The most rewarding day trips from Nowshera are to two sites in neighbouring districts. Takht-i-Bahi, about an hour's drive northwest near Mardan, is a 1st-century Gandharan Buddhist monastery built across three hilltop terraces — one of the finest surviving Buddhist sites in Pakistan and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. The cells of the monks, the stupa court, and the assembly hall are all clearly readable on the ground.
Peshawar, 40 km west, offers the Qissa Khwani bazaar, the Mahabat Khan mosque, and the Peshawar Museum's outstanding Gandharan collection — easily worth a full day. In the other direction, Attock Fort sits 60 km east at the dramatic confluence of the Kabul and Indus rivers, though access is restricted as it is still in military use.