balanguru.  Most tourists opt to hike the final few miles through this breathtaking valley.

We will spend the next three days enjoying this unique celebration, which very few Westerners have ever witnessed. In addition to the dancing, singing, and eating, we will see religious priests (or Qazis, as they are known) invoke the spirits and pray for their blessing. The women of the valley, including those traveling with us, must cleanse their spirits on one of the days by completing certain purification rites, but don't worry, it's nothing too serious, just a bucket wash followed by offering up some pure chapattis at the Temple of Jastak Khan. On another day, it is the turn of the males to purify themselves in the temple of Sagi Gor, this time with goats' blood. More than 40 goats will be sacrificed as an offering to the gods, wine will be consumed, and the dancing will begin. Men could now wear the shalwar kameez. In the evening, we'll join the Kalash for a fantastic night of village dancing.

After we've seen the celebrations, we might take one last tour around the Kalash Valley before heading to Ayun. Depending on the weather, we may be able to take a brief walk around one of the adjacent villages.

We'll leave early this morning for our return trip to Islamabad. Depending on traffic, this could take up to twelve hours. We'll stop for lunch there and then continue on our full-day picturesque drive to the capital, which is now possible thanks to the Lowari tunnel. (Note that flight schedules to Islamabad are inconsistent and unreliable at best this time of year, which is why we drive.)

We'll spend our final full day in Taxila, a fascinating Buddhist university town that dates back to Alexander the Great's Gandharan era. We'll return to Islamabad in the late afternoon, with time for some last-minute shopping before our farewell dinner.

Today we have the opportunity to tour some of Islamabad's most famous landmarks, including the Faisal Mosque, the largest in South East Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world. We will also visit the Lok Virsa Museum and the Pakistan Monument. If time permits, there will also be an opportunity for some last-minute shopping before our goodbye dinner, following which the tour concludes. Those on the group aircraft, which departs in the early hours of the next day, will have access to wash and change facilities.