An easy afternoon in lower Swat is Marghazar, a green side valley about 12 km from Saidu Sharif. Any car manages the road, and the trip takes two to three hours. The White Palace there was the marble summer house of the Wali of Swat, built in the 1940s, and it now runs as a hotel. You can walk the grounds or have tea on the lawn.

Saidu Sharif is also home to the Swat Museum, which holds Buddhist sculpture from the Gandhara period. If the weather turns, the museum and the palace fill a day between them without going any higher up the valley.

Our 3 day Swat honeymoon trip for couples includes Marghazar and the White Palace, with two nights at Serena Swat. For that and the group tours from Lahore, visit website for the full list.