The Corps Of Guides Tour
Day 1:(Rawalpindi)
- Overnight flight to Islamabad where you will be received at the airport and driven to your hotel in Rawalpindi. In the afternoon we will visit the famous Murree Brewery which was established in 1860 to meet the beer requirements of British personnel, mainly the army. This will be followed by an early dinner hosted by one of the historians who has planned this tour – Major General Syed Ali Hamid. At dinner you will be introduced to Col Durrani, your Tour Guide.
Day 2:(Rawalpindi & Attock)
- An early morning start with a visit and briefing at the Army Institute of Military History. This will be followed by a tour of the old Rawalpindi Club and has been beautifully restored to its former glory. At the club, the historian Ali Akbar who has authored a book on the history of Rawalpindi will give a talk followed by lunch.
In the afternnon we take the Grand Trunk Road and after a 2 hours’ drive, circuit the Attock Fort to arrive at a fine specimen of British engineering – the strategically placed Attock Road / Rail Bridge. It was completed in 1883 at the cost of Rs 3.2 million which today is the equivalent of UKP 35 million. After a walk through the steel arches of the bridge lunch would be served at the officer’s mess at the fort which has an excellent view of the junction of the River Kabul with the Indus. On to Peshawar whose first recorded history is 5th century BCE. It was the main Garrison of the British in the North West Frontier and you will be staying for the next 3 night at The Barracks, a boutique hotel established in renovated accommodation for British soldiers that was constructed in 1867. At dinner you will be joined by another organizer of the tour, the historian Dr. Ali Jan.
Day 3:(Peshawar)
- Our journey to trace the history of the Guides begins today. It was in 1846 that the Corps of Guides was raised here by Lt. Lumsden on the orders of Sir Henry Lawrence, the British Resident at Lahore. The day will commence with a talk on the history of Peshawar by Dr. Ali Jan followed by a visit to the tomb of Nawab Sayid Khan which Lumsden chose as the Guides Headquarter. This will be followed by a visit to the Bala Hissar Fort which dominates the old city and is the headquarters of the Frontier Corps – the Guardians of the Frontier. After visiting their museum, the Corps will host us for lunch. Dr. Ali Jan will then take us on a fascinating tour of the Qissa Khwani Bazaar (the Bazaar of the Story Tellers) and other sites of Peshawar.
Day 4:(Khyber Pass)
- We set off to spend a day in the historic Khyber Pass, through which countless armies have marched over the centuries. In recent centuries, this strategic gateway was heavily garrisoned by the Afghans, Sikhs and British in turn. Past the imposing Shagai Fort built on the eastern entrance to the pass in 1927 and now the headquarters of the legendry Khyber Rifles, we enter the pass. We stop at the defile of Ali Masjid which is dominated by another fort and was the scene of the first battle of the Second Afghan War, 1878-80 in which the Corps of Guides participated. From here it’s half-an-hour drive to the historic Khyber Rifles mess at Landikotal where we will have a traditional lunch while entertained by wild tribal dances. On the way back we will stop at Jamrud Fort, constructed by the Sikhs in 1836 and restored by the Department of Archeology KPK. Dinner will be at a restaurant in Peshawar that specializes in well-known Pathan cuisine.
Day 5:(Mardan & Malakand Pass)
- An early start at 7.30 a.m. to drive through the fertile Yusuzai plains and within an hour arrive at Mardan where in 1854, Colonel Hodson constructed the ‘Hoti-Mardan Fort [that] became not only the home of the Guides, but also the symbol of British power on the wild borders of Yaghistan, the land of everlasting conflict and of unending vendettas.’
It was from here that the Guides would march to the relief of Delhi in 1857 and also take part in numerous operations on the Frontier. You will be briefed at the Guides’ Memorial that commemorates the defense of the residency at Kabul in 1879 and also on the Guides Church and Graveyard that is now located within the Punjab Regimental Center. After lunch courtesy of the Center, we will head up the Malakand Pass, the gateways to the picturesque valley of Swat that also leads onwards to Dir and Chitral.
