Balochistan
A Balochistan tour opens up Pakistan's largest province, from the Makran coast and Hingol National Park to the juniper forests of Ziarat and the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh. It is desert, mountain and sea on a vast scale, and most coastal trips start from Karachi along the Makran Coastal Highway.
Why visit Balochistan
Balochistan covers about 44 percent of Pakistan's land area but holds only a small share of its people, so much of the province feels open and wild. Its coast runs for hundreds of kilometres along the Arabian Sea, with sandstone cliffs, wind-carved rock formations and empty beaches. Inland lie high plateaus, fruit-growing valleys and some of the earliest farming settlements in South Asia.
Places to visit in Balochistan
- Hingol National Park: one of Pakistan's largest national parks, home to the Princess of Hope rock formation, the Balochistan Sphinx and the Hinglaj Mata temple.
- Kund Malir: a wide, quiet beach on the Makran Coastal Highway where the desert hills meet the sea.
- Gwadar: the port town at the far end of the 653 km coastal highway from Karachi.
- Ziarat: a hill station at about 2,400 metres surrounded by ancient juniper forest, and site of the Quaid-e-Azam Residency, where Muhammad Ali Jinnah spent the last months of his life in 1948.
- Mehrgarh: a Neolithic site on the Kachhi plain with some of the earliest known evidence of farming and herding in South Asia, on UNESCO's tentative list since 2004.
- Quetta and Hanna Lake: the provincial capital and a reservoir built in 1894, about 10 km from the city.
Best time to visit Balochistan
October to March is the season for the coast and Hingol, with mild days and clear skies. From May to August the coast and lowlands regularly pass 40°C. The highlands around Quetta and Ziarat stay cooler in summer but turn cold in winter.
Balochistan NOC for foreign visitors
Foreign visitors typically need a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for many areas of Balochistan. We arrange the Balochistan NOC as part of your trip and plan the route around it, so you can focus on the journey rather than the paperwork.
Balochistan tours from Karachi
The coast is most easily reached from Karachi along the Makran Coastal Highway, completed in 2004. Our 8 Days Balochistan Hingol National Park Tour combines Karachi with the coast and the sights of Hingol.
Plan your Balochistan trip
Every Balochistan itinerary depends on current permissions and your interests. Tell us your dates and which parts of the province you would like to see, and we will come back with a practical plan.