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Exploring Pakistan |
TREKKING IN
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Destinations of the Month |
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Cholistan Camel Safari
Overview
Experinece the ancient site of Harappa to touch back history. Indeed, many aspects of
modern civilization and culture came into being in Gandhara, Indus art,
philosophy .....
This trip is an excellent combination of adventure and culture enabling you
to visit not only some of the most important historical cities of Pakistan
but also the remote villages and nomad camps of Cholistan Desert on Camel
back. This Desert covers an area of over 16,000 square kilometers extending
into the Thar Desert in India.
Beginning your exciting trip at Lahore, the cultural capital of Pakistan,
explore some of the finest examples of Mughal architecture in Pakistan.
Visit the 17th century Badshahi Mosque, the Lahore fort built in the 16th
and 17th century, Emperor Jehangir and Noor Jahan’s tomb and the exquisite
Shalimar Gardens built by Shah Jahan of the Taj Mahal fame. Explore the old
Walled City that once used to have 12 gates and a 9-meter high defensive
wall and visit the lovely Wazir Khan Mosque with its superb frescoes and
inlay pottery decorations before proceeding to Bahawalpur. En-route visit
Harappa, the famous excavated city of the 5000 years old Indus Valley
Civilization and its interesting museum.
Arrive at Uch that contains some of the most beautiful tombs with blue
glazed tile - work reflecting a distinct influence of Central Asian
architecture. During the 13th century, it was the center of Islamic learning
and many famous scholars and saints lie buried in this small town. Visit the
spectacular tomb of Bibi Jawindi with its beautiful glazed tile decorations,
the tomb of Jalal-uddin Surkh and explore the colorful covered bazaars
before proceeding to Multan, the city of saints.
Multan, which has a very ancient history and every invader who entered the
Indian subcontinent from Alexander through to the Mauryans, Huns, Kushans,
Arabs, Ghaznavids, Mughals and even the British struggled for its control.
Walk through its color-full bazaars and visit the beautiful shrines of
Bahauddin Zikria (13th cent) and Shah Rukhn-e-alam (14th Cent).Explore the
color-full bazaars of Bahawalpur and visit its interesting Museum before
heading for the desert driving through Lal Suhanra Park, a lovely nature
reserve developed in 1972. Arrive at Channan Pir village situated in the
Cholistan Desert from where your exciting Camel Safari begins. This village
is named after a holy man known as Channan Pir and is famous for the annual
URS (death anniversary) during springtime when thousands flock for
pilgrimage to the holy man’s grave at this place. Meet your Camels and the
Camel men.
For the next three days you will experience the life of the nomads as you
travel on Camel back from camp to camp, visiting numerous villages and nomad
camps to familiarize your self with the interesting life style of the
Cholistani people. Nights will be spent in tents under open desert skies
ideal for star sighting and dinners will be accompanied by local music and
dances. The highlight of this safari is the imposing Derawar fort built in
the 9th century, where you camp for your last night in the desert after
saying farewell to your Camels. Visit the over 100 years old Derawar mosque
and the Royal grave yard with its beautifully decorated tombs.
From Derawar drive out to Bahawalpur and either fly to Lahore or drive back
to Multan through the agriculturally rich area before taking your homebound
flight to end this memorable trip.
Trip Features:
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Guided by highly experienced and qaulified professionals with the help of the best
supporting staff available in Pakistan, having undergone on the job
training over many seasons with us. They are highly experienced at
catering to the needs of our members, and do a tremendous amount to
contribute to the overall success and satisfaction of our groups
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Build your exact dream trip--Itinerary can be
customized. Leaves any day you desire--Lengthen or shorten trip, if you
like.
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4 to 5 star accommodations and services--Designed
for higher end budgets (hotels can be changed for lower budgets)
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Lowest Price guaranteed and the best value for
money--Save 40-50 % vs. comparable guided tours of this same quality
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Group Discounts Available.
Details
Itinerary
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7 DAYS ITINERARY (Day by
Day) |
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DAY 01:
ARRIVAL - LAHORE |
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Arrival
Lahore today.
