This Friday a few offroad enthusiasts headed off to Hingol National Park deep within Baluchistan some 280km from Karachi, reaching Aghore Camp we then dropped off the metaled Coastal Highway and headed into total offroading wilderness going up north some 40-odd km to a location called Poldat.
Poldat is a natural mountainous gorge which is the passageway of the Hingol river from the north to the south, many of Hingol’s tributaries aggregate ahead of this region and pass through this natural gorge to finally dump into the Arabian Sea. In all likelihood this mountainous passageway cannot be traversed by any vehicle and hence the offroaders took this up as a challenge to try and reach this remote destination. We were able to drive up to about a kilometer short of Poldat and trekked the rest of the way up.
I share here some pictures from our expedition while a 20-minute podcast was posted on Laidback Show website. I also choose to share detailed GPS tracks in the form of a KMZ file for easy open reference if someone in the future might be tempted to head this way
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OffroadPakistan Feb 2010 Poldat Expedition on Google Map >
Karachi-to-Poldat=575km [KMZ File also available for download here]
View the Expedition Poldat Feb 2010 in a larger format with all the detailed tracks from Karachi to Poldat plotted out on Google Maps
Comments
35 responses to “Offroad Expedition to Poldat – Pictures & GPS Tracks”
How you people managed this trip without any security backup in this region.
We are not even allowed to go GT ROAD toward Swat or in suburbs of Peshawar in evening times.
At this time when kidnapping for ransom and target killings are on its peak in Baluchistan so how you make this trip possible.
They make this trip by putting their lives in the hands of Allah and He is sufficient to protect all. Life is itself a risk only Death is the most truthful reality. Despite so-much destruction in NWFP [Courtesy USA and Strategic Depths] people are still living [or try to living] in those area, one cannot stop living because of certain death.
Mughal
come on
it is not matter of adventure any more but insecure conditions of surroundings has faded the beautiful colors of such adventures in life .
You know I have told my family if I ever come victim of any bomb blast , dont go for my life saving or detail medial treatment as I dont want to live as handicapped and torture for others in burnt shape.
Nor I am interested of being kidnapped and creating tension for my kins for fulfilling the demands of insurgents.
I have made such adventures of discovering mountains of Pakistan in my student life wihtout any single glimpses of such horror and terror which is now engulfing us.
Even my mother and aunts have worked in such mountains as single working women in different field without facing any kind of threats which are now even forcing men folk to leave the areas.
So a genuine Muslim can not fear of death but safety from criminal minded people is now need of time or if you are lady wihtout head covering then safety standard is doubled in insurgents active areas.
awesome!!
great photography
Nazia!
are you sure that your name is nazia? because it sounds female name…i mean how can a lady know such details of the matters which is related with man's experiences.
If you are uncomfortable with female name then I can come with new form as Niaz din like that.
would it affect my participation in discussions?
or it would be ok for your observing skills.
Who told you that such kind of matters are only related to man's experience?
All you need is to have friends who are sons and nephews of DAKOOZ, you don't need security then.
Jahangir – you don't need dakooz to tour this area – just talk to the Hingol National Park Ranger and he will be more then happy to provide you a guide – we have been going so many times that there is a tremendous level of trust and friendship with the local villagers – they recognize us and quite a few we know well – we have donated medicine to even hold an annual medical relief camp – this trip we provided books and water cooler to two schools –
its small amount of charity but its seriously a drop in the ocean compared to what is actually needed
I agree with you Doc, and tell you what, I think we are forced to think that Balochistan is a dangerous area, we'll be murdered by locals if we go there. I went there last year, when everyone was saying that balochistan is a dangerous place.
Our car was not starting there so we took the lifts from people of Balochistan, and they were as much human as we are. In fact they had more humanity than us :).
Teeth
for what purpose that area is declared as national park?
You are not mentioning what kind of wild and plant life are available there for which such set up is made.
Residential facility is available or tents are set for night purposes?
if it is not very populous area than you can arrange boring water facility along with solar cell for supply of cold and pure water to these people whom you visit regularly.
