Balochistan

Balochistan is the largest of Pakistan's provinces by area and the least crowded. Distances are long, and the landscape changes quickly: the cold high country around Quetta and Ziarat, dry ranges and plains in between, and a warm desert coast along the Arabian Sea. Few foreign travellers come, and those who do tend to remember the hospitality as much as the scenery.

Quetta sits at about 1,680 metres and is known for its orchards and its bazaars. Close to the city are Hanna Lake, Urak valley and Hazarganji-Chiltan National Park, home to the markhor. A drive of about three hours north-east takes you to Ziarat, in one of the largest juniper forests in the world, where trees are said to be thousands of years old. Mohammad Ali Jinnah spent his last weeks at the wooden Quaid-e-Azam Residency there.

The Makran Coastal Highway links Karachi with Gwadar and runs through Hingol National Park. Along it you pass Kund Malir beach, odd sandstone formations known as the Princess of Hope and the Sphinx, mud volcanoes, and the Hinglaj Mata temple, a major Hindu pilgrimage site in April. Gwadar, on a narrow headland, was part of Oman until 1958.

Conditions in parts of Balochistan have been difficult and change from month to month. We only run itineraries in areas that are open to visitors, we arrange the transport and local support, and we check the situation before each departure. If it changes, we change the plan.