Ever wondered to have an environment, atmosphere and the weather like Murree in Sindh? You would be thinking that I have gone nuts but no, it is like that. If you can reach to Gorakh Hill you will agree to what I have written above. Gorakh Hill lies in the Kirthar range that spreads along the border of Sindh and Baluchistan and perhaps it is one of the highest peaks in that range. The mountain range has provided the natural geographical distribution for the two provinces. Gorakh hill is situated in the Johi tehsil of the Dadu district whereas the Wudh town of Baluchistan lies on its other end. It has an altitude of about 5,500 feet. The weather conditions at the hill in summer are cooler at night whereas it remains moderate at daytime. In winter the temperature goes down to almost -8 to -12 degree centigrade. Being the highest peak in a region, one can have a beautiful view of a valley from the top. The area is surrounded by arid mountains with small green pastures at certain points. During rainy season one can see various streams of water flowing throughout the area. One can reach Gorakh hill by either coming into the Dadu town or from Sehwan Shareef. If someone is coming from Karachi than he should reach Johi through Sehwan Shareef via Bhan Saeedabad as it is shorter than that of Dadu. Johi is situated at a distance of 40 kms from Sehwan Shareef whereas Sehwan Shareef is about 137 kms from Jamshoro. The Indus highway from Jamshoro to Sehwan Shareef is in very good condition and one can enjoy the pleasant drive while enjoying the scenic beauty as the Indus river flows at the right of highway while having the view of barren mountains at its left. The road condition from Sehwan Shareef onwards is not good and one can only reach to the top by either through double cabin or by jeep. It is recommended to hire a double cabin from Hyderabad as we had faced problem in arranging the vehicle from Sehwan. Our experience of exploring Gorakh Hill was full of excitement and adventures. We started our journey from Karachi on the early morning hours of 13th August at about 7:30 AM. We reached Sehwan Shareef through Indus Highway at about 12 PM. There we transferred our bags in two double cabins and started our journey towards Johi town. We reached Johi town at about 1:15 PM, had a lunch there at Shadabad Welfare Organization (SWO), a local community development NGO that had made all the arrangements for our trip. From Johi we again started our journey towards the Wahi Pandi, the union council of Johi and the base camp for Gorakh Hill. It is a small village with a population of about 20,000. If someone in interested to have a look at the rural Sindh than Wahi Pandi is a perfect place to visit. It is among the few villages of Pakistan which have a clean and clear atmosphere and where one can find all the basic facilities of life. The outskirts of the village contains a good number of trees called “Beej” in Sindhi. I have seen them for the first time. The jharnas of water coming from the top form a considerable wider stream that flows side by side of the village. These trees and the stream made a good view from the top. We had a tea break here at the local community library while our double cabin was filled by all the supplies that we needed for the night stay. The people here are mostly Baluchis but they mostly speak Siraiki and Sindhi language. They are very cooperative and friendly in nature. One can hire the services of guide from here as well. We started to move towards the final destination i.e. Gorakh Hill at about 4 PM. The road to Gorakh Hill from Wahi Pandi is about 54 kms which is under construction. The journey starts from the plane valley of Wahi Pandi that gradually ends into the mountain range. The mountains gradually increase their height so it is a beautiful example of transformation of plane valley to the hard and rigid mountainous region. The area is mostly barren with no sign of a tree. One can only see the wild bushes on the mountains. The mountains have different shapes and figures here. Some of the mountains look similar to the mountain range of Utah in United States.
Due to bad road condition we covered the 54 kms distance in about 5 hours (I came to know that nowadays the road is in much better in condition and I personally know few people who went to the top in their own car). The track is not dangerous but has few sharp turns at some places. We got trapped at one such turn where the work was going on to expand the turn. For this purpose the mountain was bifurcated through dynamites due to which huge number of small stones on the track made impossible for the tyre to have a firm grip. Anyways, we managed to overcome this turn with the help of Pathan driver who was the worker of contractor there.
We reached the top after sunset when it was an absolute darkness all around the valley. Since it was the rainy season we saw a cool lightening show arranged by the Creator. The climate at the top was cool and we have to wear the sweaters or jackets to keep ourselves warm. There is only one so-called rest house at the top. Rest house is consisted of two rooms with only one room that could be used for rest as the other one is being used as a store room. Electricity line is there but we hardly found any lighten bulb there as due to heavy rains. Rest house has one generator in working condition. There is no water at the top so it is recommended to take good amount of water with you. (Now, a good hotel has been developed at the top which can be rented out along with other accommodation facilities as well. ) The sunrise is definitely worth viewing here. As the early sun rays hits the top, one can have a look at the beautiful valley of Wahi Pandi at east, whereas the Sindh-Baluchistan border lies at its west. It’s also a good tracking place for trekking lovers as one can explore the valley in almost every direction. The hiking here is relatively easy as the rocks are hard with the gentle slope. One natural track of about 5 days goes from the Gorakh to the Wadh town of Baluchistan which lies in the Khuzdar district.
There were some unforgettable events that happened in this trip that I wanted to share. It is related to the selfless and kind support that was provided by almost everyone we met there. While we were driving back to Wahi Pandi next day, one of the double cabin’s tyre got punctured just a 100 meters below the top. The rest of the group members including me were on the double cabin that had already moved ahead. Our vehicle’s engine and axle condition was also poor and we had to stop the vehicle just before the sharp turn (the Lak Pass) where we had been trapped yesterday. The track was also blocked as some jeep got stucked there last night in heavy rain. We waited for the other double cabin to come but it showed no sign. Our driver was able to contact SWO people at Sehwan through V-PTCL Wireless Phone (at the labour camp near the sharp turn). Thanks to V-PTCL. We also tried contacting the rest house but the wireless signals have not reached there at that time. We cannot do anything but to wait for a support from base camp. After three hours we saw three men walking down from the top. I was able to recognize one of them as our cook who had travelled almost 12 kms to inform us the calamity that had befallen on the other double cabin. Now the problem was to send the tyre to the top. Our double cabin was already short of tyre as its two tyres got punctured last night. At the labour camp we saw another double cabin which had been waiting there for the road to get opened. We asked them and they provided us the tyre without any hesitation. Now again the problem was how to send that tyre to the top. For this purpose the people at the labour camp arranged some Baloch natives that knew the short routes to the top. They put the tyre on their head and started the journey to the top. They would have covered the strenuous 12 kms distance on foot with a heavy tyre on head, but fortunately a jeep came up later that gave us the good news that road has been opened and was also agreed to catch the Baloch from the track and make it reach to the top.
The other selfless support was given by the contractor there who was about to explode the mountain (through dynamites) that day and he asked us to come down by 10 AM max. But since one of the vehicle was punctured he waited us till 4 PM. Last but not the least, I could not forget the hospitality of the people there, whoever we met, wherever we go. The people welcomed us with their open hearts. They served us the delicious meals that we would not have thought of, and have given us the respect that even we do not see in the blood relations here in the cosmopolitan. They tried to provide us as much comfort as they can and they had given us the new concept of selfless life that we the Karachiites had somewhat forgotten.