15D 14N Cultural And Heritage Expedition Across Civilizations in Pakistan

Mohenjo Daro

Mohenjo-daro is the best-preserved city of the Indus Valley Civilisation, built around 2500 BCE on the west bank of the Indus near Larkana in Sindh. A Mohenjo-daro tour lets you walk the brick streets, the Great Bath and the citadel mound of a UNESCO World Heritage Site listed in 1980.

Why visit Mohenjo-daro

About 4,500 years ago this was one of the great cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Its builders laid out streets on a grid, built houses of baked brick, ran covered drains beside the lanes and dug more than 700 wells. Standing on the citadel mound and looking across the lower town gives a real sense of how organised it was.

In 1980 Mohenjo-daro became the first site in South Asia to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and it remains the most famous archaeological site in Pakistan.

What to see at Mohenjo-daro

  • The Great Bath: a brick-lined public pool with steps at each end, the site's best-known structure.
  • The Citadel: a raised mound about 12 metres high that holds the bath and the building known as the Great Granary.
  • The Buddhist stupa: built on top of the citadel much later, between about 150 and 500 CE.
  • The Lower Town: the residential streets, wells and drains where most people lived.
  • The site museum: seals, pottery, tools and jewellery from the excavations.

The two most famous finds are elsewhere: the Priest-King statue is in the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi, and the bronze Dancing Girl is in New Delhi.

How to reach Mohenjo-daro from Karachi

The site lies about 28 km from Larkana and roughly 420 km north of Karachi by road. That is a long day in the car, so most travellers stay a night in Larkana or break the journey on the way. Moenjodaro Airport, next to the site, has only a limited schedule of flights from Karachi.

Best time to visit Mohenjo-daro

Come between November and February, when days are mild and sunny. Upper Sindh is one of the hottest places on earth in early summer: Mohenjo-daro recorded 53.5°C on 26 May 2010. If you travel in the warmer months, explore at sunrise and rest through the afternoon.

Mohenjo-daro on our tours

Mohenjo-daro is a highlight of the 15D 14N Cultural And Heritage Expedition Across Civilizations in Pakistan, which traces the story of the region from the Indus cities to Gandhara and the Mughals. See our Sindh tours for more heritage trips in the province.

Plan your Mohenjo-daro trip

Choose the tour above, or tell us your dates and we will plan a private trip to Mohenjo-daro with transport, a guide and an overnight stay nearby.