A member of the Vertical Explorers staff will meet you at
the airport and escort you to the hotel. Today either
you can relax or you can enjoy an exploratory walk in the old part of
Lahore; wander past the traditional colourful markets, beautifully
carved old houses and trucks, cows pestering the vegetable vendors,
catch traditional craftsmen at work in silver and gold bazaars
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Meals
provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:
Sunfort Hotel, Regency Inn, Pearl Continental Hotel |
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DAY
02: LAHORE - HISTORY TOUR |
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Today morning
after breakfast at hotel we will move out on The Mall
Road, which was a modern thoroughfare lined with exquisite buildings of
great public and private utility during British time. We will stop over
at Gymkhana Club or Little Britian opposite Lawrence Gardens to take a
view of this symbol of prestige and a favorite haunt of men of diverse
talents and fortune. The halls of club were built in memory of two
Governors Sir John Lawrence and Sir Robert Montgomery. We will move to
The Lahore Museum built by the British in Moghul Gothic style and opened
in 1894.John Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard's father was the museum's first
curator. It is the best museum in Pakistan with a superb collection of Moghal period includes illustrated manuscripts, miniatures, rugs and
carvings. It also has excellent galleries of pre historic Pakistan and a
superb collection of Buddhist stone sculpture. The famous Zam - Zama gun
casted in 1760 stand in front of the Museum. From here we move to Royal
Palace of Lahore Fort which rank in size and beauty with the Moghul
forts at Delhi and Agra. Akber began building it the 1560s on the site
of an older fort. From here we walk to Badshahi Mosque built by Emperor
Aurangzeb in 1674 after the mosques of Delhi and Agra. It consists of a
huge square with a minaret at each corner. You can climb up the 204
steps to the top of one of the minarets for a bird's eye view of the old
city of Lahore. We will move for lunch to a local restaurant and enjoy
the best local taste known the world over as Tanduri. From here we move
to Jahangir's Tomb across the River Ravi 's bridge.The Tomb was built by
his son Shah Jahan , of Taj Mahal fame in 1627. A 180 room hotel Akbari
Serai was also built here by Shah Jahan in 1637 around spacious garden.
The Tomb of Asif Khan father of Mumtaz Mahal is also here , the lady for
whom the Taj Mahal was built in Agra. We will now move to impressive
Shalimar Garden built by Shah Jahan in 1642 for the royal household, it
follows the Moghul concept of the perfect walled garden with
geometrically arranged ponds, fountains and marble pavilions, surrounded
by flowers and fruit trees.
Lahore is considered the
cultural capital of Pakistan because of its numerous colleges, places of
learning, sports activities frequent stage plays etc.
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Meals
provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:
Sunfort Hotel, Regency Inn, Pearl Continental Hotel |
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DAY 03:
LAHORE - HARAPPA - MULTAN
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Today after breakfast
drive to Multan with an en-route stop to
visit Harrappa. Harrappa located about 200km (124 miles) from Lahore and
about 30 km (19 miles) from Sahiwal, is the site of an ancient and
important settlement of the prehistoric Indus Valley Civilization (3rd
to 2nd millennium B.C.) and stands witness to the 5000 years old
cultural continuity of civilization in Pakistan. Harrappa was the cradle
of one of the earliest civilizationa known to man and conjures up images
of fifty centuries ago, a period about which very little is knwon. An
interestng and well maintained musuem at the Harrappa site houses
artifacts found in the area.Afternoon city tour of Multan that commences
with visit to Old Fort, which is an eloquent example of the proud
history of this city. Among the attractions inside the fort are the
elaborately decorated shrines of Sheikh Bahad-ud-din Zakriya, Shah Shams
Tabriz and Shah Rukn-e-Alam. Damdama, the highest point in the fort,
provides a bird's-eye panoramic view of the city, which has survived the
destructions of invaders since Alexander the Great in the 4th century
B.C. Among the other places to visit are Eidgah Mosque and Hussain Agahi
Bazaar.
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Meals
provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:
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DAY 04: MULTAN -
UCH - BAHAWALPUR -
CHANAN PIR |
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After visiting mystic shrines of
sufi saints of Multan, we drive to Bahawalpur, about 93 kms from Multan. On arrival visit the small museum
with local collection of artifact,
Cholistan desert zone,the cultural life of this area; forts, monuments,
palaces, museum, zoo, stadium and a fine cricket ground in and arround
Bahawalpur are main attractions. Bahawalpur was formerly the capital of
Bahawalpur State, which has now included in Pakistan. Bahawalpur takes
its name from Nawab Bahawalpur Khan, who founded the state in 1748 AD by
raising a wall around a villa. 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. .
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Meals
provided: Breakfast
Accommodation: camp |
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DAY
05:
CHANAN
PIR - CAMEL
SAFARI |
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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.
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Meals
provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:
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DAY
06:
DERAWAR FORT |
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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 by a 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.
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Meals
provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:
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DAY
7:
DERAWAR
FORT
- LAHORE / MULTAN |
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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 or drive to Multan.
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Meals
provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:
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End of Tour |
2008 & 2009
Group Departure Dates from Islamabad:
September 15,
October 10, November 4
November 25,
December 15,
January 5,
January 25,
February 15,
March 7
March 27,
April 15,
April 25
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