Green pastures in Pakistani side after the recent rains near Pakistan-India border. The photo was taken from the hill, which is portion of Karoonjhar Hills located in Southern Pakistan’s Thar Desert along Indian border. With a long history of tussles, both nuclear rival neighbors have locked their borders with a fenced wall, which has blocked the free movement of the wild animals that roam freely between both countries in the past.
A wildlife desert flower is blooming in the Thar Desert of southern Pakistan, which usually suffers with droughts, but recent monsoon rains that started have transmuted this desert into the lush green pastures.
A traditional hamlet comprises on mud and straw dwelling near Mithi town of Thar Desert. The desert is located in southern Pakistan along the Indian border, which remains dry usually, but after rains it transmutes into lush green field. The recent monsoon rains, which caused flash flooding in most of the parts of the country, have brought prosperity in this arid region.
Herders along with their herds of animals started returning back to the native places in Thar Desert of southern Pakistan along the Indian border after the recent torrential monsoon rains in the country. The subtropical Thar Desert usually suffer with drought and to save the animals most of the people travel to north to the barrage areas of country’s largest river, the Indus River, where they spend months searching fodder for their livestock. But after recent rains, Thar Desert is converted into the lush green pasture.
Green pastures in Pakistani side after the recent rains near Pakistan-India border. The photo was taken from the hill, which is portion of Karoonjhar Hills located in Southern Pakistan’s Thar Desert along Indian border. With a long history of tussles, both nuclear rival neighbors have locked their borders with a fenced wall, which has blocked the free movement of the wild animals that roam freely between both countries in the past.
Blue Indian peafowl roam freely in the Thar Desert, which is located in southern Pakistan along Indian Desert. State-run departments have estimated around 80,000 peafowl population in the desert. Locally peacock is supposed a symbol of prosperity.
Blue Indian peafowl roam freely in the Thar Desert, which is located in southern Pakistan along Indian Desert. State-run departments have estimated around 80,000 peafowl population in the desert. Locally peacock is supposed a symbol of prosperity.
A traditional hamlet comprises on mud and straw dwelling near Mithi town of Thar Desert. The desert is located in southern Pakistan along the Indian border, which remains dry usually, but after rains it transmutes into lush green field. The recent monsoon rains, which caused flash flooding in most of the parts of the country, have brought prosperity in this arid region.
Indian blue peacocks are sitting over the mud dwelling in a traditional hamlet in Thar Desert of southern border along Indian border. State-run departments have estimated around 80,000 peafowl population in the desert. After recent monsoon rains, the desert become great tourism designation in Pakistan.
Herders along with their herds of animals started returning back to the native places in Thar Desert of southern Pakistan along the Indian border after the recent torrential monsoon rains in the country. The subtropical Thar Desert usually suffer with drought and to save the animals most of the people travel to north to the barrage areas of country’s largest river, the Indus River, where they spend months searching fodder for their livestock. But after recent rains, Thar Desert is converted into the lush green pasture.
Centuries-old Jain temple located in the Nagarparkar town of Thar Desert, which is in southern Pakistan along the Indian border, which is now deserted as there is not a single Jain living in the area. The area was supposed Jain and Hindu majority town during British era, but after the division of subcontinent in 1947, most of the Jains have left Islamic Pakistan, but even then there are many Hindus are still living. The recent monsoon rains have brought new opportunities of tourism in the area and these historical temples can be a great sight for the tourists.
A tourist is standing in the lap of the Karoonjhar Hill, which is an important part of Thar Desert of southern Pakistan. A historical Hindus temple is located in these hills, which is said to be the most sacred temple in Hinduism. After the recent monsoon rains, which started in August 2013, these mountains become tourist destination and large number of the tourists started visiting the area to enjoy the beauty of the nature.
KARACHI, Pakistan, Sept. 20 --
Deadly monsoons across much of Pakistan have caused the Thar Desert to bloom, spurring tourism that is helping the local economy to flourish.
The rains each season since 2010, which cause flash floods in middle and upper Pakistan, have brought new life to the once-barren desert in southeastern Pakistan along the Indian border. The region is now becoming a tourist destination, with visitors attracted by its natural beauty and who find it a rare peaceful oasis in an often-turbulent country.
Tourism industry sources said tens of thousands of tourists came to the desert's southern parts this summer, including the Tharparkar District. The tourists are mostly Pakistani, although a few foreigners have come, most from international non-governmental organizations, they said.
Tour operators say the rise has provided employment to many residents of the desert, and local shopkeepers are happy with the increasing traffic.
"Our sales have risen 400 percent since the tourists started arriving in the area," said Dileep Kumar, who sells local embroidery and other handicrafts in Mithi, capital of Tharparkar District.
The district's government does not keep count of tourists or accommodations, but the number of government and private guesthouses in the area has risen from four with 21 rooms in 2009 to 11 with 64 rooms last year, unofficial figures show. The border force that keeps records on every vehicle entering the area counted 2,385 tourist vehicles since the tourism season started in July -- a huge number in this region.
The subtropical Thar Desert has 1.21 million people living across its 77,000 square miles (fewer than 16 people per square mile), much of it in India. It is about 195 miles from Karachi, although poor road conditions make the trip lengthy and there is no civilian airport nearby.
With desert lakes and vast dunes that shift with the wind in the areas known as "the White Desert," Thar also has red granite mountains -- the Karoonjhar Hills. It is home to several unique wildlife species, and is known for local art, music, handicrafts and heritage sites.
This year's rains have brought greenery to the area -- food for people and grass for animals -- and herders who had moved north have started returning. The rains have also shortened the journey for women who, during the dry season, walk miles in sizzling desert heat to collect water. Naturally depressed areas have turned into rain-filled ponds.
Some Karachi tour operators arrange trips to Thar Desert. Abdul Majeed, manager of Exploring Indus Tours, told UPI Next his company charges $400 to $600 for a four-day trip, including transportation, lodging and food.
Tourists interviewed spoke highly of the hospitality of Thar residents, who live in cone-shaped huts and mostly farm.
"Everyone here is welcoming; their hospitality is great," Muhammad Nisar, a tourist from Sindh province, told UPI Next.
"Also, the night is awesome. I never ever saw millions of stars twinkling up above in the sky and the Milky Way."
Bharumal Amrani, a Mithi social worker, told UPI Next that Tharis love to host vacationers.
"This is the only place in Pakistan where not even a single crime has been reported for many years, and most of the people leave their cattle free in the wild," Amrani said.
"This is not possible anywhere else in the country.”
Muhammad Bachal Rahupoto, head of the Tharparkar Muhammad District police, concurred.
"The crime rate in the desert is almost zero," he told UPI Next. "There is not a single case of snatching, street crime, armed robbery or sectarian violence, which is common in other parts of the country."
Muhammad Zaman, a native of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province who now works in real estate in Karachi, came to Tharparkar with his friends. He mentioned street crimes and fears of targeted shootings in the city, but said "here in this desert area, I don't feel any fear that someone has planted an explosive in the sand mounds, and I am not afraid that some armed men riding on motorbike will come and will shoot me."
The Thar Desert attracts wildlife enthusiasts, with many species of birds, reptiles, mammals and insects, along with various desert herbs and plants. The Sindh province Wildlife Department estimated the desert had 80,000 Indian blue peafowl.
Mohan Das, a primary school teacher in Mithi, mentioned peafowl, telling UPI Next that after rains, "you can see these birds dancing everywhere."
