Hidden Treasures of Bahawalpur - 3 Days Tour
It has almost been two years since I went any long distance road trip. The very first and memorable road trip of my life was held on August 2014, Karachi to Naran Valley (13 days trip). The group was consisting of three friends / office colleagues my self Munawar Ali, Danish Obaid and Farrukh Ansari. It was very close to my heart not just because it was my first road trip but also for couple of reasons like:
- It was the very first time I drove to highways from Karachi to any other cities.
- I was the only driver in the group.
- All the way for Karachi to Naran than back to Karachi, more than 4000 km drove my own car Toyota Duet 2002, Manual.
After the first trip my passion for driving, cars, road trips, tours and exploring Pakistan has gone beyond limits. Later on in December 2013 I went to Tharparker (3 days Trip) from Karachi, same group same car. Tough we almost had more than 3000 and 700 photographs in both the trips respectively but unfortunately couldn't share any of those on the Pakweels forum. After these successful and mesmerizing trips, our group and our trips became the talk of the town. Friends and family, colleagues and relatives always kept on asking for our next tour destination and always insist us to take them with for any upcoming tour.
After very hectic office schedules and deprivation of road trips, once again we planned to go on a long distance road trip, but this time the group size reached to seven with two cars. After long discussions and debates finally the group agreed on to visit Bahawalpur, Punjab. The objectives of the trip were to:
- enjoy the long distance at night drive
- explore the hidden treasures of Bahawalpur / neighbouring areas and
- obviously rejuvenate ourselves.
Without further delay let?s start the journey:
Tour Duration: 3 days Karachi ? Bahawalpur
Total Distance: 1800 km
Stay point: Silver Motel Rs 2,000-2,500 per room with AC & complimentary breakfast Contact No. 0302-560067, Tariq
Spots Covered:
- Bahawalpur Museum
- Gulzar Mahal
- Darbar Mahal
- Noor Mahal
- Bahawalpur Bazar
- Fawara Chowk
- Darawar Fort
- Sadiqgar Mahal
Tour Prerequisites:
Vehicles:
- Indus Corolla ? 1997 petrol \ auto
- Suzuki Alto ? 2005 Petrol \ CNG
Phone Cameras:
- Samsung S3
- Lumia 630
- Nikon Coolpix
Documents: ............................ Alto/Indus
Driving License,..........................Available/Available
Vehicle Registration/Ownership,.....Available/Not Available
Tax Receipts,..............................Available/Not Available
Road Insurance...........................Not Available/Not Available
Traveling NoC.............................Not Available/Not Available
Highway Code book......................Not Available/Not Available
Itinerary:
Date...............Destination..........Time..................Activity
Day 1, 22 March 15
Karachi................06:05 pm.............Passed by Toll Plaza
Hyderabad............07:38 pm.............Stopped for CNG /Drinks
Hala....................08:50 pm..............bypass
Saeedabad Toll......09:06 pm..............bypass
Qazi Ahmed.....................................Traffic Jam (1hr)
Daulatpur.............11:29 pm..............CNG Refueling
Moro..................12:00 am...............Dinner
Halani.................02:00 am..............CNG Refueling
Panu Aqil.............04:00 am..............CNG Refueling
Ubaro.................05:58 am
Sadiqabad............6:30 am................
Zahir Pir .............7:50 am................ Before Zahir Pir found traffic jam (45 min), road packed with loaded sugar cane trucks. Took and alternate route to Khanpur wich cost us almost 1hr.
Ahmedpur...........10:05 am............ bypass
Day 2, 23 March 15
Bahawalpur..................................10:45 am..........Alhamdullilah
Motel Silver.................................11:00 am..........Check-in / Breakfast / Rest
Bahawlpur Museum (public place)....02:45 pm...........Visit / Photos / 10-15 min drive from hotel
Bahlpur Library(public place).................................Visit / photos/ Just beside Museum
Gulzar Mahal (Army Reference).......03:45 pm...........Visit / photos / Lunch/ 10-15 min drive from museum
Darbar Mahal (Army Reference).....06:00 pm....Visit/ photos / Just beside Gulzar Mahal 3 min drive
Noor Mahal (public place)..............08:00 pm....Visit / photos / 10-15 min drive
Dinner ......................................11:00 pm....Some hotel at Fawara Chowk after some rest at hotel
Day3, 24 March 15
Hotel Check out................06:45 am................
Sadiq Gardh.....................08:20 am.... Prior permission required from nawab of the mahal but gate keeper took Rs. 800 and welcomed us.
Darawar Fort & Mosque.....10:30 am..... For fort entry one has to contact gate keeper of the fort on cell.
We left Darwar at 12:30 pm and reached Karachi by 12:30 am non stop driving, only stay for fuel, except stay at Moro for 30 min tea break.
In very short time we covered a large distance form Karachi-Bahawalpur-Karachi. But the visit was memorable and unforgeable, as all are good friends and each and everyone enjoys each's company.
Group Member and Duties:
Munawar.....(Myself) (Driving / Spots Identification/ permissions to access / Photography / Tourist)
Danish....(Group leader/Hotel Arrangements / Route Navigation / Tour Costing / Photography / Tourist)
Masub..........(Indus owner / Driving / Tourist)
Shiraz..........(Driving / Tourist)
Kashif..........(Photography / Tourist)
Naseem........(Alto owner / Tourist)
Muqarab.......(Driving / Tourist)
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