"Thatta - EI Dorado of the east" Thatta by imassadpk

Thatta, once called the EI Dorado of the east, is a small city in the east of Karachi, some 98 km (60 miles) away from Karachi on two-lane National Highway (N-5) that connects Karachi, Thatta and Hyderabad and goes up to Peshawar.

Thatta was once a busy river port before river Indus moved off it’s way to east in 13th century A.D. Thatta is now famous for some of the most picturesque and interesting specimens of Muslim architecture. Although the vestiges of past glories are of comparatively recent origin, dating mainly to the 16th and 17th centuries, the history of Thatta goes back some two thousand years.

If you are on your way to Karachi or Hyderabad, Thatta is a perfect excursion place to see the ancient history and cultural heritage of Pakistan. In fact, Thatta city is not to be visited alone, instead, the actual purpose of your travel must be to see the adjacent areas of Thatta and Karachi on N-5. There are six unique worth-visiting places; one ancient fort of Debul (Bhambore) where the religion Islam entered to Indian Subcontinent in 712 A.D.; primordial graveyard of Makli and Chaukandi; magnificent Shah-Jehan Masjid built in 1647 A.D. and two beautiful man-made lakes of Halijee amd Khenjhar.

Map of Thatta

Referring to the map, if you are planning to travel all the above-mentioned sites up to Kanjhar Lake, the round trip will be approximately 300 kms and may take 12 hours, allowing you enough time to see these areas comfortably.

The N-5 is two lane highway and condition is fair, if not good. A passenger car or bus can easily travel on a speed between 60 ~ 90 km/hr. Remember, in Pakistan cars are right-hand driven and you will have to keep the left lane for driving.

• Pros:Ancient history and cultural heritage of Pakistan
• Cons:Hot, Humid & Arid
• In a nutshell:A great historical place with six off the beaten tracks