Daily Times

It’s not every day that you find places in the wilderness that help you make peace with your existence. It is this very yearning for internal calm which makes people, like myself, pack our bags and hit the road.

I believe that with each journey I have undertaken, there is a part of my soul which awaits me at a place I have never visited before. For me, traveling is a way of reconnecting with nature and, most importantly, myself.

My most recent destination, Gorakh Hill was one of the most sublime travel experiences I have had so far.

At an altitude of 5,690 ft in the Kirthar Mountain Range, which is 94 kilometers away from Dadu city, the Gorakh Hill Station is situated on the highest plateau of Sindh. These plateaus are only capable of sustaining nomadic lifestyles, as wildlife here is not very common.

Gorakh Hill dissects Balochistan and Sindh provinces. The name of the place Gorakh is derived from the Brahui language in which, word ‘Gurgh’ means wolf. Regarding this, it is said that Gorakh Hill and its surroundings were an abode for wolves, so it was called Gurkh and after word its pronunciation was changed as Gorakh.

It makes for a fantastic road expedition as we travel to Gorakh Hill Station, one of the most beautiful and coldest places to be found in Sindh. It hosts lofty peaks, breathtakingly beautiful sights, soothing and cold weather, ample wildlife and a freshwater river called Gaaj Nai.

At an altitude of 5,690 ft in the Kirthar Mountain Range, which is 94 kilometers away from Dadu city, the Gorakh Hill Station is situated on the highest plateau of Sindh. These plateaus are only capable of sustaining nomadic lifestyles, as wildlife here is not very common

It is very attractive to nature-lovers owing to its temperate weather and beautiful surroundings. Gorakh’s elevation gives it a special climate, with sub-zero temperatures during winter and generally below 20 °C in summers, with about 120 mm of average annual rainfall and snowfall in winters.

Gorakh Hill is spread over 2,500 acres (10 km2) but is still neglected by the government of Sindh, development is being done very slowly, even though it needs full attention to make it the Murree of Sindh.

Currently, the Gorakh Hills summit can only be reached with 4×4 vehicles. The last small town before the Gorakh Hill is Wahi Pandi, settled on the foot of the Kirthar range. The road takes turns and ascends slowly at the53 km milestone when one enters the Yaroo Pass (In Sindhi: Yaroo Sain Jo Luck).

After crossing this pass 2,500 ft (760 m) above sea level, the journey continues in the mountains and at the milestone 76 km one reaches the base camp of another highest pass of the Kirthar range. It is known as Khanewal Pass (KP) on the elevation of 3,000 ft (910 m) and at the top of the KP, the elevation is 5,000 ft (1,500 m) above sea level. The distance between the KP base camp and the KP top is four kilometers. After reaching the top of KP, the drive continues to the Gorakh Hilltop, which is 13 km ahead. At the top of the hill, there is a small rest-house, the only facility made available so far.

Shaddan Shah, as the discoverer of the exact location and height of the highest mountain peak in Sindh, over 7056 feet (2,151 m) high, named it Koh-i-Benazir as a tribute honoring Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

Some local folklore says that a Hindu saint of medieval periods, Sri Gorakhnath ji extensively wandered in these hills and region, he had great yogic powers and people followed him, while other lores define him as a Buddhist Yogi, having a following of all religions, Muslims, and non-Muslim. This is the reason why many places are named after him. There are many other stories about the name Gorakh hill and its derivation from Sindhi.

The Hill station receives winter snowfall and is among one of the only places in Sindh to have snowfall in winters. The mountains are completely covered with blankets of snow this year also. That is why the government has decided to upgrade this place into a Hill station so that people from the whole province can see snowfall without going to far-flung areas of other provinces.

Tourism is one of the best sources of revenue for a country and God has blessed Pakistan with such exotic and rare natural beauty, but unfortunately, our government has failed to develop such beautiful places. The Government should take interest and take an initiative to develop Gorakh hill station completely to attract foreign and local tourists by providing fundamental needs and facilities such as wide and straight roads, public transport, 5 Star hotels, motels, chair lifts, zoos, and parks, etc. There is an utmost need for a market like Murree’s Mall Road, a residential area, an educational institute, and a mountain safari. A website containing comprehensive information about the hill is also essential. In this way, we can develop our tourism industry and can generate an income of millions of rupees annually.

The Gorakh Hill Development Authority was made in 2013, by passing a bill in Sindh assembly and the MNA of the area is the Chairman but still, Gorakh is the same and people of the province are waiting for development to take place. This gem of Sindh needs the full attention of the PPP government.

The writer is a retired doctor of the Sindh Health Department

Published in Daily Times, February 24^th 2019.