Karachi - Haleji Lake - Keenjhar Lake - Thatta - Makli - Bhanbore - Karachi on Bike

[Xoofi]

After reading @Sulaiman75 twin threads at PW about Bike Trip, I really wanted to just get out of town on my bike. Although it was not possible to go Gilgit-Baltistan or Kashmir all of a sudden, so I decided to head to Thatta District on my 70cc bike (Super Star brand, more commonly known as China) which I bought in April 2007. So this Friday (20th December 2013), I planned this trip with my university friend who is now working in Saudi Arabia and is currently on vacations to home country.

This was not the first time I have taken this bike to Thatta. It was in fact 5th time I was taking this bike to Thatta. But this was the best trip among all the previous ones. The reason it was the best because previously I always got late and was not able to visit all the places that falls on this route. This time, I planned to visit all the following points in the itinerary mentioned below and was successful:

1) Haleji Lake
2) Keenjhar Lake
3) Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta City
4) Makli Graveyard
5) Bhanbore Museum & Ruins

Here is a teaser picture of the trip.

A detailed story along with the pictures will be coming soon

- COMPLETED -

[jadoon1992_vxlimited]

so you got the motivation from Sulaiman bhai :D. how was the experience?i have also planned it many times but never got the courage to do it. now you have done it so want to ask that what is the road condition? puncture wala's available on the route? and what about the safety concerns? the things to carry? thanks in advance

[ism1]

great............u hv made it..... thumbs up for you Sufiyan (Y)

[KamranAslam]

You were in plan since the mid of this year... good to see you did it.

Looking forward to lots of pictures.

[Xoofi]

My friend from university, Zeeshan, who is currently working in Saudi Arabia, is on vacations to Pakistan now a days. Last week, he asked me to go somewhere. He suggested Manora, but I wanted a little more fun, so my suggestion was to visit Thatta District up to Keenjhar Lake. He agreed and we decided to do this on Friday, the 20th December 2013.

Although my bike is very old. It was purchased in April 2007 but it has proven really reliable for me. All I did before heading was to get the bike tuned with an oil change. The tyres were new (less than 2000 km) so I was not really worried about puncture issue. If it does happen, there are plenty of puncture shops along the old national highway. I kept a spare spark plug though because they can give you a really hard time if failed. Also got the petrol filled about 2.5 liters in night

Thursday night, I slept around 1 AM (that's technically Friday started) with an alarm of 6:20 AM. I asked my friend to be ready by 7 AM because I wanted to start the journey very early. As the alarm rang, I quickly got up, placed a quick call to my friend to wake him up too. Got ready quite quickly and left the home by 6:40 AM. It took me hardly 10 minutes to reach my friend's home and I was at his place by 6:50 AM who live on Jamia Milia Road, Malir.

After reaching his home, I placed him a call and got no reply. Did it few times and no reply. So I knocked the door as a last resort, his father opened the gate and told me that he is getting ready and you can wait in the drawing room. It took him about 20 minutes to get ready and we were in the street at 7:15 AM (about 15 minute late than my schedule).

Following are the few pictures of early morning, the cows are enjoying early morning walk at my friend's street.

This is my bike. Doesn't look super great but have always proved reliable to me

My friend, Zeeshan just checking the small backpack in which we kept camera, its extra battery, few apples & oranges, small water bottle, extra spark plug and few other items.

That's me ready to hit the old national highway.

[Xoofi]

It took us hardly 5 minutes before we were on old national highway after crossing Malir 15 railway crossing. There was a lot of traffic on the road, mostly because of people going to their offices. Here is the shot of sun rise from Malir River (Malir Naddi) Bridge.

We didn't stop anywhere, crossed the toll plaza right after Kathore Link Road (that connects old highway to super highway). We didn't pay any toll tax as we were on motorcycle. Right after crossing toll plaza, there is a big bridge over Railway Lines and the right there is huge factory of Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL). We stopped there for a couple of minutes and took a few pictures.

Right after crossing that bridge, the old national highway shrinks into a single road, with hundreds of patches. The road condition is not very good. There is a ACLC checkpost after the bridge but it was empty. Ahead of that checkpost, there is another checkpost which marks the start of Dhabeji. Quickly we reached Dhabeji, initially we planned to get breakfast from here but it was too early and neither of us was feeling hungry yet so we decided to keep going and reached Gharo at 8:40 AM (it took us 1 hour 20 minutes from Malir). We then had a wonderful breakfast of Paratha, Omelete & Tea at Cafe Imran which is at the end point of Gharo City on highway road.

