A journey from Karachi to the high valleys of the Karakoram — rushes from the film presented above available for licensing
Pakistan — Aerial footage of a country of a thousand faces
Pakistan is often portrayed very negatively in the Western media. And yet it is a country with an extraordinary amount to offer — from its rich cultural heritage to its breathtaking landscapes, and the legendary warmth and hospitality of its people. With over 220 million inhabitants, Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world, and one of the least understood. Our images tell a different story.
Our Pakistan collection is one of the most comprehensive we hold on any South Asian country : from coastal megacities to Himalayan valleys, from archaeological sites of the Indus civilisation to the tribal regions of the north, it covers a diversity of landscapes and cultures that few aerial collections can match.
Karachi — A megacity of over 15 million inhabitants on the Arabian Sea coast, Karachi is Pakistan's economic and financial capital. Seen from the air, the city reveals its sprawling urbanisation — an entanglement of residential districts, industrial and port zones, and informal settlements stretching as far as the eye can see down to the sea.
Islamabad and Rawalpindi — A planned federal capital built in the 1960s, Islamabad presents a radically different face from the air compared to Karachi : wide tree-lined avenues, ordered diplomatic quarters and green hills on the doorstep of the Himalayan foothills. Its neighbour Rawalpindi, an ancient trading city, offers by contrast the urban density and bustle typical of the great cities of the subcontinent.
Lahore — Pakistan's cultural capital and the heart of Punjab province, Lahore concentrates some of the country's finest Mughal monuments : the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Gardens, all UNESCO World Heritage Sites, form from the air an architectural ensemble of incomparable richness.
Archaeological sites of the east — In the Indus plain, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro and other sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation — one of the oldest and most advanced of the ancient world — offer from the air a unique reading of the urban planning of a civilisation that vanished over 3,500 years ago.
The tribal regions of the north — Between the Afghan border and the first Himalayan foothills, the tribal regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa unfold landscapes of steep valleys, mud-brick fortresses and villages clinging to cliff faces, in a region long closed to outsiders and still rarely documented by aerial cameras.
Gilgit-Baltistan and the Karakoram — In the far north of the country, Gilgit-Baltistan is one of the most spectacular high-mountain regions in the world. The Karakoram massif alone concentrates four of the five highest peaks on the planet, including K2 (8,611 m). Our aerial footage of these glacial valleys, their stone villages and terraced fields against a backdrop of snow-capped summits ranks among the rarest and most striking in our catalogue.
Agriculture along the Indus — Along the Indus River and across the Punjab plain, our footage documents large-scale irrigated intensive farming, but also the ancestral gestures of farmers ploughing with oxen in less mechanised areas — sequences that also form part of our traditional farming collection.
The Gadani ship-breaking yards — On the Balochistan coast, an hour from Karachi, the Gadani yards are one of the largest ship-breaking sites in the world. Our aerial footage of these ocean giants beached and dismantled by hand on the shore echoes our similar collection on the Chittagong yards in Bangladesh.
This footage was shot using gyro-stabilised Cineflex / GSS systems mounted in helicopters, available in HD and 4K.
Pakistan stock footage and still pictures
An exceptional shoot — Building such a comprehensive aerial collection of Pakistan was no small undertaking. Several shooting sessions across different seasons were required, each preceded by reconnaissance trips to organise the logistics and secure authorisations — from both the civilian and military authorities, an essential step in a country where airspace is closely monitored and certain zones remain under armed forces control.
The overflights were carried out in a French-built helicopter, particularly well suited to the extreme conditions encountered in Pakistan : high-altitude flying above the Karakoram and Gilgit-Baltistan, where altitude drastically reduces aircraft performance, as well as the intense heat of Sindh and Punjab in summer. The robustness and versatility of this aircraft were decisive in completing these shoots successfully.
Not all regions were experienced in the same way by our crews. The area around Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the edge of the tribal zones and close to the Afghan border, gave rise to legitimate concerns among our pilots — a palpable tension that comes through in some of our footage. By contrast, Baltistan, the Skardu region and the upper Indus Valley proved surprisingly easy to access and genuinely welcoming — mountain communities of warm hospitality, open airspace, and landscapes of breathtaking beauty that made these sessions among the most memorable of our experience.
An exceptional shoot — Building such a comprehensive aerial collection of Pakistan was no small undertaking. Several shooting sessions across different seasons were required, each preceded by reconnaissance trips to organise the logistics and secure authorisations — from both the civilian and military authorities, an essential step in a country where airspace is closely monitored and certain zones remain under armed forces control.
The overflights were carried out in a French-built helicopter, particularly well suited to the extreme conditions encountered in Pakistan : high-altitude flying above the Karakoram and Gilgit-Baltistan, where altitude drastically reduces aircraft performance, as well as the intense heat of Sindh and Punjab in summer. The robustness and versatility of this aircraft were decisive in completing these shoots successfully.
Not all regions were experienced in the same way by our crews. The area around Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the edge of the tribal zones and close to the Afghan border, gave rise to legitimate concerns among our pilots — a palpable tension that comes through in some of our footage. By contrast, Baltistan, the Skardu region and the upper Indus Valley proved surprisingly easy to access and genuinely welcoming — mountain communities of warm hospitality, open airspace, and landscapes of breathtaking beauty that made these sessions among the most memorable of our experience.