Karachi

It is known to be the largest and metropolitan city of the world. The main seaport of Pakistan is situated in Karachi. It is the capital of Sindh province. The population of Karachi is estimated to be 23.5 million in 2013. The area of Karachi is 3527 km2. The world’s third largest city by population is Karachi. There are a lot of industries in this city including banking, textiles, shipping, automotive, entertainment, arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, medical research etc. There are a large number of places for tourism in Karachi. Due to terrorism, the tourism has in decreased in the past few years. A lot of places in Karachi are worth watching. People from all over the world come to visit these places. These places include the Following:

Mazar-e-Quaid

Also known as the Jinnah museum or the National museum, Mazar-e-quaid is the final resting place of the great Muhammad Ali Jinnah, his sister Fatima Jinnah and the first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali khan.

Mazar-e-quaid is located in the Jamshed quarters neighborhood of Karachi. Completed in the 1960s, Mazar-e-Quaid is an illustrious part of Karachi and has the honor of representing it throughout the world. Home to about 10,000 visitors per day, the beautiful white tomb can be seen from miles, especially at night because of the high powered spot lights which shine light on it at night.

The interesting part about the mausoleum is that it was designed by a Mumbai based architect called Yahya Merchant. It is located in a 53 hectare park. The building itself is built on a 4m high platform and the size of the building is 75 x 75m on ground. Each wall has a separate entrance which means that there are four entrance in total as can be seen in the pictures below. Moreover, there are fifteen fountains which lead to the platform from one side while terraced avenues lead to the gate from all the sides

The inner part of the mausoleum contains a beautiful green chandelier which was gifted to Pakistan by the people of China.

On special occasions, official and military ceremonies take place such as on

  • 23rd of March (Pakistan Day)
  • the 14th of August (Independence Day)
  • the 11th of September (the anniversary of Jinnah’s death)
  • 25th of December (Jinnah’s birthday)

Apart from that, dignitaries and officials from foreign countries also visit the mausoleum during official tours and the changing of guard ceremony takes place every day at the mausoleum specifically during 5 p.m to 7 p.m.

The mausoleum also consists of a museum below the mausoleum building which contains objects used by Quaid-e-Azam. These include his cigars, monocles, pens, caps, clothes, coins, walking sticks, coats as well as a specially designed room which contains his furniture. The museum also contains an amazing collection of cars which were used by the Quaid-e-Azam.                             

PAF Museum

PAF Museum, a great reminder of the heroics of this nation’s freedom fighters, is located adjacent to the PAF Base Faisal on the main Shahrah-e-Faisal. It was inaugurated by the then Chief of Air staff, Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak on the 14 August 1947. However, it was opened for the general public in October 1997.

The museum consists of a huge display of air defense equipment used in various wars as well as the defense equipment used for other purposes. The museum is home to different aircrafts including

  • F-86 Sabre,
  • F-104 Starfighter, Mirage,
  • FT-6, F-6, T-33,
  • U-Mig15, MFI-17 (Mushshak),
  • Aero Commander,
  • Antonov An-12,
  • Beech D-95A (Travel Air),
  • T-6G (Harvard),
  • Huskie (Helicopter).

Other rare relics such as the Viking- Quaid-e-Azam’s aircraft, an Indian Gnat aircraft which was force landed at Pasroor in 1965 war etc are displayed in a huge archives gallery. The gallery is also installed with high tech PCs which provide information about the different aspects of PAF.

The gallery is then divided into four sub galleries.

  • One gallery depicts the history of aerial warfare through model aircraft and paintings
  • The second gallery shows different fighter aircraft models of the world
  • The other two galleries are dedicated to the “Shohada” and heroes of 1965 & 1971 wars
  • One of these shows the achievements of different squadrons
  • While the other one shows the achievements / history of PAF Bases through rare photographs and the reprints of paintings.

