Ziarat: juniper trees four thousand years old

A short history

The town was a British-era hill retreat and is best known as the place where Muhammad Ali Jinnah spent the last weeks of his life in 1948, at the Residency.

The area was badly hit by two earthquakes on 29 October 2008, magnitudes 6.2 and 6.4, which killed over two hundred people and displaced around fifty thousand. Landslides cut the roads and military helicopters did much of the rescue.

The juniper forest itself is far older than any of this. It covers roughly 110,000 hectares, and some of the trees are estimated at around four thousand years old.

Places worth your time

The juniper forest

The largest in Pakistan and considered the second largest of its kind anywhere. Walk into it rather than driving past.

Quaid-e-Azam Residency

The wooden colonial house where Jinnah spent his final weeks, now a national monument.

Prospect Point and Fern Tangi

Viewpoints and a waterfall in the hills above the town.

Before you go

April to October; winter brings snow and the roads can close. About three hours from Quetta. Check current travel advice for Balochistan.