I really didn't wanted to waste time so drank the tea in desi style because it was too hot In about 20 minutes we were going again. We passed sunway lagoon water park and soon we hit the diversion on left that leads to Haleji Lake.

[060276]

NICE..Keep posting

[Xoofi]

After getting on to the road to Haleji Lake (more of a kacha raasta), we saw alfalfa grass (Loosan) cultivated on both sides of road.

After about 3 km, there is a gate from where metaled KW&SB road starts which leads to Haleji Lake. We got onto that road, and in about 10 minutes we hit the barricade before Haleji Lake where we have to pay a tax of using KW&SB Road. There was no one on the barricade. After waiting for a couple of minutes, we moved without paying the tax. In a few minutes we hit Haleji Lake.

It was the third time I was visiting Haleji Lake but I really love its beauty. The banks of Haleji Lake are covered by old trees where you can observe a lot of local fauna. The water level was very higher than usual and the color of water was slightly brownish which I never experienced in previous trips. The water was also not as calm as it use to be, perhaps because of high winds. It was also extremely cold there.

I tried to spot some migratory birds but failed in start probably because they might have returned by now. But suddenly I was able to locate some, there were flying low over the water and some were floating around. Unfortunately I was not able to catch the picture. One kingfisher was spotted sitting on the roof of some room. It was a beautiful sight, however the point & shoot camera didn't do the justice with the pic.

We then went to see the ducks and crocodiles they have kept in secluded area. The crocodiles were inside the water so we couldn't see them, and there was only one pair of duck (it was probably mandarin duck but I'm not too sure). The water was really dirty, the authorities should do something for the betterment of the ponds.

[Xoofi]

After spending about half hour at Haleji Lake, we were moving again. We came back to the barricade where we were supposed to pay the tax and there was the man who collected it. He said that, I was shouting when you guys left but you didn't listen. Now you should pay 40 Rs. We told him that we are not going to pay anything extra, just make me the receipt. The tax is not much, its 2 Rs for motorcycle and 2 Rs for each person, so it was only 6 Rs. So after realizing that he won't be able to fetch anything extra, he made us a receipt of 6 Rs. However in the end, I gave him 20 Rs and asked him to keep the change Here is the picture of the receipt which I took after reaching back home.

Soon we hit the old national highway again. After going a kilometer or so, we were stopped by a police team at some temporary checkpost. I guess they were from Gharo police station. Never experienced any checkpost at this place before, it was the very first time I saw them standing there. A constable asking for my bike registration papers, I handed him the papers. He said that its open letter, how can you drive your bike on open letter. I told him that these are the original papers, read carefully. To my amazement he said that he can't read. I told him that my bike is from 2007 registration when they didn't issue computerized print on books. He then asked for my NIC and license which I handed him. My friend got a bit angry because constable was wasting our time but I calmed him down. The other constable then intervened and handed us our things back and we were moving again. This whole drama wasted about 6-7 minutes.

[Xoofi]

Soon after getting away from police checkpost, we reached a small city named Gujjo. Its famous for cultivation of Green Chillies & Tomato. There are also number of fish farms present in Gujjo. Before the city starts, there are twin canals that pass under the road. These canals are fed from Keenjhar Lake. We stopped there for a couple of minutes, took a few pictures and moved on.

Gujjo is a small city and its finished in a minute or so. Right after the city is finished, there is another small canal. Thats where all the fish vendors sell their fish. They keep the fish in nets to keep them alive. However, from what I could see that the fish which were kept in a net were dead already.

Besides the fish vendors, there were many roosters roped with hooks. At first I thought these were fighter roosters but upon asking I came to know that they are kept for sale for meat consumption. They were looking so tidy unlike the poultry shops here in Karachi.

[Xoofi]

After moving from Gujjo, I decided to catch up some speed because these small stop overs cost us much time. We passed Makli first and then Thatta city. Didn't stop there because we planned to stop here after returning from Keenjhar Lake. After Thatta City, I realized that I checked my petrol knob and surprisingly it was on Reserve mood. It should have been on ON mode, may be I forgot to change it to ON mode last night after filling the petrol. So I stopped for a refill. Got a refill of 200 Rs only and got going once again. This time I double checked to put the knob on "ON" mode.

