Pakpattan

Introduction

Pakpattan, also called Pakpattan Sharif, is an ancient city in the Punjab province of Pakistan and the headquarters of its own district. It ranks among the oldest cities in Asia, and its long history is bound up with the Sufi Chishti order, whose seat in Pakistan is here.

The city is a major pilgrimage destination, drawing travellers above all to the Shrine of Baba Farid, a renowned Punjabi poet and Sufi saint. The annual urs fair held in his honour brings crowds to the town, making it a place of living devotion as much as of historic fabric.

Before you go

Pakpattan is a Punjabi-speaking city, and you will find Punjabi the most useful language for everyday conversation. Urdu is also widely understood, so you can manage with it if Punjabi is not your own tongue.

The city's communities speak their own languages alongside these. Haryanvi, also called Rangari, is spoken among the Ranghar and Rajput, while the Meo have their own language, Mewati. Knowing this helps you understand the variety of speech you will hear around you.

Getting there

Pakpattan lies about 205 km from Multan and roughly 184 km by road southwest of Lahore, so the city is most easily reached overland from either of those two hubs. The road from Lahore runs southwest for the longer stretch; from Multan the distance is shorter.

• From Lahore: about 184 km by road, heading southwest.
• From Multan: about 205 km.
• The border with India is roughly 40 km away.

Getting around

Pakpattan is a compact historic town, and much of what you'll want to see clusters around the Shrine of Baba Farid and the older parts of the city. Orient yourself relative to the shrine and treat its immediate surroundings as your base: walking is a genuinely useful way to take in the historic fabric and the pilgrimage life of the town, and the flat plains of Punjab mean gradients are never a concern. The main caveat is timing — during the annual urs the town is extremely busy with pilgrims and walking conditions become crowded. Outside that period, walking between nearby points in the centre is a reasonable and rewarding way to get around.

There is no metro or tram network in Pakpattan, and no city transit pass scheme, so plan on road-based transport and budget for individual journeys. Buses and shared vehicles are the mainstay for longer legs and for connecting with larger hubs such as Lahore and Multan; buy tickets directly from the operator or conductor. For flexibility within the city and for the airport transfer, taxis and private cars are the most dependable option — ride-hailing apps work where they are available and you have a working data connection, but arranging a taxi or private car directly is the more reliable fallback. Agree the fare or confirm the app price before you set off, especially beyond the centre, and keep your accommodation's number handy in case they can help arrange a car. If you arrive during the urs, allow extra time and expect heavier traffic and sharply higher demand for seats and vehicles.

Where to stay

Food & drink

Pakpattan is known for tosha, a special sweet that originated here. Seek it out as the local thing to try during your visit.

What to see and do

The Shrine of Baba Fareed is the reason most travellers come to Pakpattan, and it anchors any visit to the town. One of Pakistan's most revered shrines, it stands in what was known in medieval times as Ajodhan; the old town's importance was gradually eclipsed by that of the shrine, a shift reflected in the town's renaming to Pakpattan, meaning "Holy Ferry", a reference to a river crossing made by pilgrims on their way to the shrine. The shrine has long shaped both the local economy and the city's politics, so a visit here gives you a sense of what the town is built around.

Beyond the main shrine, Pakpattan holds other shrines worth seeking out, including Darbar Hazrat Khawaja Aziz Makki Sarkar and Khawaja Amoor ul Hasan. These are the sites the source identifies for seeing in the town; plan your time around the shrine circuit rather than expecting a wider set of attractions.

Three days in Pakpattan

Day one begins in Pakpattan, the Punjab city whose heart is Pakpattan Sharif. Settle into the rhythm of the place before heading to the Shrine of Baba Farid, the Sufi Chishti centre that draws travellers from across Pakistan and beyond. The shrine is also known as Baba Fareed and, in older sources, Ajodhan, and the surrounding streets take their character from it. Take your time around the shrine complex and the Darbar Hazrat Khawaja Aziz, then spend the evening getting a feel for the town's Punjabi, Urdu and Haryanvi speech and its communities, among them the Rangari, Ranghar, Rajput, Meo and Mewati.

• Shrine of Baba Farid (Baba Fareed, Ajodhan)
• Darbar Hazrat Khawaja Aziz

Day two is for going deeper into the shrine and its setting. Knowing the story of Baba Farid and the Sufi Chishti tradition makes the visit richer, so read a little before you go. The Holy Ferry and the older associations of Ajodhan belong to the town's history and are worth seeking out as you walk. Buses connect Pakpattan with Multan and Lahore, so if you are coming from either city you can plan the journey around your shrine visit; from Lahore and from Multan the road brings you into the Punjab countryside that surrounds Pakpattan.

Day three is a slower day. Return to the Shrine of Baba Farid for a quieter look, and let the atmosphere of Pakpattan Sharif settle on you. If you have come from India or elsewhere in Asia, the Orient's Sufi heritage here offers a different pace from the big cities. Agree your onward plans in advance, whether you are heading back to Lahore or on to Multan, and leave time to simply sit with the town before you go.