'Pakistan is 2020's top holiday destination'

International travel magazine cites vast array of must-see sights, relaxed visa restrictions for country's ranking

Pakistan has been ranked as the best international holiday destination, according to Conde Nast Traveller, a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine.

The country comes out on top owing to its ancient valleys, relaxed visa restrictions, as well as, Prince William and Kate Middleton's visit this year.

"This remarkable country is finally getting the focus it deserves.Because this is a place of exquisite landscapes, where green spaces are overlooked by towering mountains. In fact, Pakistan has more peaks taller than 22,965 feet than China and Nepal combined, making it an almost magnetic spot for adventure travellers and intrepid hikers," the website outlines.

The New York based magazine goes on to praise the serene Shandur Pass, which is home to the world’s highest polo field.

Visitors can also meet the Kalash people of the Hindu Kush, famed for their cowrie-shell headdresses and brighter-than-bright embroidery.

While in Lahore, the sight of 100,000 worshippers crammed into the sandstone 17th-century Badshahi Mosque is also one of the must-see sights with its Mughal-era architectural masterpieces stand resplendent on bustling street corners.

"Having operated tours in Pakistan since the late 1990s, I’ve had a ringside seat to its troubled tourism industry, but finally it seems to be improving," says Jonny Bealby, founder and CEO of adventure-tour operator Wild Frontiers.

"A focus on security measures, which saw the British FCO lift its advice against travel to large parts of the north, and the election of Imran Khan, who has vowed to increase international tourist numbers, has already had an impact," he says.