Gorakh Hill: Where It Snows in Sindh

Posted on April 30, 2008
Filed Under >Owais Mughal, Travel
116 Comments
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Owais Mughal

Do you know there is a place in Sindh where it snows in winter? Yes, there is one such place and it is called Gorakh Hill . It is located in Dadu District and has an altitude of 5500 ft. It is the highest place in the Kirthar range of hills (reachable by road) which also forms the provincial boundary between Sindh (Dadu) and Balochistan (Khuzdar) as a jagged backbone. The highest peak in Sindh is also located in the Kirthar range and is called ‘dog’s grave’ and has an altitude of 2174 m (7133 ft). Following is a breath taking view of Gorakh Hill. Photo credits belong to [2] below.

How to Reach There:

From Dadu city the top of Gorakh Hill is at a distance of 93 km. To reach Gorakh, one starts going west from Dadu. At kilometer marker 17 from Dadu, is a place called Johi which is a ‘tehseel’ of Dadu district.

At kilometer marker 39 from Dadu is a village called Wahi Pandi which forms the base camp of Gorakh Hill. Wahi Pandi is a decent size village with a population of approximately 20,000.

The photo to the left below shows landscape near Wahi Pandi. The photo to the right below shows a glimpse of single track road to Gorakh Hill

After Wahi Pandi the road gains altitude fast. At kilometer marker 53, the road enters a pass called the Yaro Pass. In Sindhi it is called the ‘Yaro saain jo lak’. Yaro pass is located at an altitude of approximately 2500 ft. At kilometer marker 76, the road enters yet another pass. This one is called the Khanwal Pass and it is 4 km long.

The photo to the left below shows road through Yaro Pass. The photo to the right below shows the starting point of Khanwal Pass

The lower end of Khanwal Pass is at approximately 3000 ft above sea level while the higher end of the pass is at approximately 5000 ft altitude. From the top of Khanwal Pass to the top of Gorakh Hill is a distance of another 13 km. (kilometer marker 93 from Dadu).

The photos below show different views of Khanwal Pass.

Coming from Karachi, there is a shorter route to Johi. A road from Sehwan Sharif on Indus Highway (N55) branches off to Johi at a distance of 40 km. This way you can bypass the city of Dadu and the route is 20 km shorter.

Accommodation at the Top:

There is a small rest house available at the top of Gorakh Hill but be prepared to do camping outside. According to Reference [1] below:

Out of the two rooms, only one can be used by guests, as the other one is being used as a store room. While the rest house is wired up, there was no electricity, probably due to heavy rains I presume. However, there is a back-up generator in working condition, but no water, so remember take a good amount of with you

The photos below are courtesy of my friend Shabbir Ali Bijarani and show his camping trip to Gorakh Hill

Gorakh Hill top gives a vast unhindered views of the Sindh and Balochistan landscape. According to [1]:

The sunrise is definitely worth viewing here. As the early rays of the sun hit the top one can see the gradual illumination of the beautiful valley of Wahi Pandi towards the east, while the Sindh-Baluchistan border lies visible towards the west.

Satellite Images of Gorakh Hill:

The first image shows the road-end at the top of the Gorakh Hill as well as location of a small rest house.

The image below shows the location of Gorakh Hill by red arrow. The white line to the left is the Sindh-Balochistan border. Also note the winding road leading to Gorakh Hill

History of Development:

Sometimes back in 1998, it was decided to make Gorakh Hill a resort for tourists at par with other hill stations of Pakistan located in North-Western Pakistan. The hill resort project included development of a waterfall, cable chair lift from the Gorakh hill to the Chokor hill, 10-beded hospital, water filter plant, security check post and a race course.

According to [4],

Despite passage of eight years and expenditure of more than Rs 200 million, the fate of the Gorakh Hill station project still hangs in the balance because of indifference of the government. The PC-1 of the project was revised and an amount of Rs 198.269 million was released on Feb 24, 2004. The funds were meant for constructing a road from Wahi Pandi to Gorakh hill at a cost of Rs 86.353 million, development of water supply scheme at the cost of Rs 34.636 million and purchasing vehicles and other equipment at a cost of Rs 8 million

Communications at the Top:

There are neither any land lines for telephone nor a mobile service available at Gorakh Hill. However, Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL)’s wireless service called the V-PTCL Wireless works at Gorakh Hill. Reference [1] below.

