Bahawalpur

Bahawalpur (Bhawalpur, Bhawulpore) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Tomb of Mai Jindaan Understand Get in By plane Bahawalpur is one of the safest cities in Punjab. It has its own airport which connect all major cities in Pakistan. PIA operate in Bahawalpur to Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad. A new airport is also built near the old airport and it is expected that international flights will operate at the new airport. By train Bahawalpur is connected with all major cities of Pakistan by train. By car From Lahore you can travel on KLP road. By bus Bus services are available throughout Pakistan. Bahawalpur has a very beautiful Daewoo Bus Terminal. You can catch a daewoo bus, from any big city like Karachi, Rawalpindi or Lahore and come to Bahawalpur directly. By boat Get around Renting a car with driver (for about 30$ per day) is the best way to move around though you can use local transport as well. But to see things around Bahawalpur you will need a car. See Nur Mahal - Nur Mahal is a very beautiful palace (mahal) build by Nawab Sadiq, the former ruler of Bahawalpur. The Replica of Fort Darawar - This is a beautiful replica of Fort Darawar, a private property of a local resident of Bahawalpur. It has a very beautiful surrounding with a small lake with fish. A must see. Mai Jindaan Da Mazaar - Tomb of Mai Jindan is one of the most famous landmarks of Pakistan. Lal Suhanra. The trip to Lal Suhanra National Park is intersting for naturalists. The park was developed in 1972, is the home of many animals and birds, including the rare chinkara gazelle and plentiful wild boar. There is a project here for re-introducing black buck into their former desert habitate; you can see about 30 of them in the fenced enclosure just inside the forest plantation. In winter there are abundant duck on the lake. Lal Suhanra is 36 km (22 miles) north-east of Bahawalpur; leave the town by the khairpur road and fork right after about 30 km (20 miles) on a dirt track to join the desert feeder canal. You hire a guide to enterance to the park . There is a rest house which you can book through the Park Office, 3-A Trust colony, Bahawalpur or you can camp.  edit Do Visit the villages where they work on tie and dye work. Learn Work talk The main language is Seraiki/Punjabi and its best that you use the Seraiki phrasebook to help you get around. Buy You can buy local tie and dye clothes (Chunri) from the local markets. Silver jewelry is also very pretty. Handmade close sandals (with embroidery) called khussas are also available at affordable prices (about $5 for a pair).To shop for clothes you can visit Outfitters, crossroads, riverstone, boom fashion. Eat Sohn Halwa: Sohn Halwa is the most special sweet dish of Bahawalpur. You can buy most delicious and fantastic Sohn Halwa mixed with dry fruits and nuts from certain old halwa maker shops. Desert Grill, (Near Fountain Choak). This restaurant has really good local food, and Bar B.Q. Two really good and their specialities are Dum Kabab, and Chiken/Mutton Dhaba.  edit 4 Seasons, (near Railway station). Sister of Multan's Zanzibar restaurant. Plush modern decor and an ambitious menu covering steaks, pizza, pasta, Chinese and other cuisines, this is the most Western place in town. Food is acceptable and the service good - although not much English is spoken. mains around Rs 400.  edit Lataska. *<eat name="KFC" alt=""First international restaurant in city.Its best place for fast food.  edit Pizza hut. *<eat name="Subway" alt=""  edit Almaida fried chicken. *<eat name="Zanzibar food club" alt=""  edit Green chilli. *<eat name="Bruno coffee cafe" alt=""  edit Desert grill. *<eat name="Norays" alt=""  edit Sleep Hotel oneThe 2 star hotel near airport is probably the best hotel in bahawalpur. New Bahawalpur Hotel, Inside Ahmad Puri Gate, Shahzadi Chowk. Single room 350rs 062-2876191 PTDC hotel. Probably the best place to stay in the city - but only because the alternatives are so poor. Now showing its age the PTDC is in a quiet cul-de-sac near the museum and library. Rs 3,300 single, Rs 4,200 double.  edit Luxury Hotel, Fawara Chowk. Basic hotel on a noisy junction - rooms have a/c and en suite. OK for a nights sleep but not somewhere to linger Rs 1,800.  edit Pak Continential. Aging hotel near the centre of town. Rooms OK but a/c doesn't work when the hotel is running on its generator. Ask for a room away from the street. Rs 2,000- 2,500.  edit Contact Stay safe Follow a conservative dress code and try to dress as locals. It is better to have someone from the city as a guide. Cope Get out Derawar Fort Cholistan Desert of Bahawalpur - You can make an intersting excursions from Bahawalpur, a half day trip (no four-wheel drive vehicle required) to Derawar Fort (Qila Derawar), through the semi-desert of Cholistan. Best to take a guide for Derawar fort - although with a GPS and a pre-planned route you could self drive. You also need permission from the present Amir of Bahawalpur to get inside the fort. The drive takes two hours on a sealed road through fasinating barren landscape. The Cholistan Desert covers 26,000 sq km (10,000 sq miles) and extends into the Thar desert to India. The whole area was once well watered by the river Ghaggar, now called the Hakara in Pakistan, and known in vedic times as the Sarasvati. All along the 500 km (300 miles) of the dried-up river are over 400 archaeological sites. Most of these date from the Indus civilisation, 45,00 years ago, and are clustered round Derawar Fort, the only perennial water hole in the desert. There is very little to make out today. The desert has an average rainfall of 12 cm (5 inches) a year, and there is very little civilisation. The underground water is brackish. The few people of the desert dig artificial wells in the troughs between the sand hills and use camels to draw the water up. Fort Darawar- Derawar Fort (Qila Derawar) is in good condition, its walls are intact and still guarded by soldiers in fezes. Its age is unknown. The tombs of the Amirs of Bahawalpur are also at Derawar, decorated with attractive blue glazed tiles contrasting with the ochre landscape. Some of the cannons which were used times ago by the Army of Bahawalpur are also kept in this fort. This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!