Type of Attraction: Beach, Summer trip, Short trip, Water sports, Sightseeing, Landmarks
Activities: Fishing, Camping, Bonfire, Stargazing, Sky Lantern, Trekking, Bonfire, Boating, Water sports
Check-ins: Gwaddar, Ormara, Baba Chandrakup, Princess of Hope, Hammerhead, Hingol National Park, Gwadar Stadium, Jazeira Haft Talar (Astola Island)
Location: It is located on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, Pakistan.
Importance: The term Gwadar is a combination of two Balochi words – Guad meaning wind and Dar meaning gateway. Hence the name Gwadar, meaning the Gate of Wind.
The port holds immense strategic and economic significance for Pakistan. Gwadar is the third most significant deep seaport of Pakistan after Karachi and Qasim ports. Situated at the cross-junction of international sea shipping and oil trade routes is this area. Gwadar can also act as a cosmopolitan trade hub for Pakistan. Gwadar Port is weighty mainly due to its privileged location and the vast funding by China to provide exceptional facilities for docking. With that being said, the present-day economic and strategic interdependence between China and Pakistan has also increased. The port of Gwadar provides China with an alternative and shorter route for energy imports from the Middle East, thereby reducing shipping costs and transit times. The seaport here is 47 feet deep and is used to handle large cargo ships to Pakistan. It can most likely boost Pakistan’s economy by 60% from what it is now due to its trade potential.
Apart from being an important trade center, Gwadar is also an excellent hub for fishing and the fishing business. Not only does it have a vast export/import potential, but it is also quite picturesque. It is a peninsula and can serve as a great camping spot.
It has a mountain called Koh-e-Batil that can be trekked on foot. This mountain has a 700-step stairway instead of a steep climb like most existing mountains in Balochistan, enabling the visitors to take in the pulchritudinous scenery and nature. The port has the potential of producing over 40,000 job opportunities for skilled and unskilled laborers across Pakistan! It is no surprise that the property prices in Gwadar are on a high rise and have increased by 500% in the past couple of years.
The best time to travel to Gwadar for tourism is from late September to Late November.
Climate: In Gwadar, the summers are short, blistering, harsh, and bone-dry; the winters are short, agreeable, and dry; and it is generally clear all year. Throughout the year, the temperature commonly changes from 60°F to 93°F and is once in a while beneath 53°F or above 97°F.
Distance: The distance is about 8 hr 12 min (655 km) via Makran Coastal Hwy/N-10 from Karachi to Gwadar.
Places to Visit in Gwadar:
- Sphinx: Gwadar possesses a naturally occurring Sphinx. The coastline of Makran has delightful rocky cliffs and hills, one of them shaped perfectly like a sphinx with sharp cuts for features and steep headdresses as Nemes too. People come from different places to witness this wonder.
- The Princess of Hope: It is another naturally made rock formation, the rock is an amazing demonstration of how rocks can be so amazingly sculpted by nature. It resembles the Egyptian Sphinx, however, and has its very own spectacular view. Princess of Hope is a characteristic shake development that manifests a princess which stands high almost touching beyond skylines (maybe for hope).
- Baba Chandrakup: It is one of those volcanoes, which spit mud instead of lava! It is also known as the Chandragup mud volcano, and it’s the most famous remarkable location of Gwadar also is considered an important site for Hindu pilgrimage as according to their beliefs people go there to confess their sins.
- Hammerhead: The famous Gwadar peninsula is shaped like a hammerhead and is a remarkable sight to visit. It projects the land into the Arabian Sea in a uniquely formed shape, one of the more attractive elements of the Makran Coast are two hammerhead-formed peninsulas close to the urban areas of Gwadar and Ormara. Hammerhead is all set to become submitted to the public after the development projects in Pakistan.
- The Hingol National Park: It is considered the largest National park in Pakistan, covering an area of about 1,650 sq. kilometers, and is hands down one of the best places to visit in Gwadar. The Princess of Hope and the Great Sphinx of Balochistan also lie in the margins of Hingol National Park. This park is a treat for the eyes, especially for the adventurous ones out there with several ibexes and other animals to see, the park is adding to a lead for tourism in Pakistan.
- Gwadar Cricket Stadium: Gwadar Cricket Stadium, is dubbed the “world’s most beautiful and breathtaking cricket stadium” by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (HRD). It’s built among the huge and beautiful mountains of Balochistan, It is also called a picturesque sports venue by International players. The Pakistani government is planning to expand it as per international cricket stadium standards.
- Astola Island: Astola Island is also known as a hidden island gem of Pakistan, also known as Jazeera Haft Talar and it’s located in the Arabian Sea near to the port of Pasni, Balochistan. It has a panoramic and aerial view and a coral reef in the sea.
- Ormara Beach: Ormara is a town in the Gwadar district of Balochistan. Ormara Beach is one of the many countless beaches in Gwadar. It presents a gasping view of mountains and waters. The waves clashing with the rocky cliffs and sliding over the sand beneath the unpredictable sky, are something that would leave you awed. You can enjoy a movie night with a bonfire at the beach side with a lot of Sports activities as there are a lot of Events happening every weekend at Ormara Beach.