Tour to Bahawalpur, Cholistan Desert, Uch shareef and Multan

[afnan.lunatic]

Assalam-o-Alaikum.. we friends "awaragard" decided to visit bahawalpur and its near belongings aur multan jis ki gard ne waqai hamen awara kr dia.. it was three days tour from 21-11-2015 to 24-11-2015.. due to shortage of time it was travel, travel and travel.. 1260 km in three days
and now details, details and details...

this is my first thread.. i have travelled north many many times but didnt write anything bcoz alot of threads are already there.. but the hidden treasures of south need to be exposed well bcoz they deserve it.. ur queries, questions and comments are welcomed..

Places visited:

Day 01
1. Dera Nawab
52 km from bahawalpur.. it is at ahmed pur east.. road condition is very good. it's national highway

1. Sadiq Garh Palace
   it is at dera nawab.. bht khobsurat palace but under disputes of Nawabs ki al-ulad.. so it is in miserable condition from inside. it is not opened for public u need special permission to visit this..

2. Derawar Fort
   98 km from bahawalpur and 46 km from dera nawab. u can directly go to derawar from sadiq garh palace.. so it is recommended to first visit sadiq garh palace on way to derawar. road condition is good

3. Derawar Mosque
   a very beautiful mosque derawar fort k pehlu main

4. Royal Graveyard
   Graves of Nawabs of bahawalpur very near to derawar fort but common people are not allowed to visit.. u need some reference

5. Uch Shareef
   22 km from ahmedpur east, it is in opposite direction of derawar fort from ahmedpur east. so u will have to come back from derawar to ahmedpur east. road is just ok not in good conditoin

6. Head panjnad
   15 km from uch shareef.. road condition is very good

Day 02
8. Lal suhanra park
20 km from bahawalpur.. it's like jallo park in lahore.. road condition is very good but last km were under construction

1. Black deer safari park
   13 km from Lal suhanra park.. very beautiful black deers are there.. details in thread.. road condition is bad

2. Bahawalpur old bazar
   very very crowdy

3. Bahawalpur Jamia Mosque
   beautiful mosque in old city of bahawalpur
4. Fareed Gate
   old bazar starts from this gate
5. Central Library
   very nice historical building
6. Darbar Mahal
   u need strong reference from army to visit this palace bcoz it is army controlled
7. Noor Mahal
   it is opened for public in specific days and in specific timings..

Day 03
16. Multan Ghanta ghar chowk
17. Shah rukn-e-alam shrine
18. Baha-o-deen zikria shrine
19. Damdama
20. Museum
ye sari jaghen aik hi place pe hain u can visit all these in 2 to 3 hours.
21. Head trimmu
we crossed head trimmu on our way back to Jauharabad (our job place)

the attractions we missed:
          1. Local music at derawar (due to shortage of time)
          2. Night stay at cholistan
          3. Gulzar mahal (due to construction of entrance road of mahal)

Fortunately we had very kind hosts in multan as well as in bahawalpur.. enjoyed their kind hospitality...
Group members:
Muhammad Afnan (me afnan.lunatic)
Muhammad waseem
Taimoor Ali
Abrar Hussain
Arslan Rafiq (host from Multan)

and three hosts from bahawalpur
Mr. Ahmed Faraz
Mr. Ahmed Farjad
Mr. Asim Zia

aur han keep in mind we are all engineers....

Camera used: Canon 600D
Lens: 18-135 mm and 50 mm prime

Cars used: Honda city 2005 and Honda city 2012

here are some teasers details will be covered in thread

[haroon959]

lovely pictures... multan is a lovely city... lived there three months ... the shrines are beautiful.... didn't get a chance to visit balochistan as my mother is very protective about me... lol
i like the photographs... which lens are you using?? i have a canon 1100d with basic lens 18:55mm.... i'm looking for a fixed 50mm.. what do you think???

[asifcae]

nice shots and lovely area this south punjab...

[imranhameed1]

Good - Waiting for Picture and Details

[afnan.lunatic]

@haroon959
i have 18-135 mm and 50 mm prime lens.. u also look for tamron 17-50 2.8 vc but it is bit expensive

[afnan.lunatic]

so here our journey starts

Day 00 (20-11-2015)
we friends started from Lahore to Multan at 1715 hrs in Honda city.. Lahore to Multan road is in very good condition but we faced traffic jam just after crossing thokar niaz baig and lost almost 40 mins.. stayed at multan at our friend's home..
Group members
from left to right waseem, abrar, taimoor, afnan (me)

our host from Multan
Arslan Rafiq

Sir ahmed faraz and asim zia

mr. ahmed farjad

[afnan.lunatic]

Day 01
departed early morning from multan. reached ahmedpur east at 0800 and took our breakfast.. other group from bahawalpur joined us at 0930.. first we visited dera nawab.. main attraction there is sadiq garh palace.. it is not opened for public u need special permission or an army reference..

