Southern Pakistan: Cities, Deserts and the Coast
Southern Pakistan is where the country keeps its cities, its ruins and its coastline: the Mughal capital at Lahore, the port city of Karachi, the Indus cities that were old before Rome existed, and a thousand kilometres of Arabian Sea coast running west towards Iran.
It is also the half of Pakistan that most foreign itineraries skip, which is a mistake. The south is easier to travel than the mountains, warmer in winter, and full of things that exist nowhere else in the country. This page maps it: the cities, the archaeology, the coast and the desert, with a page for each.
Four souths, not one
The mistake is to treat the south as a single trip. The cities are Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Hyderabad and Quetta, connected by motorway and cheap flights. The archaeology is the Indus valley: Mohenjo-daro in Sindh and Harappa in Punjab. The coast runs from Karachi west along the Makran Coastal Highway to Ormara and Gwadar. The desert is Cholistan, south of Bahawalpur, and the Thar to the east of Sindh. Each of those is a different trip with a different season.
The cities
Start with Lahore if you want history, Karachi if you want the sea and food, and Multan if you want the shrines. All three are comfortable for foreign travellers and easy to move around in a day.
Lahore
The Mughal capital: the Badshahi mosque, the fort and the Shalimar gardens, plus a walled city that is still lived in. The food alone justifies two nights.
Karachi
Pakistan’s largest city and its port, on the Arabian Sea. Clifton at sunset, the Quaid’s mausoleum, the old colonial streets, and the best seafood in the country.
Multan
The city of saints: the shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Sufi music on a Thursday evening, blue pottery and mangoes in summer. An easy stop between Lahore and Bahawalpur.
Bahawalpur
A former princely state with the Noor Mahal palace in town and Derawar fort out in the desert. The natural base for Cholistan.
Hyderabad
Sindh’s second city, an hour from Karachi, known for its bazaars, its Sindhi crafts and the tombs of the Talpur rulers. Worth a day on the way to the interior.
Quetta
The Balochistan capital at about 1,700 metres, with Hanna Lake, a famous dry fruit bazaar and the juniper forest at Ziarat an easy drive away. Cold in winter, which surprises people.
The Indus valley cities
Two of the oldest planned cities in the world sit in the south, both excavated in the 1920s, both with gridded streets, covered drains and brick houses that were built thousands of years before the Mughals arrived.
Mohenjo-daro
The largest known city of the Indus valley civilisation, built around 2500 BC and abandoned about 1,900 BC. The great bath, the granary and the street grid are all still readable on the ground.
Harappa
The site that gave the civilisation its name, near Sahiwal in Punjab, excavated from 1921. Smaller and quieter than Mohenjo-daro, and easier to reach from Lahore.
The Makran coast
The Makran Coastal Highway runs west from Karachi for roughly 650 kilometres to Gwadar, with the Hingol national park and the mud volcanoes on the way. It is one of the emptiest and strangest drives in the country.
Gwadar
A deep water port on a hammerhead peninsula, with beaches either side and a new airport. Quiet, cheap and genuinely far from anywhere.
Ormara
A fishing town halfway along the coast road, with a turtle beach nearby where green turtles nest. The obvious place to break the Karachi to Gwadar drive.
The desert: Cholistan and Thar
Cholistan runs south of Bahawalpur to the Indian border, dotted with forts, shrines and the occasional jeep rally. Derawar is the one everybody photographs, but the smaller forts at Dingarh and the shrine at Channan Pir are the reason to go slowly. The Thar desert, east of Sindh, is a different landscape again, with its own camel breeds and its own festivals.
The coast and both deserts are collected on one page, with the routes and the seasons, in our Southern Coast and Deserts guide.
How long the journeys take
The motorways are fast and the coastal road is slow, which changes how a southern trip should be shaped. Times below are road times unless a flight is named.
| Route | Approximate time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Karachi to Hyderabad | 2 hours | Motorway the whole way |
| Karachi to Lahore | 2 hours by air, or 18 to 20 hours by road | About 1,200 km by motorway |
| Lahore to Multan | 5 hours | Motorway, about 350 km |
| Lahore to Bahawalpur | 6 hours | Motorway, about 400 km |
| Multan to Mohenjo-daro | 6 to 7 hours | Frequently broken at Sukkur |
| Karachi to Gwadar | 8 to 9 hours | Makran Coastal Highway, about 650 km |
| Karachi to Quetta | 1 hour 30 by air, or 10 to 12 hours by road | The road crosses the Bolan pass |
When to go
November to March is the window: Lahore and Multan are cool, Karachi is pleasant, and the coast is at its best. April to June is hot everywhere inland, with Sindh regularly over 40 degrees, so sightseeing moves to early mornings. July and August bring the monsoon to Sindh and Punjab, which is dramatic in the desert but hard on the roads. Balochistan and the coast stay dry through the monsoon, which is why a July trip makes more sense along the Makran than in Lahore.
Frequently asked questions
Which cities should a first trip to southern Pakistan cover?
Lahore, Multan and Bahawalpur in Punjab, and Karachi in Sindh, in that order if you are coming overland from Islamabad. Mohenjo-daro sits between Multan and Karachi and is worth the detour.
When is the best time to visit southern Pakistan?
November to March. Lahore and Multan are comfortable, Karachi is mild, and the coast road is drivable. April to June is extremely hot inland, and July and August bring the monsoon to Sindh and Punjab.
Is the coast safe for swimming?
The Arabian Sea has strong currents and an undertow in places, so treat it as a walking and photography coast rather than a swimming one. Go with local advice at Ormara and Gwadar, and do not swim alone at dusk.
How old is Mohenjo-daro?
The city was built around 2500 BC and abandoned roughly six hundred years later, which makes it about 4,500 years old. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the largest Indus valley cities excavated.
Do foreign travellers need permits for Balochistan?
Requirements change and some districts need a no objection certificate, so we check the current position for the exact route before booking. Quetta and the Makran coastal highway are commonly travelled with a guide and a registered vehicle.
How do I travel between the cities?
Flights between Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Quetta, motorways between Lahore, Multan and Bahawalpur, and a private car with driver for the coast and the desert, where public transport is slow and infrequent.
Can I combine Lahore and Karachi in one trip?
Yes. It is about two hours by air, so a fortnight can start in Lahore, work south through Multan and Bahawalpur, then fly to Karachi and drive the coast towards Gwadar.
Is southern Pakistan suitable for families?
The cities are, and the coast road is easy driving. The desert needs a 4×4 and a long day, and summer heat is the main thing to plan around, so winter is the season to bring children.
Where to go next
The coast and the deserts have their own guide on Southern Coast and Deserts, and the other half of the country is mapped on northern Pakistan. For the Mughal and Sufi side of the south, see our cultural and heritage tours.
Build a southern route with us
Tell us your dates, how many are travelling and whether you want the cities, the ruins, the coast or the desert. We send a day by day plan with a firm price, in rupees for domestic travellers and US dollars for guests from abroad.