7 DAYS  ITINERARY (Day by Day)

DAY 01:     ARRIVAL - MULTAN

Arrival Multan today. A member of the Vertical Explorers staff will meet you at the airport and escort you to the hotel you can also arrive at Islamabad, Karachi or Lahore international airports and at the airport you will be greeted by our staff who will help you make the connecting flight to Multan.. Today either you can relax or you can enjoy an exploratory walk, wander past the traditional colourful markets. 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.

Meals provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:  Sunfort Hotel, Regency Inn, Pearl Continental Hotel

DAY 02:   MULTAN  - TAUNSA

Today morning after breakfast at hotel drive from Multan to Taunsa on the bank of the Indus River. 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 camp on the bank of the river..

Meals provided: Breakfast
Accommodation: Sunfort Hotel, Regency Inn, Pearl Continental Hotel

DAY 03:    TAUNSA - GHAZI GHAT

Today after breakfast we start our boat journey, 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 travel by the jeep.
 

Meals provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:

DAY 04:     GHAZI GHAT - UCH - BAHAWALPUR -  CHANAN PIR

With our experience of the boating, 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.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. .

Meals provided: Breakfast
Accommodation: camp

       DAY 05:     CHANAN PIR - 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.

Meals provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:

       DAY 06:     DERAWAR FORT

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. 

Meals provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:

        DAY 7:     DERAWAR FORT - LAHORE / MULTAN

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.

Meals provided: Breakfast
Accommodation:

End of Tour