Detail of Itinerary

Itinerary
Day 1 Lahore to Multan (6 hours)
Pick up from desired location at 9:00am, Departure for Multan via Indus Highway at 9:30am, guided tour of the historically rich city .Multan, the most important city of Southern Punjab, has been famous for the pilgrimage to the sun god’s temple even before Alexander laid siege to it in 326BC. However, the monuments that remain today date from the Islamic period between the 11th and 15th centuries, when Multan was a center of Sufi teachings. We visit the fort mound on which is found the landmark of Multan, the shrine of Rukne-e-Alam a renowned Sufi. The shrine of his grandson is within walking distance and here at the entrance can be found musicians singing Sufi poetry. The square & octagonal construction of the shrine was trend-setting architecture in its day. Afternoon visit the old walled city with its lively bazaar, where artisans still work on the traditional handicrafts. Meals and overnight stay at PTDC hotel.
Day 2 Multan- Taunsa Boat Safari ( I.5 HR ) Drive from Multan to Taunsa on the bank of the Indus River. Here we meet the boat people and in the afternoon start our boat safari. We shall have a medium size, locally made wooden boat for ourselves and will tow a small boat to be used for excursions to the shore.Both boats are operated by the local fishermen who are experts in navigating them without engines, by drifting downstream on the calm waters. Overnight stay in camps on the bank of the river.
Day 3 Taunsa – Ghazi Ghat Boat Safari In the soft morning light we pack up our tents and have breakfast at the boat. Floating on the rhythmic waves of the Indus we pass through the heart of Punjab - the land of five rivers. In winter the banks of the river can be underwater in summer and present a varied landscape, form sand dunes to thick jungle and then flat lands of straw and other vegetation. By evening we arrive at Ghazi Ghat on the bank of Indus river. We meet our camping staff here who travels by the jeep, Overnight in camps.

Day 4 Ghazi Ghat –Panjned-Sitpur-Uch ( 4-5 HRS ) With our experience of the waterways of Punjab, we now begin the exploration of the once great and low lost cities of a great & by-gone civilization. Drive by soft top 4x4 jeep to Sitpur, to visit the exciting 13th century monuments in blue glazed tiles - erected to pay homage to the great Sufi Saints of that period who are still loved by the locals. We also visit the village mosque and the small sleepy village that may spring to life to welcome the surprise guests. Later drive to Uch, the great 14th century center of Sufi Islamic teaching and learning. We visit the monuments of the landmark monuments, half fallen to the floods of the roaring rivers and the rest still bravely facing the winds of time. Overnight stay in camps.
Day 5 Uch- Channan Pir (1 HRS)The best part of Uch is revealed in a sunrise visit of the Sufi shrines and the madrassas (traditional schools) in the soft morning light, when the tiles glow with bright colors to reveal their glory. Later we drive to the pottery village of Ahmed Pur to experience the art of clay pottery. Drive on to the shrine of the patron saint of the Cholistan desert. Here we meet our companions for the next two days - the ship of the desert & their captains - Camels and their proud and elegant owners. Overnight stay in camps.
Day 6 Channan Pir – Hillao Rani Camel Safari After breakfast at the camp we have a training session of camel riding with our camel drivers teaching us how to mount and dismount this elegant and friendly animal of the desert. Each person shall have a camel; controlled by the camel driver walking in the front holding the reigns. You may decide to trek through the desert, to have better frame for your camel pictures. By late afternoon we arrive at the camp, a small shrine in the middle of nowhere. Overnight stay in camps.

Day 7 Hillao Rani - Derawar Fort Camel Safari Camel Caravan through Cholistan, the ninth largest desert of the world, with a varied landscape. As this is no ordinary desert, it is called the land of the lost river that once used to flow through it few thousand years ago and supporting some 406 settlements. Today we have chance to meet the nomads at the occasional water holes. Arrive at Derawar, the largest fort of the desert that is part of the chain of forts built to protect the central Asian trade route to India proper. Overnight stay in camps.

Day 8 Derawar Fort – Bahawalpur-Lahore
In the morning we take a walking tour of the Derawar; its landmark fort with forty buttresses, the elegant and charming 19th century Abbasi Mosque and the exquisitely decorated tombs of the members of the royal family. Later we drive through the desert on soft top 4x4 jeeps to Bahawalpur, the capital city of the former princely state. Afternoon flight to Lahore, the cultural heart of Pakistan, the capital of Punjab and the premier Moghul city.
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Special Ocassions on the Trip!