Clifton Beach

Located in the Arabian sea, Clifton Beach or Sea view is a beach in Karachi. More specifically, it is located in the neighborhood of Clifton, Saddar Town.  Up until 2003 it was the one of the world’s most popular silver-sand beach and health resort during 20th century. However in 2003 due to a major oil spill, the beauty of the once famous beach has been majorly compromise. This was when an oil tanker spilled thousands of gallons of oil into the sea. Major efforts were undertaken to deal with the issue but still full recovery has not been made. The water is still highly polluted which not only harms the wild life but is a major threat to health of the tourists and nearby residents.

The beach consists of numerous activities which the families and tourists can enjoy such as beachside horse and camel rides, amusement parks, restaurants, and swimming in the Arabian Sea. The Defence Housing Authority is fighting erosion by bedding more sand, which may change the shape and features of the beach. The beach needs serious attention and consideration of the city government, as the area has become increasingly dirty and unpleasant.

A gated residential area called Seaview Apartments lies close to a section of Clifton beach known as Seaview beach or also as “Seaview”. Another attraction in this area is the recently constructed Cineplex cinema for the people who reside in DHA and Clifton.

Other beaches close to the city include Sandspit, Hawke’s Bay, and Paradise Point, Sonehra point, French beach, cape Mount, Manora Beach, but Clifton Beach is the most popular of them all.

Paradise Point

A major attraction of Karachi, Paradise Point, on the Arabian Sea, is a beach in Karachi. It is accessible through Mauripur Road in Karachi. The main reason for the popularity of this beach is the sandstone rock promontory with a natural arch. Due to the pressure of the waves on the sandstone rock, the arch is becoming wider and wider year by year

The beach consists of numerous activities which the families and tourists can enjoy such as beachside horse and camel rides, amusement parks, restaurants, and swimming in the Arabian Sea.

As can be seen from the pictures below, the rock was like the one on the picture on the left a couple of years ago but presently it is like on the picture on the right.

Wazir Mansion

Wazir mansion is the birthplace of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. It is located in New Naham Road, Kharadar, Karachi. Once it was considered that Jhirk is the birthplace of Quaid-e-Azam but later it was discovered that Wazir Mansion is the actual place of birth. In a book written in 1960s by Fatima Jinnah, the sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it is clearly mentioned the salient features of her brother’s life. In this book it is clearly mentioned about their ancestral village, Paneli and the birthplace of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In 1874, Mr. Jinnah’s father, who was a merchant at that time, got the house for rent and settled here for a few years. This is a two storey building which was constructed in 1865 using a mortar blend of lime and Jute. This house is a museum now-a-days and carries possessions of Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah. It serves as a national archive. The Government of Pakistan has declared this building as a protected national monument. The government renovated it in 2008 and the Government of Sindh owns it since then.

The museum is a perfect attraction for the tourists from all over the world. This building is converted into a museum. The museum consists of three floors. Its ground floor has a library, which carries the books which were once possessed by Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In addition, there is a reading hall in the library, where people can sit and read those books. There are two galleries on the first and second floor of the building. There are three rooms on the first floor. One room is the place of Mr. Jinnah’s birth. The other two rooms contain the furniture items. These furniture items belonged to Mr. Jinnah and include a cabinet chair, a sofa, a bed, an office chair and other articles. The other gallery has nine showcases which display relics of Mr. Jinnah including his dresses, a pair of spectacles, walking stick, a monocle, a radio, a silver lock, a smoking pipe, books related to law, a manuscript of Holy Quran, and many other items once owned by him. All these possessions show his sophisticated and elegant personality. His possessions give the feeling that he was a man well composed and very poised in his life. It is quite evident from his dressing that he had an excellent taste and he was a well sophisticated man. People must go and visit this place to get an inspiration from one of the world’s greatest leaders.

Mohatta Palace

Mohatta palace is situated in Karachi, Pakistan. It used to be owned by ShivratanChandraratanMohatta, a Hindu businessman from Rajasthan region of subcontinent. He used to spend his summers in this palace. It was built in 1927 and he could own this building for only about two decades. The architectural style of the palace is based upon the Indo-Saracen architecture. Agha Ahmed Hussain was the architect of the palace. Pink Jodhpur stone in combination with a yellow stone from Gizri was used to construct the house. This palace was built in tradition of the palaces built from stones in Rajasthan at that time. This palace was located near the sea which is why Mohatta used to come here to spend his summers.