Weather:

In summers the day time temperature at Gorakh Hill reaches 25C but at night a drop of 20C to 5C is not unusual. Gorakh Hill gets occasional snowfall during winters too.

ATP’s Related Post on Another Tourist Spot in Kirthars:

Toshangi Gorge: The Grand Canyon of Sindh

References and Photo Credits:

[1] Gorakh Hill Station by Umair Ahmed Shaikh of 4×4 Offroaders Club, Karachi
[2] Gorakh Hill Photo by umashah79 here.
[3] Gorakh Hill Photo by ahashmi here.
[4] Gorakh Hill Project in doldrums
[5] Rakaposhi Hiking Club, Nawabshah
[6] www.googleearth.com
[7] Shabbir Ali Bijarani’s photos here

116 responses to “Gorakh Hill: Where It Snows in Sindh”

  1. i loved before sindh after pakistan and will praying to happines all sindhies and all muslims to grow our financial difficulties of our country and also our lovely sindhu desh sindh tuon sada khush raheen aabad raheen aien shaad raheen dua aahe eiha assan sab sindhin ji thokay , JEAY SINDHU DESH .
    REGARD’S
    MAJID HUSSAIN GOPANG BALOCH

  2. Meengla says:

    People at PakWheels.com have made at least two trips to Gorakh Hill Station.

    http://www.pakwheels.com/forums/road-trips-vacatio ns/156180-gorakh-hill-star-gazing-libra

    is the link to their latest ‘Star Gazing’ trip, taken in January 2011. Apparently, it got too cold to be outside for much of the night to star gaze–they spent the night inside their SUVs with heaters on–but there are still some wonderful photos of the night-sky.

    Bravo to these folks and many others like them who take the still-risky trip and document their experience. One day Sindh too will have its first Hill Station because of people like them.

  3. DANISH ANWER says:

    GORAKH HILL STATION TRIP BECOME EASY FOR FAMILY AND ADVENTURER

    (Village Shadabad Organization Travel n Tourism)

    VSO. Organize trip of Gorakh hill station n promote tourism of Gorakh hill station, office is in JOHI with basic facility.

    VSO provide facility

    1) Transport (4×4 jeep) from Wahi pandi to Gorakh hill station.

    Capacity of Potohar 4×4 jeep is 6 persons including driver @ 3500/Rs per jeep.

    2) Food (Freshly prepared food at Gorakh hill station) n Rest house.

    One night stay at Gorakh hill station includes Dinner, Breakfast n Refreshment @500/Rs per person.

    You have to arrange

    Camera, (capture the unforgettable moments.)

    Torch, (if stay at night at hill top.)

    Daily usage medicines, (medicines also available at JOHI.)

    Warm cloth, (hill top is cold n windy even in summer.)

    Regards

    Zulifqar Birhmani

    Director of VSO, Johi

    Contact: 025-4740168, 0333-7073915

    villageshadabad@yahoo.com

    zulfi_birhmani@yahoo.com

  4. S.DANISH ANWER says:

    BE THE FIRST AT KOH BENAZIR

    HI this is danish from khi. I recntly visited Gorakh Hill, its awsome adventure trip. n place is cold, windy n cloudy.
    TRUE PLACE FOR ADVENTURE LOVER

    Now i found Koh Benazir 7056ft most highest peak of Sindh, which was discover by syed shahid bukhari by google earth telemetry 27 12 35.10 N, 67 09 33.88 E.

    just paste the given telemetry in google earth u will find koh e benazri
    or
    clikc on given link
    http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=show flat&Number=1224131

    I AM PLANING TO GO THERE N BE THE FRIST.

    I TRACE A PATH TO REACH THERE N WITH HELP OF GPS V CAN GO THERE EASILY.

    WHT DO U SAY. REPLY SOON.

    CONTACT ME SOON AT WHOISDANI@HOTMAIL.COM OR 0345-2565618

  5. There, apparently, is a young man I met on the Internet, who would like to Visit Kerthar Mountain Range … specifically, Gorakh Hill Station … and a Peak, I discovered via Google Earth Telemetry, and named it “Koh Benazir” … It is a 7000 feet + high peak, therefore, the highest Mountain Elevation of Sindh, situated about 40 km north of Gorakh Hill Station.

    I had read about a Four Wheelers club in ATP, and would like to get in touch with them, for planning a Visit to Kerthar in March.

    Would the Member/s kindly write to me so taht we can meet … My e-mail address is

    Regards
    Shahid Bukhari
    17th Feb. 2011

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