Hi folks!

During the trip, we are gonna have some special occasions...and uptil now there are only...

1. New Years Party 31 st december, 2008 on the Indus Bay.
2. Adnan's Birthday 31 st december, 2008 on the Indus Bay.
3. Palvashae's Birthday 2 nd january, 2009 in Uch.

Lets all have a BLAST!

"Puris with Palvashae"

Feed- back!

This is kind of like a Pakistani copy of "Koffee with Karan," But we wont be fooling around here. Since "Majority is Athourity," we will need small opinions from the team members as well. Now please know that Ghazala Nomani's vote or opinion is equal to 20 votes, no question about that!

Q1: To add a day in the desert or not to do so? That is the question! I want every accompaning member of the team to tell me that is cutting a day in sight-seeing and adding that one day in the desert a wise and sensible idea?

Ans:- We are clueless! Looking for suggestions.

Q2: To keep our protein and calcium level high, Adnan Afaq, thought of taking a herd of goats with us, I myself am not fond of this idea, for he says to milk them in the morning and sacrifice one each night. Please keep in mind that any sort of sacrificing will be done by Ayesha Imtiaz, which includes skinning and ridding the meat of its organs. What do you think?

Ans:- Please say no!

A Preview of our trip to Cholistan.....enjoy!

Trip Synopsis.

The expedition is of total 8 days in which we will start from Lahore and will end at Lahore. Departure day is set for December 30th. We made Multan the rendezvous point, where we all must be present on the mentioned date; Tuesday, 30th December, 2008. Coaster- Arrangements from Lahore to Multan have been made, and if you want to make it on your own, then please inform Palvashae. Stay in Multan has also been arranged at PTDC Multan. However, if you wish to make your own arrangements then (again) please inform Palvashae. Half the day will be spent in traveling, whereas, the other half will be spent in sightseeing.

Day 2 will be spent sailing through the rivers of Punjab, we will sail for about 6 hours. Then their will be an over-night camp on the bay. New Year’s Night and Adnan’s Birthday will be celebrated on the Indus Bay... please bring your party hats!

Day 3, we will continue sailing and exploring the bank, we will be swimming with the dolphins, so please bring your swimsuits. Eventually, reach Uch. After a tiresome day we finally stay in camps.

Day 4 will be an exceptionally jolly and merry day for Palvashae, as she will be turning “fifteen”. In Uch we commence sightseeing, and overnight stay in camps.

Day 5 will begin with an early breakfast then we take a jeep and drive down to Chanan Pir; which will take about an hour or so. There we do sightseeing, by the way, please keep in mind the shopping will take place, and if you want to shop, please stick to Naina. Here we meet our camels and their riders. Overnight stay in camps.

Day 6 is finally when we start the real adventure of this journey. After breakfast we have a training session with the camels; we are briefed on the do’s and don’ts. We will ride or walk for maximum 6 hours. During our ride we may need ride and walk with the camel, because riding the camel or 6 hours straight is excruciating, for all inexperienced and experienced riders. So I suggest that you riding the camel and waling with it should be balanced. Please know that you should be in tip top shape in order to complete this journey….so I say start walking! By late afternoon, we camp near the shrine in the middles of nowhere underneath the blissful night sky.

Day 7 we leave Hillao Rani and stride further into the desert nearer to the Derawar Fort. It is said to be the largest fort in the desert. Here we call it a day and camp overnight.

Day 8 is our last day in the desert, in the morning we tour the fort and its magnificent beauty. After that we bid the desert goodbye and drive to Bahawalpur in jeeps, which is 49 km from Cholistan. A little sightseeing and then take a flight back or drive back to Lahore. (Start on the 30th Dec---end on the 6th Jan)

Map of Cholistan

Blast from the Past - Skiing Trip to Malam Jabba

found these pictures from our Malam Jabba trip in my D drive :-)

On arrival in Malam Jabba we stayed at the Army Warfare Center. It is the house you see on top of the hill on the left side of the picture below - we had to park our car on the side of the road and walk through the snow to get up there. It was really cold and we froze through the night. The electric heaters in the rooms were totally useless and each one of us probably wore the entire contents of their suitcase and around 6 blankets each to keep warm --- nothing helped.

In the morning when we woke up and opened the curtains -- this is the view that confronted us

So after our first and only night at the Army warfare center we decided to move to the PTDC motel where they had heating.

As exciting as the skiing trip was, this is the night none of us will forget and everytime we tell this story it is the tale of this night that we tell.