The area of the palace is 18,500 square feet. It has windows, balustrades with floral motifs, stone brackets, domes and wonderful railings on the front side of the building. The stain glass windows in the rear area are arched while those in the front area are of blue color. The ground floor consists of the rooms designed for entertainment while the rooms on the first floor are designed to provide private facilities. The terrace provides a shade from intense sunlight. Teak wood is used in this palace which adds to the beauty of the palace. There are long corridors and doors opening within doors.  There are three floors in this building. There is a small pool in the basement on the north of the building. There are ventilators in the basement which might be used for the sunlight. There is a door, which opens into a tunnel that leads to a Hindu temple. It was built to provide a safe passage to the wife of Mohatta. There is a large square hall which opens into corridor through seven different openings. There are octagonal towers on each corner of the tower. The two towers on the front have stairs leading to the roof. There are five windows in each octagonal tower. On the first floor there are private rooms as well. Four bedrooms with attached rest rooms and dressing rooms are there on this floor. The terrace on the first floor gives a sight of Arabian Sea. The rooftop gives the view of the beautiful building as well as landscaping done below.

After the independence of Pakistan, this building was used by Ministry of foreign affairs. In 1964, Fatima Jinnah started living in this house. It was converted into a museum by Government of Pakistan in 1995. There are art exhibitions held in this museum for a period of 2 to 2.5 years.

Frere Hall

Frere Hall is one of the buildings which is constructed on the British colonial design. It is located in Karachi, Pakistan. The name Frere is kept after the name of Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere. He promoted the economic development of Sindh and supported in making Sindhi the only official language. There are two lawns on the surrounding of the building which were called “Queen’s lawn” and “King’s lawn”. These are now named as Bagh-e-Jinnah. The Frere Hall is constructed on the Venetian Catholic design using yellow limestone, red and yellow Jungshahi sandstones. General public can visit Frere Hall. In its courtyard, there are exhibitions and stalls of books where people can buy these books. People are able to buy out of print old books from here. An auditorium and an orchestral gallery are located on the first floor of the building. Liaquat Municipal Library owns the ground floor of the Frere Hall. In the past it has been used for live theatrical performances, public meetings and socio-cultural undertakings. The hall is also used for the art exhibitions. The lush green lawns and Victorian style fountains are surrounding the Frere Hall.

Hawke’s Bay

Hawke’s bay is the beach located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is at a distance of 20 Km southwest of Karachi. It is nearby Hawke’s bay road. In 1930s, Lord Hawke built a beach house here and used to visit it on weekends. It is a tourist resort. People come here on weekends to enjoy and to picnic. It is a sandy beach and a large number of people from Karachi come here for swimming, fishing and camel riding. There are huts on the beach that are available on rent. The view of the Arabian Sea is breath taking from this beach. It is one of the few beaches of the world where green sea turtles lay eggs.

Port Grand

One of the latest additions to Karachi’s frivolous nightlife is port grand. This part is built along the harbor front of 19th century Native Jetty Bridge that links Karachi port trust to Keamari. It is unique area where one can enjoy shopping, cultural, dining and happenings under one-roof. Port grand is termed as largest food street of Asia so there is variety of dining options.

The one-kilometer historical bridge has been converted into a distinct area where customers can enjoy variety of cuisines and shop from their favorite brands. There are several destinations for visitors to explore; one of the main attractions as you enter is a world-class shopping mall that has a variety of international and local brands. Several other fascinations that awaits for tourists are:

Napier’s Tavern: is a place for ultimate dinning experience while simultaneously enjoying magnificent sight of the harbor

Walker’s Pier’s:is a place to enjoy delicious cuisine on the cruise

Art Lane: isa place to encourage art at reasonable price

Asian Village: is a themed area in order to promote Asian cuisine and cultures

Mermaid Place:is a maritime themed place with specialty in sea food

Numaish:offers a street like environment of Karachi with variety of restaurants

Temple point: is over a century old temple where the tourists can experience Hindu culture and tradition and an amazing spot for photography

Port Grand has now become the epicenter for tourist’s attraction. Various events, concerts, competitions and festivals are held at this place. To ensure Port Grand remains a safe and secure place the entrance is limited to families only. In order to keep the nightlife of Karachi alive its timings are from 6:00 p.m to 11:00 p.m.

