Day Trip to Khewra Salt Mines
A day out from Islamabad to one of the world’s oldest salt mines, with a visit to the ancient Katas Raj temples on the way back.
Salt since Alexander
Geologists date the rock salt at Khewra to around 600 million years ago, in the Precambrian. Legend has it the salt was discovered around 326 BC, when Alexander the Great’s army rested here after the battle with Raja Porus and his horses were seen licking the rocks. Ever since, people have collected salt from the seams exposed on the hillside.
The chiefs of the Janjua tribe are said to have begun organised mining in the 13th century. The Mughals later took the mine over and worked it until the Punjab came under the Sikhs, under whose rule it became known as the Khewra Salt Mine. In 1872 the British mining engineer Dr H. Warth laid out the main tunnel at ground level, proposing that only half the salt be dug out and the rest left as pillars — the same “room and pillar” method is still used today. A railway line, opened in 1883, carried Khewra salt across India.
The mine has 19 levels — seven above ground and twelve below — and its tunnels run for more than 40 km in total, 730 metres deep into the mountain.
Day-by-day itinerary
- Morning
Islamabad to Khewra
An early drive down the motorway, turning off at Kallar Kahar towards Jalabi Chowk, with a stop at the Hindu temple of Malot if time permits. Continue via Choa Saidan Shah to Khewra, where we buy tickets and tour the mine.
- Midday
Katas Raj temples
Drive back to Choa Saidan Shah to visit Katas Raj, in the Salt Range south of Chakwal and mentioned in the Mahabharata. Legend says Shiva wept so much at the death of his wife Sati that his tears formed two holy ponds — one at Pushkar in Ajmer, and one here at Katas.
- Afternoon
Return to Islamabad
A short stop at Kallar Kahar, then on to Islamabad, arriving in the afternoon.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Inside the Khewra salt mine — Smsarmad, CC BY-SA 3.0
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