Suck kind of small units are installed in even Sahara desert and you know who maintain this job?These are European tourists who go there for safaris or for adventurism.
I have tried to fix such units near IDPs camps but all are either damaged or stolen so nothing work here in war zones.
So if the areas are secured then you can bring bigger and permanent change for living community with such little units
i think nazia is much better than niaz din. 🙂
"NOTHING CAN AFFECT YOUR PARTICIPATION"
you are right.One should not talk under the influence of perception..in reality women could be a "mard mar" :))
time has been changed. Pakistani society has been changed and pakistani men and women also have been changed.
Now "that woman" can only be seen in old urdu literature.
dr
I have lot of ambiguity about your doctor ship program.
Why we would behave like mard mar.
We are proud what God has given us.
Even in medical science it is proved that in some physical matters woman has an an edge on her male counter parts.
the survival of female fetus is more than a male offspring.
Child bearing capacity is specially nominated to females for her harder sense of bearing.
So females are considered as" Dheet" entity in medical science.
here behaviour is dependent on which conditions she is brought up.
If you want to place her in level which we found in our Urdu literature then surely you are right.
You know these days boys of modern world are now behaving like old heroins of Urdu novels so you can also judge their stamina and physical strength for any kind of normal physical or support activity.
So where ever or in what conditions you place human life, it would behave like that.
Even in medical science it is proved that in some physical matters woman has an an edge on her male counter parts.
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Ms. Nazia is correct.
Dr.Pfau went to the far off areas of Pakistan where there were no medical facilities for leprosy patients. She collected donations in Germany and Pakistan and cooperated with hospitals in Rawalpindi and Karachi. Ruth Pfau (born 1929) is a German nun, a member of the Society of Daughters of the Heart of Mary who devoted her life for the leprosy patients in Pakistan.
Ruth Pfau to be honoured today Staff Report Friday, April 11, 2003 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=sto…
I think the excellent tribute given to women is by umar shareef. when he says:
"yar! auraten barhi himmat wali hen jo aurat hi peda hoti hen aur aurat hi mar jati hen"
Again he said:
"Aurat mard kay muqablay men kaheen behtar hay is liyay kay woh kabhi marti hi naheen…hamesha yehi suntay hen kay aaj falan sahib ka intiqal hogay, kal falan sahib ka intiqal hogay. Kabhi kisi aurat kay marnay ki khabar suni hay?"
I have lot of ambiguity about your doctor ship program.
_______________________________________________________
Because you are NOSE-IYA…you can't smell a doctorship in my posts.laugh out loud…tumhen phoolan devi ki qasam.
You again proved that my hypothesis about you and your profession is accurate .
it is not matter of laugh but weep bitterly.
so sad for your poor sense of humor.
Dr khan is enjoying the low class joke of umer sharif
who says
“yar! auraten barhi himmat wali hen jo aurat hi peda hoti hen aur aurat hi mar jati he
By the way as per your medical science what she should be transformed before her death.
or you can say
“yar! murad barhi kum himmatay hotay hen jo shaihid murad hi peda hotay hen aur bandaar(Ape of planet earth) kee theran mar jati hain.
You are again impressed by his pathetic joke
that only men die and women survive more than men.
Actually he is afraid of mentioning the real reasons of early death which are usually absent in women.
like adultery , love for alcohol and other criminal activities,polygamy etc which he has done too thrice in his small life etc.
So pious man has more life span than characterless men so their death rate is higher.
Who runs Pakistan?
http://mostaqueali.blogspot.com/2008/12/who-runs-…
More mistreatment and humiliation of Pakistan
http://mostaqueali.blogspot.com/2008/06/more-mist…
Dr khan
The day you would encounter your favorite personality phoolan devi in real life, I am sure you would forget your all adventurism in next life and would surely join some tableeghi jammat for rest of life.
Mughal
You have given excellent example of woman working in hard areas but our present circumstances are not favoring such social workers to proceed further. They are endangered by unknown forces who are concentrating fanatic forces in these areas.
