We four friends had long been planning to visit all ( major part ) of Pakistan by road.We wanted to explore different regions of Baluchistan, sind and southern Punjab. But it was always a very difficult to get it together due to professional and family commitments. But at last it was decided to go in the last week of Jan.16.
Tour members: four , me, Rizwan, Aabid and Imran
Total distance travelled: 3210 km
Ride: Corolla GLi 2014
Fuel consumed; about 210 litres gasoline
Tour Details:
Day 1, 29th Jan 2016
I left from Abbottabd at 10 am , reached Haripur at 10:45 am. Picked Rizwan and Imran from there. Reached Rawalpindi at 12;45 pm via Khan pur road . We bought delicious and famous red blood oranges from khanpur. Aabid was picked from Saddar Pindi. our first destination was Quetta. The route was planned via D I khan to Zhob and Quetta.
We left via M2 to Balaksar interchange and then Miawali. Road was not so bad but in patches very bad condition. from Mianwali to DI khan the road is very well maintained . Total distance from Pindi to DI khan was about 428km.
Our host in D I khan was DR Adnan . We had traditional DI khan dish " Sohbat/ Panda" there. Stayed there and wandered in the Halwa bazar.
Day 2 30th Jan 2016
Left D I khan early morning at 6:30 am as all friends were already advised to have only day travel in Baluchistan. We had desi breakfast from DI khan / Zhob highway. This it nicely metaled track upto 80km. then the Koh suleman range starts . it had rained few days ago. I myself belong to hilly area and have good experience in driving in such areas. But this track due to to different composition of soil is tough to drive specially when wet. There is no road for about 15km. and in patches too the road does not exist at all! So i will not advise to travel in this area due to road conditions. its 224 km from D I khan to Zhob.
We entered Zhob at1 pm, offered namaz and got the car washed,,,, had the famous Rosh from a highway outlet.. believe me ,,we never had such delicious meat and at very reasonable price. The people in Zhob are very nice and hospitable. From Zhob to Quetta its 409 km. The road is very good and we were able to maintained 100km plus /hr for most of travel. There are 6 check post and we had to properly register with NIC there. The scenes of periphery are very unique with bared mountains and different shades of mountains which we had never seen in north. we reached Quetta at 6:30 pm. My friend Dr Abdul Qadir and Imran's friend Zaid Shah were our host. We had night stay and saw the cantt area and different bazars of Quetta. Dr Qadir took us to famous Gulshan Karachi and we had delicious dinner :P.
Day 3, 31st Jan 2016.
Early morning wake up again ! had a short trip to periphery of Quetta. the beautiful valley! Dr Qadir insisted us to stay but we had to leave. For breakfast it was naimat kada.. Then N-25 route to karachi was taken. Our well wishers in Quetta had advised us to have non stop travel till Khuzdar .. and specially the government servants among us were advised to hide our service cards , so me( health) and Imran( police service) were bit more careful(A). The road was very good and we were able to maintain 100-120 km/hr. Total distance we had to travel was 685 km. Baluchistan is a land of unique beauty and it was impossible to explore it it such time constraints and security situation, we passed through Qallat, Khuzdar and Lasbela,. had a stop for lunch /tea after Khuzdar.
We crossed Hub Choki at 6:30pm and entered the mega city. Reached our stay place in PECHs . Our host was Mr Aabid , relative of Imran. We got fresh , went to saddar area then the we wished to have Nehari. So the friends went to Javed nehari,, had to wait for the table for some time.. no doubt its one of best Neharis. After some sweets we left for stay as all were tired.
Day 4, 1st Feb 16
It was a late wake up... had proper sleep . The plan was to visit some nearby places, sea view, Hawke's Bay , minora , Mizar e Quaid and off course shopping. Entered Mizar e Quaid in navi and surprisingly it was just few km away. went there , but we were told its Monday the off day. Then went trough VIP gate and requested the rangers ,, it was very nice of the major sb who not only gave us the opportunity but also facilitated with a guide. We offered fateh ,, the father of nation and other great leaders having eternal sleep.
Then the sad news( my khala passed away) for me and I had to leave for Isb via air with Abid, and Rizwan and Imran had to shorten the trip.
The remaining visit as Narrated by Imran & Rizwan :
We dropped Awais and Aabid at Airport. Then we went to sea view, and Hawke's bay,, the tour was already shortened. went in different areas and shopped bit. Left late night for Hyderabad and stayed in police rest house Jamshoro. next morning saw different areas of Sind, were entertained by friends, saw Rarki Temple, Sachal sar mast and ruins of Mohin jo Doro. Shukkar is beautiful with dates and trees, . we had night stay at Sadiqabad . Saw the lush green land of Punjab and reached home at 9pm.
SUMMARY: Pakistan is a land of versatile cultures and beauty. We four friends have visited almost all northern parts an kashmir but this was unique experience. It was pleasure to drive, eat, visit and unfortunately I had to quit early but all together it was great road travel.Regarding ride, corolla in Pakistani road conditions is a fully dependable companion, we four males, trunk fully loaded, A/C used in Sind.. it did not give a single trouble AlhamdUlillah even no tire puncture.
now lets the pictures do the talking!