One of the bonuses of flying is that some of the air routes, especially to the northern areas and Chitral, are spectacular. Safe travel inside Pakistan is subject to weather, regional idiosyncrasies and plain luck.
Most travelers have a great time, despite the chaos.
The scenery changes northward from coastal beaches, lagoons and mangrove swamps to sandy deserts, desolate plateaus, fertile plains, dissected uplands and high mountains with beautiful vales, snow-covered peaks and eternal glaciers. In the northeast is the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, bounded by Afghanistan, China and India. Pakistan comprises distinct regions. Even before the Iranian revolution and the Afghan and Iran-Iraq wars throttled Asian overland travel, Pakistan tended to be seen as simply the last hurdle before reaching India. Few Westerners know much about Pakistan beyond media impressions of guns and drugs, communal violence and martial law, but it contains some of Asia's most mind-blowing landscapes, extraordinary trekking, a multitude of cultures and a deeply hospitable people.