The most charming highway in South Asia along the Arabian Sea

Hangul National Park is the largest park in Pakistan

The Makran Coastal Highway is the route taken by Alexander the Great's army and is considered to be the most beautiful and charming route in South Asia. 

Members of the Pakistan Anti-Terrorism Force were waiting for me on the border of Balochistan province, 30 km west of central Karachi. Armed with AK-47s, the soldiers approached the vehicle to check my passport and NOC (No Objection Certificate).

It is a government-issued permit that allows foreigners to travel to sensitive areas of the country. When they were convinced that all was well, I set out for Makran Beach with my guide and a convoy of members of the Anti-Terrorism Force, the starting point of my journey by road to the Iranian border.

My guide, Amir Akram, said that for decades not only foreigners but also Pakistanis from outside the province were not allowed to go to Makran, but throughout Balochistan.

Amir Akram said, "I did not dare to come here because of the separatist movement and separatists." But now Balochistan is controlled by the army. We are safe. " 

Much of the Makran Coastal Highway passes through the Arabian Sea

Amir Akram said that traveling with safety details is only SOP ie standard operational procedure. This is the only way to see the shores of Makran and I want to show you a glimpse of one of the most beautiful, culturally rich and vibrant and friendly regions of Pakistan.

We will do this while walking on National Highway 10, commonly known as the Makran Coastal Highway. It is a 584 km route south of Balochistan that ends at the Iranian border. It is known as the most dramatic route in South Asia.

Much of the Makran Coastal Highway runs along the shores of the Arabian Sea, and in its bright blue waters fishing boats set out in search of sardines, crabs and lobsters. 

Fishing has been the basis of Makran's economy for centuries. The name 'Makran' itself is derived from the Persian word for 'fish eater'. The profession is just as important today, but locals also work in other industries, such as shipwrecking and even smuggling.

About two hundred kilometers from Karachi, we reached Hangul National Park, the first major destination along this highway and Pakistan's largest and uneven Hangul National Park, where despite strong sea breezes, extreme heat, hurricane-force rains, its unreal Lunar landscapes paint a very beautiful picture of Makran. 

The holy river Hangul where pilgrims bathe before going to the temple of Hanglaj Mata

Just inside the park's perimeter, a rough path leads us to a rare and bizarre geological foothills - a pair of volcanoes that spew mud every year instead of lava.

A caravan of pilgrims ascends to the top of these volcanoes, which are considered the holiest in the Hindu faith, in search of spirituality. Akram told me, “Tens of thousands of people from all over Balochistan and Sindh come for the Mata Hanglaj Yatra, they light candles and throw coconuts in the volcano, loudly declare their sins, Pakiza apologizes before taking a bath. According to him, they are in a good condition to visit the shrine of Hanglaj Mata nearby. People believe that it is a journey that takes the soul to a higher place while doing good deeds in life.

Maharaj Gopal is guarding the shrine of Hanglaj Mata

We started walking on a path in the depths of a cool, dark valley. There, under a rock, we met an old man named Maharaj Gopal, who was guarding the Hanglaj Mata shrine, placed on a decorative glass box.

He invited us to sit down before telling us the story of the synagogue.

Gopal said, "Millions of years ago, in the first yogi (age of mankind), Goddess Sati had died and Lord Vishnu had cut her body into 51 pieces. Gray but part of his head fell here in Makran. All these places are known as 'Shitki Peth', holy places where Hindus travel to pay homage to the Goddess and it is believed that they will continue to do so till the Hereafter. 

"We are now in the fourth and final yoga (period) and that day will come soon," Gopal said with frustration. When this yoga is over, what you are seeing here, Makran and in fact the whole world will be completely destroyed. 

After predicting a catastrophic doomsday, he smiled, gave us coconuts, and wished us all the best for the journey ahead. We set off, touching the rocks of the Makran coast.

Rare glimpses of life can be seen in most of the travels in Pakistan's largest but least populous province. Occasionally a farmer is seen riding his donkey towards a remote market. The village boys were seen playing the popular game of cricket on temporary pitches made of dust and sand.

Range of mountains on Makran Coastal High Way

There was a lot of climbing on the highway which was a test for our four wheeler but I was encouraged to see the careful and skilled truck drivers on the way. 

Akram said, "It may be a rough ride on a tarmac road today, but in the time of Alexander the Great, his army had traveled on foot and on horseback on this hard and difficult road." 

It is said that in 325 BC, Alexander the Great traveled from India to Babylon across Makran with 30,000 troops. Which is currently in Iraq. It was a terrible and tragic journey and there were many deaths due to the heat.

It is estimated that only half of those who embarked on the journey entered the area alive in modern-day Iran. It is widely believed that this is the path that Alexander the Great took, although it is difficult to say for sure.

Our last stop was in the town of Giwani, about 50 kilometers east of the Iranian border. On its main street was a statue of a turbaned chief, one of the oldest tribal chiefs of Balochistan whose power was traditionally transferred from one eldest son to another in the form of a 'turban', which was crowned. Was synonymous.

Here we set out in search of a variety of royal monuments, a bungalow built exclusively for Queen Victoria and now part of a high security complex occupied by the 2nd Battalion of the Pakistan Coast Guard.

Sunset viewers gather at Sunset Point on Giovanni Beach

Although the bungalow is usually closed to the public, after much discussion a captain allowed us to pass through security barriers and see the bungalow below the shores of the Arabian Sea.

He told us that because Queen Victoria had heard of Makran's beautiful sunset, this bungalow was built for him in 1876 to see. Historians say she never came to this part of the world, but elderly locals insist she did.

We climbed the next stairs to the palace residence. There were only three small rooms inside. One bedroom, dining room and sitting room. There were some old things left in the bungalow. But the bungalow was connected to the employees' quarters by telephone. The building was recently converted for the Coast Guard's anti-trafficking operations.

"We were talking to the captain over tea when he said it was a big business. Most of the petrol is smuggled here but it also includes drugs and weapons. Here we can monitor any cross border traffic as well as any illegal activities in the Gulf of Oman.

We weren't allowed to stop to watch the sunset, but the captain suggested a spot on nearby Giovanni Beach. By the time we got there, a group of visitors from the city of Sibi, more than 1,000 kilometers to the northeast, had already gathered to see the view. 

One of them said, "It is not useless to travel so far for this view. Because the sunset of Makran is not like the sunset of any other place. As the sun begins to descend on the sky, many colors begin to spread in the sky, from yellow to orange, then red like pomegranate and finally purple. When it disappears in the dark of night, we ask for prayers and hope that by the grace of God it will rise again the next morning. "