You know in latest mingora blast a British nurse was killed who converted to Muslim and married to some khan family whom she fallen in live in UK many years back.
Both were living there happily before wave of extremism appeared here in Musharraf regime
His husband was killed in last year bomb blast claiming from Taliban and week ago another icon of this love story and liberal culture has been removed from the scene.
Dear Ms. Nazia,
There are many such examples of Local "Very Hard Working Women" in Pakistan working in Fields, Brick Making [Bhatta], and many other tough jobs like fetching drinking water [and anyone from city cannot drink that water which is consumed by Human and Cattle in those areas] in Choolistan [Punjab] and Tharparkar [Sindh] and they daily travel more than 16 KM for storing some Drinking Water in scorching heat. It takes a lot of will to work hard in the deserts of Sindh and Lower Punjab and these are women who belong to Bheel, Meghwar and Kohli Communities.
These women also tending goats/cattle and that is again not an easy job.
Abdullah
Locals all over the Pakistan are never considered the dangerous people and this is common trait in all cultures that locals are very helpful to visitors.
So problems are armed groups who are roaming here and there for any kind of rich targets.Some work on feed back from agencies and some are frustrated and discarded group who take this activity for their normal survivals.
My many cousins are working in quetta police force, a doctors family living here for more than 40 years and some are posting there in FC force.First time we heard fear of target killing in their sentiments.To whom ?no one knows.
But it is strongly felt that US want here permanent bases for its drone attacks and monitoring Iran activities.
Gwadar port is also new interest for vultures of Pakistan so all negative forces are concentrating here to eliminate educated and settled groups in its urban areas.
LOLzzzz again.hahahahah
don't be so sure nazia!
you are also making the same mistake…perception mistake
may be because you do not know much about doctors. you shall be shocked if tell you what doctors do in student life and during house job…. :))
A good sense of humor is not to criticise on comedy but to respond in a better hillarious way.
dr
Why I get shock after knowing your playing pranks in your student and even house job time.
I even never shock if seeing senior doctors enjoying their professional life with all kinds of free provisions available to them.
It should be shocking to your family and then your spouses who think that they are passing their lives with all time messiahs of inflicted humanity.
A good sense of humor never comes in circle of criticism but its intensity and depth can be felt with same level of minds.
Karachi people take lot of time to understand the joke level of lahoris and same lahoris escape the height of sense of humor of karachi people or might take few days in search of humor in their jokes.
May Allah(swt) protect us all from Schizophrenia.
So after nausea symptoms you are now diagnosed with She-zo-phobia like disorders.
lot of sympathies.
Tableeghi jammat is the best option as there no Shes can come and create problem for you.
try it you would find lot of ex kite runners there!
May Allah(swt) protect us from your diagnosis.
BTW there are lots of "shes" in tablighi jamat.
dr khan
Tomorrow Raiwand tableeghi congregation is going to start .
So you can try for search of worldly hoor there,if you say they go there
I really never seen any kind of shes in such places and only visible characters are long beard men gripping lotas in hand which confirm us that they are part of some tableeghi group.
@Na___a!
its congergation with islamic gender segregation.
you said you attended many meelads in your childhood.did you see the men around?
now tell me when show off, mic loving semi muslim ladies can't do that then how can puritans like tableeghi jamat or jamat e islami allow gender mixing?…
or may be you attended the tablighi chilla with the men and no body noticed that the woman is around….(Qehqaha)
Dr khan
I was mentioning same thing that no Shez are found in our tableeghi congreagtion but you insisted that lot of HOORS are all time there.
Milad is quite different than tableeghi jammat gathering.
Milad is some kind of show of status to each other, sometime for match making like deals or sometime showing each other that how much pious Muslim ladies are existing in our surrounding.
I attended some chiilas arranged for clearing black magic in one's house, never attended typical men tableeghi jammat but have seen products in form of abnormal humans and which are not worth to discuss in good words.
Good stuff guys!!
For the two fighting Irish.. chill guys.
I just happened to see the blog due to my interest in travel but am confused with the discussion going on under a travel story. Chill pill pl.
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