After 15 minutes of drive, suddenly the landscape changes and there are lots of barren hills besides the road. Soon we reached a big canal that is coming out from Keenjhar Lake. Its bluish water resist you to stop for a couple of pics so we did.

At exact 11:15 AM, we hit the diversion on left which leads to Keenjhar Lake. Took a picture of the board that points to Keenjhar.

A little ramp after the diversion and you hit the beautiful lake and all you see is water every where. Suddenly the breeze felt cold despite of the full bright sun. We took a picture or two before heading to the entry ticket booth.

[serioussand]

Nice trip I have been there many times every place is beautiful except thatta city road is entirly damaged

Sent from my Nexus 7 using PW Forums mobile app

[Xoofi]

At ticket booth, it was mentioned that the ticket per person is 10 Rs, while the tax for motorcycle is also 10 Rs. So we asked the guy to make us a receipt of 30 Rs. He then said, sir ye puranay rate hain, aap 50 rupay de dain aur jayein. However, we insisted on the receipt so he took 50 Rs from us and made a receipt.

However after getting home, when I checked the receipt, I found that he was lying and the ticket was still 10 Rs but he wrote 4 persons on the receipt. Here is the picture:

Anyway, Soon we were at the bank of Keenjhar Lake. We were the only people on the whole lake, there were no other visitors. If you come at this place on a weekend in summer season, you will hardly find a space to see earth. But weekdays and off season is the best time to visit and enjoy the real beauty of this lake and still feel closer to nature which you can't feel during the rush season. The water level was too much that the water got inside the huts which they rent out in summer season. Although it was tempting to take a dip in this fresh water jungle but it was not wise because of the cool breeze and also the time shortage. But the boat ride was surely we didn't want to miss.

Soon we talked to a motor boat owner about the ride. He quoted us 400 Rs for a short round and 1200 Rs for a ride till Noori's grave (the girl from Noori Jam Tamachi folktale). Noori's grave is located in the heart of Keenjhar Lake probably on a tiny island where you can only go by a boat. After bargaining, the fare of Rs 900 was settled and after locking the bike at the bank of lake, we headed towards Noori's grave. The boat guy didn't had any safety life jackets but still we proceeded

The boat ride was quite fun. It might be scary for some but I enjoy it. Soon after a few minutes, the bank from where we came was disappeared from the horizon and all we could see was water everywhere with a few islands here and there.

After about 20 minutes of boat ride, we saw a dot at a distance which kept getting bigger with time. Soon we reached there. It's the grave of Noori which is in round shape in the middle of Keenjhar Lake. We got off there and observed the horizon. There were hundreds of flocks of birds which were flying around in a beautiful pattern. They were far from us, so we couldn't capture a picture but the view was terrific as seen from naked eye. Here are a few pictures at Noori's grave. We stayed there for hardly ten minutes and then got on the boat again for return.

[asifcae]

great trip........ lovely pics as well.....

[Xoofi]

As soon as we left the grave, I asked the boat owner if he could take us to nearest island. He agreed and we went towards the island. The winds were pretty high so he took the boat to other side of island where is no defined path. Soon we hit the bank of island and decided to explore a little. But as soon as we go a little further, there was simply no way because of the thorny shrubs. So we stayed there for a few minutes and got onto the boat again. Don't have any picture of the island because at that time camera was on movie mode. However there are few pictures of the bank of island.

The return boat ride was also again 20 minutes. We reached safely to the point where we started the boat journey. Paid the boat owner and decided to head back without wasting time. We spent about 1.5 hours at Keenjhar Lake including the boat ride.

Now we were heading back to Thatta city to visit Shah Jahan Mosque. Soon after getting back to the highway, my bike's petrol again went on reserve mode which meant previously it was near to end when I accidentally checked it. Anyway, got it refilled for 200 Rs from the same petrol station. Before Thatta, we didn't stop anywhere except for a photo at a unique kilometer marker which I liked for no reason.

We reached Shah Jahan Mosque at 1:20 PM and since it was Friday and the time was for jumma prayers, we decided to offer it here. In fact it was part of the plan to offer Jumma prayers at Shah Jahan Mosque. You guys can read a little about the mosque history from the picture below

[Xoofi]

The Shah Jahan Mosque has a huge garden and I noticed that people are performing "wudu" in the garden in small vessels (similar to lota) made of clay. I had never seen such shaped vessels before. There were running tap water wudu area inside the mosque but I'm not sure why people preferred to do wudu in garden with these lota like vessels.

