Cholistan, a well-known desert 30 km from Bahawalpur, covers an area of about 26,000 sq km and extends into the Thar desert, which spreads across into India.
The name comes from the word “chalna”, meaning moving — a reference to its shifting sands — but locally the area is known as “Rohi”. We run camel safaris and camps here through the winter months.
The desert was once watered by the Hakra river, and a chain of forts was built along its old course to guard the caravan routes. Today Cholistan is home to semi-nomadic herders who move with their camels, cattle, sheep and goats between rain-fed ponds, called tobas, living in round thatched huts.
Is Cholistan right for you?
- Suggested time
- 2 – 5 days by jeep or camel
- Activity level
- Moderate — camel riding and desert camping
- Best for
- Desert forts and camel safaris in the cool winter months
- When to go
- November to February, when the days are warm and the nights cold. In summer the desert is extremely hot.
Combines well withBahawalpurMultanLahore
Compare Cholistan with another destination →Places to see
Derawar Fort
The most impressive of the desert forts, its 40 massive bastions visible for miles across the sand. The present walls were built by the Abbasi Nawabs of Bahawalpur on the site of a much older fort.
Derawar Mosque
Beside the fort, a white marble mosque built by the Nawabs, said to be modelled on the Moti Masjid in Delhi’s Red Fort.
Nomad settlements
Herding families live around the tobas in round mud-and-thatch huts. A camel safari lets you visit their camps and see desert life up close.
Camel safaris
The best way to see the desert — riding between the dunes, forts and villages by day, and camping under the stars at night.
Cholistan Jeep Rally
Each winter the desert around Derawar hosts the Cholistan Jeep Rally, one of the biggest motorsport events in Pakistan, with a festival of music, camel dances and crafts.
Good to know
- Getting there
- Bahawalpur is the gateway to the desert; from there, four-wheel-drive jeeps and camels go out to Derawar and the desert camps.
- When to go
- November to February, when the days are warm and the nights cold. In summer the desert is extremely hot.
- Crafts
- Cholistani women are known for their embroidery, rugs and patchwork rallis, and the men for camel-wool weaving and leather work.
Header photo: Derawar Fort — Fassifarooq, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons