CHOLISTAN TOUR

Introduction

Chol is Turkish for desert but this was once a land of pastures, a land where a river once flowed. It covers 26000 sq.km. barren land-scape and extends into the Thar Desert in India.

Today Cholistan is a land of lost memories, of countless legends; a land that beckons you to share its immortal spirit. It is a land of saints and a land of forts - fascinating culture and ancient history - successive waves of invaders from the West have left their mark on this land.

Historical monuments and over four hundred archaeological sites of the Indus civilization and later cultures are inaccessibly hidden in the sand of the Cholistan desert. The people of the desert live in tall round huts shaped like steeples, which they build, on the highest hill and which keep out most of the sun.

Derawar Fort is the oldest fort in the area and the only perennial water-hole in the area.

Many tombs, decorated with blue glazed tiles are the marks of the small kingdoms that flourished in the area.

Lal Sohanara Park - A game reserve which developed in 1972 has its own characteristic. It is the home of many species of animals and birds.

Tour Itinerary

Day 01 - Islamabad or Karachi City sightseeing tour.

Day 02 - Multan Fly to Multan, the city of saints and mystics, which is also the gateway to the Cholistan desert.

A city tour to pay homage to many great mystics' shrines in blue glazed tiles. See the artisans at work, making camel skin vases and lamp shades which are ornately painted, or enjoy a traditional puppet show or visit the Hussain Agahi Bazaar to shop and browse around, marveling at the beauty of the handicrafts.

Day 03 - Lal Sonhara Forest Leave for Lal Sonhara Forest, a national game reserve, which is full of blue bulls, black ducks, Chinkara deer and a large variety of migratory birds. Enroute visit Bahawalpur.

Day 04 - Maujgarh, Dinagarh & Derawar Forts Jeep Safari in the Cholistan desert begins. A short halt at the Maujgarh Fort after a dusty bumpy ride. Skirting round a large herd of grazing camels by a nomad settlement, reach another fort, Dinagarh.

Making a brief stopover at the shrine of Chanan Pir, the patron saint of the Cholistan desert, arrive and camp at Derawar fort, the heart of Cholistan.

Day 05 - Folk musicians and nomad dancers entertain you with their performance around a camp fire in a starry night.

Day 06 - Uch Experience the thrill of a bumpy camel ride before watching a camel dancing in step with a loud drum beat. Drive to the ruins of Uch, once a bustling city of shrines, tombs and minarets done in glazed blue and white tiles, now all crumbling down to dust. Its once majestic buildings were erected over the debris of an earlier city built by Alexander the Great. A mystifying serenity pervades the sombre atmosphere of this dying city.

Day 07 - Sukkur A long drive to Sukkur through the fertile plains of Punjab and Sindh. The ancient towns of Sukkur, Bhakkar and Rohri have seen and survived the ravages of time --- and of the mighty Indus River -the life line of the land. The city's 17th century brick land-mark, a leaning tower of a great mystic, Masum Shah, stand majestically in its heart. Take a boat ride in the Indus to the Hindu temple of Saddu Bella.

Day 08 - Moenjodaro A drive to Moenjodaro, the excavated ruins of the Indus valley civilization dating back to 3000 BC. The ruins, watched over by a later day Buddhist Stupa, bear a silent testimony to the marvels of ancient mud-brick and burn-brick architecture. One marvels at its town planning, straight wide roads, by - lanes, sunken water tanks and underground sewerage system. Imagine the symbolic Moenjodaro dancing girl, performing her ritual dances in the court of king-priest of yore. Fly to Karachi.

Day 09 - Karachi Day free

Day 10 - Leave for homeward destinations.

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