Islamabad enjoys the central location in the country and hence is a hub for many cultural and traditional activities. These would range from national and international conferences to cultural festivals and fairs. Being a home to many civilizations in the past, Pakistan has a very rich and diversified cultural heritage. All the provinces of Pakistan have their own unique cultures and traditions.
Since the past few years UNESCO has been working with the government of Pakistan to build the institutional capacity for safeguarding the intangible cultural legacy of Pakistan.If you want to know more about the cultural heritage of Pakistan don’t forget to visit these places in the city.
The Lok Virsa Museum & Heritage Library is situated near Shakarparian, Islamabad. This place takes you through a journey of past traditions and cultures. The museum will show you the whole story of the subcontinents. It offers a great display of art in the form of jewelry, block printing, embroidered clothes, woodwork and metalwork of all types. It is surrounded by handicraft shops selling local embroidered stuffs. In the picture below you can see some of the traditional dresses worn by men and women.

Pakistan Monument Museum provides an insight into country’s history and the struggle through which the people of Pakistan went through during the sub continent era. It pays a tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for a separate homeland. The artwork here is spectacular; it’s like a complete picture of the era of independence struggle. Here is a look of the inside of this museum.

Pakistan National Council Of Arts regularly teaches and organizes various cultural programs for the tourists all year round. National Puppet Theater was established in 1975. It was a great step taken by Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Ministry of Culture & Pakistan in order to revive the most popular folk art. Two groups were sent to China for Rod puppet training in 1975 & 1979 & a third was sent to Poland in 1987.Since then its quest to promote the art of puppetry at home and in remote/ far flung areas of Pakistan is in progress. This team of NPT also holds shows every year to highlight important international events like Earthquake Victims Day, Kashmir Solidarity Day, Pakistan Day Celebrations, Independence Day Celebrations, World Tourism Day, and Universal Children Day & Quaid-e-Azam Day Celebrations. National puppet theater has numerous puppets, which are hand made by the apprentices.

Islamabad museum provides an extensive historic sequence of the land where Pakistan is positioned right now. 20 million years old fossil remains, 2 million years old man-made rock tools, 7000 years old original human settlements, that lead to the entire world famous Indus Civilization, Gandhara Grave Tradition as well as Gandhara art, original Islamic settlements, Sultanate and Mughal period, their own fine art and craft can be seen here.