Peshawar Museum Museum

Address: Peshawar Museum, Cunningham Road, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Hours: Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, closed Mondays

Admission: Approx. PKR 20-50 for entrance (may vary)

Peshawar Museum is a city museum in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, known for its extensive collection of Gandharan Buddhist sculpture and regional ethnographic material. The museum’s holdings illustrate the ancient cultural connections across the northwestern frontier of South Asia.

Principal displays include carved stone sculptures and reliefs from Gandharan sites dating roughly from the early centuries CE, along with coins, inscriptions and objects illustrating later local history. Additional galleries present traditional costumes, metalwork and household items from the surrounding region.

The museum was established in the early 20th century to collect and conserve archaeological finds and material culture from the area; its collections were assembled from local excavations and donations. It has long served as the main public repository for Gandharan artefacts in the region.

The institution is sited in central Peshawar, within reach of the city’s historic districts and transport links, and is commonly included on cultural and archaeological itineraries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

• Gandharan art collection: Houses one of the region’s most important collections of Gandharan Buddhist sculpture, with stone heads, relief panels and carved iconography.
• Visiting context: Located in central Peshawar and commonly visited by those exploring the city’s historic bazaars and nearby archaeological sites.

What to See#

• Gandharan gallery: Gandharan gallery displaying stone sculptures and reliefs from roughly the 1st to 7th centuries CE that demonstrate Greco-Buddhist artistic influences.
• Ethnography galleries: Ethnographic and regional collections showing local crafts, textiles and historical artefacts from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area.

Peshawar Museum is located near Cunningham Road in Peshawar city. It is reachable by city taxi or rickshaw from Peshawar’s main bus terminals and the railway station; travel times vary with traffic but are generally short within the city center.

• Allow time for the Gandharan gallery - some of the museum's finest Buddhist sculptures are in that wing and often overlooked.
• Photography may be restricted in some galleries; ask staff and respect signage.
• Combine a museum visit with a walk around Peshawar's Qissa Khwani Bazaar to see the city's living history.