The pre-khutba speech was in Sindhi which we couldn't understand much. Then the jamaat was offered. I have been to this mosque many times before but this was the first time I was witnessing that much crowd here. It was a great experience to offer namaz here. After the jamaat, we took a few pictures discreetly of people offer prayer and then we left the mosque.

After leaving the mosque, my friend wanted to buy some "Rabri" which is a famous souvenir of Thatta. There are many vendors of Rabri outside the mosque but its my sincere advise not to buy any Rabri from them. Its of very low quality and not very tasty. In my previous trip, I was recommended by a friend to try a Rabri from a shop inside the main bazaar so we headed there and bought some Rabri and then got out of the bazaar.

[Xoofi]

After getting out of bazaar, I asked my friend that I'll show a unique place which not many people know about. He got curious and we moved in some streets and reached a mosque named "Ameer Khani Mosque". The uniqueness about this mosque is that below the level of earth in the basement. I found about that mosque when I was 12 years old when I went to Thatta with my chacha and we went from inside the city in search for Shah Jahan Mosque. Its kind of off the beaten places which not many people know about. I have tried to find its history on Google but nothing is available except a map of this mosque on Wikimapia. The exterior and interior of this small mosque is deteriorating much and needs a sincere overhaul. Auqaf Department should seriously look into restoration of this historical mosque. I'll soon write them an email about it (just in hope that they might listen).

After spending 5-10 minutes at this mosque, we moved out of Thatta city and decided to have the lunch. We ordered a chicken broast from Mumtaz Bikik Restaurant. It was not the very best but was ok. We quickly finished it and headed towards Makli Graveyard.

[Xoofi]

We reached Makli Graveyard at around 3:15 PM and visited many shrines and graves. Captured photos of old calligraphy on tombstones. In the last we visited the tomb of Sindh's old governor Mirza Esa Khan Tarkhan. It has got one of the best structure in whole graveyard with beautiful calligraphy on graves and doors. Captured a few photos there and then went to another tomb which gave a birds eye view of Thatta city.

After we were done with capturing the calligraphy on graves, we then saw the big abandoned well which is near the entrance of graveyard. Last time when I visited there, it was open and you could go down by walking down the stairs. But this time it was closed with a lock. Took a couple of pictures of the well.

Last time, I saw a few huts in the graveyard but wasn't able to check them out so decided to give a visit to see what are these all about. They turned out to be some office of Heritage Foundation Center. It was closed otherwise I'd have got some information about it.

[Xoofi]

It was 3:45 PM when we left Makli. I was worried that we might not be able to visit Bhanbore because of very short day, so decided to go non stop. We passed Gujjo & reached Gharo in 35 minutes which gave me a bit relief because Dhabeji was only 15 minutes ahead. We found 5 minutes to enjoy a hot cup of tea at the same hotel from where we had breakfast.

After tea we hit the road again and within 15 minutes reached Dhabeji. A road of left (if we are going towards Karachi) leads to Bhanbore. A board is also mentioning the direction. It is hardly 10 minutes distance before you reach the museum gate. The road is very thin but not very bad. Both sides of the road are agriculture land and is quite a scenic route.

As you can see on the board, the entry fee has been scratched off so we didn't know how much was the entry fee. We asked the counter guy and he said 20 Rs per head. We asked him to give tickets and he said that tickets have been finished, you can just pay and visit. We knew he was lying and wanted to keep the ticket money in his own pocked but there was no time for argument as we were running short of light. So we just paid him 40 Rs and entered the museum premises.

[Xoofi]

Apart from all other places mentioned above, Bhanbore is the only place where I hadn't been before today. The last time in 2011, I did reach the gate of Bhanbore museum only to find that I had lost my wallet so I went back to Gharo in search of it and missed the chance to visit Bhanbore. So today was the golden chance to fulfill that desire. Thats why I wanted to reach here well within time and was successful.

At first, instead of going to museum, we decided to see the ruins & make the most out of whatever daylight that was left. So we got a couple of pics at museum entrance and then headed towards the ruins which were right behind the museum. All the way was properly marked. The overall condition of the place indicated that it was well taken care of.