Karachi
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Overview
Karachi, once the capital of Pakistan before the capital was shifted to Islamabad, is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea. Known by the euphemism as the city of City of Quaid, after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, Karachi is the financial nerve center of Pakistan and its largest seaport. It is a city of around 11.5 million with people from many ethnic and cultural background.
Karachi has an ancient history of more than two thousand years, and it was known to the Greeks by the name of Krokola, believed to be a place where Alexander the Great camped, after his campaign in the regions of Indus Valley, to commission a fleet for his assault on Babylonia. For centuries, the city has been serving as a seaport though of modest size. The legend states that Karachi begun as a fishing village and continued to grow on account of its locational advantage. It gained importance in the modern age during the 19th century under the patronage of the British rulers.
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Tips for: backpackers • business travelers • luxury/exotic travel • hitchhikers • families • seniors • LBG travelers • pet owners |
Hotels and lodging
Some of the luxury hotels of Karachi are:
- Marriott Karachi
- Sheraton Hotel and Towers Karachi
- Beach Luxury Hotel
- Embassy Inn
- Regent Plaza Hotel
- Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi
Attractions
| Find out where to go in the maps section below. |
Karachi is an old city with several major attractions for the tourists, and its location on the coast of the Arabian Sea has given it a locational advantage: it has perhaps the highest number of beaches for any other cities in this part of the globe. For more than a century it had remained a very active and important seaport of the British Raj and there are many historical buildings in the city.
- Mazar-e-Quaid is a mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah
- National Arts Council locally known as Koocha-e-Saqafat
- Mohatta Palace
- Beaches & Waterfront
- Clifton Sea View seafront
- Hawkesbay Beach is a breeding ground for endangered turtles
- World Wildlife Centre
- Museums
- National Museum of Pakistan
- Aga Khan Museum
- Historical Buildings
- Karachi Port Trust Building (1915)
- The Sindh High Court (1929)
- Hindu Gymkhana (1925)
- Cliftion Promenade (1920)
- New Sind Assembly Building (1942)
- Sind Madressah-Tul-Islam (1885)
- Ghulam Husain Khalikdinahall (1906)
- Flag Staff House (1865)
- Balauch Graveyard (15th century)
- Max Denso Hall (1886)
- Islands: Karachi has several islands in its close proximity:
- Clifton Oyster Rocks
- Manora Island
- Bundle Island
- Bath island
- Bhit Shah
- Shah Banda
- Churna Island (Pakistan's only coral reefs)
- Amusement Parks: Karachi also has several Amusement Parks
- Karachi Zoo
- Alladin Park
- Fun Land
Around Karachi
Karachi is located on the Arabian Sea coast in the Sindh Province of Pakistan. Sindh has a rich and glorious historical heritage extending back in the time frame of several thousand years. In case, you have time, it is a good idea to take short trips to some of the most unique places at a short (a few relatively long) distance from Karachi:
- Chaukundi tombs (of 16th-18th century) built in peculiar shapes of slabs are located around 17 km from Karachi. The sandstone slabs have beautiful carvings of males and females.
- Banbhore,about 64 km from, is a place of archaeological and historical significance. Many scholars identify the place with Daibul, a port city where Mohammad Bin Qasim landed in 712 AD and brought Islam to this part of the world. There is also a Museum at Banbhore with a variety of collections of pottery, coins, beads and many other rare finds.
- Haleji Lake, 70 km from Karachi, is Asia's largest bird reserve and during the winter months of October-December, the bird sanctuary becomes home to thousands of migratory birds including Siberian cranes.
- Thatta is an ancient place and had served as the capital of Sindh region for 400 years. There are more than a million graves within an area of around 10 sq km. The graves are remarkable for their intricate design and carvings.
Beyond Karachi
If you want to see more of the spectacle of Sindh of an age gone by and you have the time, you should surely see the archaeological site of Mohenjo-daro, one of the World Heritage Sites in Pakistan. Mohenjo-daro is around 563 km from Karachi. You may take the the Super Highway via Dadu to reach the ruins of Mohenjo-daro, a town which was part of the Indus Valley Civilization which thrived around 2600 BC until 1700 BC. The place is a fine example of town planning rarely found in the other comparable ruins of that time in other parts of the world.
Shopping
Shopping should offer a really interesting pastime to the visitors, particularly in the local bazaars. The modern malls are also many in Karachi, but buying in the local bazaars has its own charm - you know the people closely and see them in action. This itself shall be a novel experience if you are not accustomed to move in the crowds while buying.
While roaming around the crowded bazaar of Karachi, you may look around to spot buys like brasswares; silverwares; special types of mirrors crafted by local artisans of Sindh; articles of carved wood and camel skin; handloom-made tapestries and printed fabrics. As is common in this part of the world, you are expected to bargain hard and more you bargain more discounts you may gain!
Maps and transportation
Getting to Karachi
Exploring Karachi
Practical information and resources
- Currency: Rupee (PKR)
- Major Language: Urdu, though many other languages like Sindhi and Punjabi are also spoken and understood. You may manage with Simple English.
- Time zone: PST (UTC+5:00)
- Calling code: +92
- Temperature Data
| Karachi temperatures | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Avg. high (in °C) | 25 | 26 | 29 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 31 | 27 |
| Avg. low (in °C) | 13 | 14 | 19 | 23 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 14 |
Restaurants
Text with links to user-reviews on other pages
Nightlife
Photo gallery
| Add a new photo to the Karachi gallery. Vote on which images to feature in the featured images forum. |
 Camel Ride, Karachi Beach |
 Frere Hall of British Raj |
 Karachi - Old & New |
Everything else
| Got something to say that doesn't fit in the other sections of this page? Create a new page about it. Start by adding a paragraph exactly as above: for example, copy (from the EDIT BOX) the heading "Nightlife" and the three lines below it, paste in below that section, and change "Nightlife" (in all three places) to your new subject. If it's great, add a snippet below the heading. Then click on the new link and start on the new page. |
External resources
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If you want to add personal links, please do that on your user page (you can also write your profile there). If you have a link with great content that travellers need, you can add it at Karachi/Links |
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Karachi. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with World Wikia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