Sadiq Garh palace was constructed in 1882 by ruler of Bhawalpur Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan (V) with total expenditure of 15 Lac rupees; and it is said to be designed by the Italian architects. The palace is not occupied by any inhabitants since last two decades, as it is under legal dispute among decedents of royal family. our guide told us that it is to be divided in 24 parts bcoz there are 24 share holders.

[afnan.lunatic]

there is very beautifully constructed mosque beside sadiq garh palace.. but it is also in miserable condition..

[alkandar]

Nice Clicks.

[aamirna97]

Aoa
Dear multan se qila dawar kitnay km hy?aur bahawalpur se easily raasta hy?main multan se chaloon ga tu raat tak multan wapis aa jaon ga kia?main gujranwala ka rehnay wala hoon.iss liay multan stay ho jaye ga.plz suggest dear

[afnan.lunatic]

Aoa
Dear multan se qila dawar kitnay km hy?aur bahawalpur se easily raasta hy?main multan se chaloon ga tu raat tak multan wapis aa jaon ga kia?main gujranwala ka rehnay wala hoon.iss liay multan stay ho jaye ga.plz suggest dear

multan to bahawalpur.. 90 km... 1 hour 10 mins
bahawalpur to ahmed pur east... 52 km.. 40 mins
ahmed pur east to derawar.. 45 km.. 45 mins
start early in the morning then u can easily return to multan

[afnan.lunatic]

we moved towards derawar fort from sadiq garh palace along with guide of derawar fort who also guided us in the palace.. It stands in the middle of the Cholistan desert.. very good paved road goes there. look at road condition

there is resting area made by cholistan development authority beside derawar. we were served with tea biscuits there.. there are some rooms there which can be rented to stay at night.

Derawar fort was built by Rai Jajja Bhatti. a Rajput ruler of Bhatti clan, in 9th century AD. In 18th century, the fort slipped from the hand of Bhattis and Muslim Nawabs of Bahawalpur took over it, the fort was later renovated by Abbasi rulers. In 1747, the fort slipped from the hands of the Abbasis owing to Bahawal Khan's preoccupations at Shikarpur. Nawab Mubarak Khan took the stronghold back in 1804. The Derawar fort has around 40 bastions that stand 30 meter high.

Walls and interior structures of fort are in wretched condition.. no attention is being given to this precious heritage.. look at the pics

[anwarriaz1]

Nice trip

[afnan.lunatic]

then we offered zuhar prayer in Derawar Mosque.. Nawab Bahawal Khan constructed this mosque with cupolas and domes of exquisite marble in 1849. It is a replica of Moti Mosque, Delhi. it is also called Abbasi Mosque.

views of mosque from Derawar fort

A few hundred meters from the Fort in a hall with engraved doors in which Abbasi Amirs and their families are buried. Two already dug grave are there where Nawabs will be buried who are still alive..

view of graveyard from derawar fort

Good bye Derawar

[afnan.lunatic]

Then we moved to Uch sharif which is 22 km from ahmed pur east.. road condition is not so good.. It is worth making a small visit to Uch Shareef, an ancient place which still has some beautiful mosques and tombs. Its great period of glory came in the 13th century, when it was together with multan, a center of political and cultural activites. The architecture of the mausoleums and mosques still standing in uch is refreshing and attractive, reflecting a central Asian influence, with superb blue and white glazed tiles. Sadly many of the tombs are in poor condition now..

then we moved to head panjnad.. road is very good but two way..
sunset on way to head panjnad

colorful evening at head panjnad

we had dinner at very famous resturant of ahmedpur east FFC (Fast Food Club).. Daewoo terminal is also there which is one the reason of its fame.. food and environment are really good..

[afnan.lunatic]

Day 2
we started moving towards Lal suhanra park at 10:00 am. this park is situated almost 20 km east of bahawalpur and it is mixture of forest and desert life. It occupies land on both sides of Desert Branch canal, and is spread over an area of 127,480 acres. for public some small patches of gardens, birds cages, playing lands, canteen, parking etc are made. also it holds a pair of rhinoceros 'gainda' which were given by Nepal.

beautiful duck in the park

about 13 km from Lal suhanra park, there is black deer (actual name blackbuck) safari park which have almost 270 pairs of blackucks now. this is a part of Lal suhanra national park but 13 km from publically open and managed area of the park. road condition is bad. Entry inside the cage wall of the park is allowed. u can wander around with deers and blackbucks.. a unique experience we had.

[afnan.lunatic]

we came back to bahawalpur and offered zuhar prayer in jamia mosque of old city.

Fareed gate

Cetral library

[HanifBhatti]

Excellent pictures and trip (Y)

[asim.shah]

Aoa
Dear multan se qila dawar kitnay km hy?aur bahawalpur se easily raasta hy?main multan se chaloon ga tu raat tak multan wapis aa jaon ga kia?main gujranwala ka rehnay wala hoon.iss liay multan stay ho jaye ga.plz suggest dear

u will easily visit Derawer fort from multan in 1 day....max takes 3 hours from multan to derawer..

[asim.shah]

very nice, ,, trip... bro