Timings 6-11. The entrance fee is Rs. 300, and it is free for children under 12.

Arena

Another exciting addition to Karachi’s amusements is Arena thatprovides exciting new facilities for in-door games. It is a state of the art facility designed for recreational purpose. It is located at Karsaz next to Navy museum. Various indoor facilities offered are:

  • Ice Skating: offersthefirst ice skating indoor area in Pakistan
  • Paint Ball: anotheremergingtrend in Pakistan
  • Virtual Bowling, 
  • Arcade Games
  •  Network Gaming Zone,
  • Virtual Simulator
  •  Rock Climbing
  • OneShot Mini Golf
  • Indoor Cricket, Desserts/Mocktail Bar
  • Restaurant&Cafe
  • Gymnasium

There are several packages for example Arena Privilege plus for members where they can avail discounts and special benefits. However non-members are also allowed to utilize the facilities.

Other than sports facilities arena also has party and banquet halls. One of its famous halls is the Jade Hall, which is the biggest covered pillar less hall in Pakistan.

Manora

Manora forms a defensive barrier between Karachi and the Arabian Sea. The island has a important location and had been popular among civilizations through time.It is approximately a twenty minutes boat ride from Karachi waterfront. The return trip to the island costs around Rs. 2000.Manora is a diverse culture hub unknown to the world. At a glance one can spot a catholic church, a temple, a sikhgurudwara, and mosquewhere worshippers are busy performing their daily religious rituals. One of the strategic importance of this place is that it was the area where Alexander the great camped to organize a convoy to Babylonia.

Manora is already well liked spot among the public as it has long sandy beaches that merge with other beaches at Hawkesbay and Sandspit.

Another tourist attraction at the island is that the tallest lighthouse in Pakistanthat has a height of (91 feet) is located there at its southeastern end. In order to attract tourist government of Pakistan is taken several steps to build hotels and restaurants to facilitate the visitors.

Sunway Lagoon Water Park

Sunway Lagoon is the first international standard water park in Pakistan.the water park is situated adjacent to Gharo Town and approximately fifty minutes away from Karachi airport.

The park is designed keeping international standards in mind with special attention to safety procedures for the rides. Special attention is given to the quality of water used in the park. The water is continuously filtered and treated through special filtration plants imported from Spain that keep the water glistening blue.

The entrance ticket for adults is Rs 700 where for children between the age brackets of 3-12 years the ticket price is Rs. 600. SunlagoonWater Park stands paralleled to any international standard water park so it is a popular destination for tourists.

Various facilities offered at the Water Park are:

  • Mega Pool with 4 Slides
  •  Children Pool with 3 Slides
  •  Water Channel
  •  Central Pool
  • Ladies Pool
  •  Free Fall Pool
  •  Spiral Pool
  • Lazy Pool (Asia’s Largest)
  • Children Play Land

Karachi Zoo

Karachi zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the country. It was established in 1878. It is situated on Nishter Road and Sir Agha Khan III Road. The entrance ticket costs only a nominal amount of Rs. 10.

Various attractions for tourists are:

  • Elephant House: Where elephants above fifty years of age can be found
  • Natural History Museum: This area has been revamped in order to attract visitors. On the display area one can find stuffed animals, skins, antlers, horns and feathers.Zoology students for research and educational motives use this part of the zoo.
  • Reptile House: It holds the significance of being one of the few reptile houses in Pakistan. There are about 13 species of snakes and lizards.
  • Mughal Garden: It was constructed in 1970. The lush green lawn and various varieties of flowers, makes it an incredible place for visitors.
  • Karachi Municipal Aquarium: It was established in 1953. The aquarium approximately 28 tanks which contain around 300 fishes of about 30 species. Various flower exhibitions are held yearly in this area so it is a known spot for visitors.
  • White Lions: One of the recent additions to the zoo is white lions that were purchased in 2012. It is one the main attractions of the zoo the draws visitors