During an afternoon visit to the Malakand Fort at the top of the Pass we will get a bird’s eye view along with a briefing on the role of the Guides in the forcing of the pass in 1895 on its way to relieve Chitral. Before departing you will visit the Malakand Cemetery, established in 1895 and restored in 2024. From here it’s a two-hours’ drive along the River Swat to Saidu Sharif, for a quiet dinner and night’s stay.
Day 6:(Valley of Swat)
- Today is filled with tales of action and heroism in the lower Swat Valley where the Guides fought in its march to relieve Chitral during the winter of 1895 as well as the Siege of Malakand that followed in 1897. A 1½ hour drive will bring us to the Panjkora River where the Guides on its way to Chitral was cut off by the swollen stream and conducted a classic fighting withdrawal against thousands of tribesmen.
After an onsite briefing we take a short drive back to the famous Churchill’s Picket overlooking the Chakdara Fort from where we well get a panoramic view of the landscape traversed by the relief force commanded by Col. Meiklejohn. It included two squadrons and four companies of the Guides and lifted the month-long siege of the fort in 1897.After a lunch in an idyllic setting on the banks of the river we will visit the fort constructed in 1896 and restored as a museum. Before departing, we will walk across the old girder bridge over the river and head back for another night’s stay at Saidu. However, we will stop at the defile of Naway Kalay where the Guides was awarded three Victoria Crosses while rescuing fallen comrades. It established a record of the number of VCs won in a single day by a regiment.
Day 7:(Archeological sites in Swat)
- Today we take a break from our Guides Tour and have a conducted excursion to the stunning archeological sites in the valley that date back to the Gandhara Civilization (1500 – 1200 BC). Our day will begin with a talk by the curator of the Swat museum and an authority on the Gandhara and its Buddhist Civilization. After a tour of the museum, we will visit Udegram next door which is one of the most important Buddhist shrines in Swat. After a welcome lunch at the Golf Club, we will drive to the ruins of Barikot which is the ancient Bazira mentioned in the history of Alexander the Great. Return to the hotel for a quite dinner.
Day 8:(The Ambela Campaign)
- Back on the Guides Tour we leave by 7.30 a.m. for 2½ hours’ drive to Ambela Pass, the scene of one of the bloodiest contests between the British India Army and a mixed force of Pakhtun tribes and ‘Hindutani Wahabis’. We will be briefed by the historian Brig Ayaz Frontier Force Regiment, on the Ambela Campaign of 1863. It was fought soon after the Revolt of 1857 and fortunately since the battlefield has changed little, key positions like the Eagles Nest, Craig’s Picket and Conical Hill which became part of the lore of the army, are easily identifiable. The British force contained some eminent personalities like Neville Chamberlain, Digby Probyn, Robert Sandeman and Frederick (Bob) Roberts.
The Guides which fought at every stage of the siege was commanded by yet another famous personality – Col. Wildes. At the Ambela Pass you will have the unique experience of meeting locals whose forefathers fought against the British and their version has travelled down through generations. After lunch, we will start winding our way down from the mountains and after getting onto the motorway have a comfortable drive to Abbottabad for the night. In the evening, we will have dinner at the iconic PIFFER’s Mess.
Day 9:(Hill Stations of the Raj)
- For our return to Rawalpindi we will detour through two Hill Stations that were developed by the Raj to escape the heat of the plains. A 1½ hours’ drive will bring us to Nathiagali at an elevation of 2,400 meters, where we will take a tour of the Governor House, an old colonial building and its pristine garden. A little further ahead is Dungagali, from where we will take an easy walk of 2 hours along a pipeline track running through thick Deodar pine forest. The pipeline was constructed by British battalions whose crests are still visible. After lunch in Murree and a walk through the old cantonment we will arrive in Rawalpindi by the evening for a quite dinner and departure.
