Day Trips from Karachi: Places Within a Few Hours' Drive

The best day trips from Karachi are the western beaches at Hawke's Bay and Sandspit (under an hour), Mubarak Village and Churna Island (one to one and a half hours), Thatta's Makli necropolis and Shah Jahan Mosque (about two hours), Keenjhar Lake (two to two and a half hours), Gadani across the Balochistan border (about one and a half hours), and Kund Malir on the Makran coast (about four hours). All of them work as a single day out; Kund Malir only just, with an early start and a return before dark.

This guide takes them one by one, with the drive, what there is to do, and whether each suits a family day, a history day or a long beach run. October to March is the season for almost all of them.

How to plan a day trip from Karachi

Three things decide whether a day out from Karachi goes well: the season, the start time and getting out of the city.

• Go between October and March. Summer on this coast is hot and humid, and inland at Thatta and Keenjhar it is fiercely hot by late morning. From May to September the sea is rough, and the commissioner regularly bans swimming at Karachi's beaches under Section 144 during high tides and the monsoon.
• Leave early. Getting out of Karachi can take an hour on its own, whether you are heading east on the National Highway or west towards Hub. An early start means you arrive before the heat, and you can be back before dark.
• Fill up and carry water. Take fuel, water and snacks, particularly for Kund Malir, where services stop after Zero Point.
• Carry your CNIC. You will pass checkpoints on the roads into Balochistan and along the coast.

The western beaches

West of the port, a string of beaches runs along the coast past Hawke's Bay towards Cape Monze.

Hawke's Bay, Sandspit and Paradise Point

The nearest proper beaches, about 45 minutes to an hour from the centre depending on where you start. Sandspit and Hawke's Bay are wide sandy beaches with camel and horse rides and snack stalls, and Paradise Point lies further along the same road. These are the beaches the city staffs with lifeguards and police: when the commissioner closed five unguarded beaches in June 2025 because of rough seas, Sandspit, Hawke's Bay and Paradise Point stayed open, along with Sea View in the city.

Both Sandspit and Hawke's Bay are nesting grounds for green and olive ridley turtles in the early winter months, and WWF-Pakistan runs a wetland centre on the coast. If you see a turtle at night, keep your distance, keep lights off it and don't let children touch it.

Most of the beach huts here are private and rented by the day; book ahead for weekends and holidays.

Mubarak Village and Churna Island

Mubarak Village is a fishing village about 30 km from the city centre, towards the western end of Karachi's coast. It is the starting point for boats to Churna Island, a small uninhabited island about 6 km away that is the best-known snorkelling and diving spot near Karachi. The boat ride takes under an hour.

Churna trips run in the calm season, roughly October or November to April. From around May the sea turns rough and trips largely stop. Go with an established operator who provides life jackets and snorkelling gear, and don't go out if the sea looks rough.

The smaller coves on this stretch, including Mubarak Village beach, Sunehra, Kanupp, Turtle beach and Dua Chowk, have no lifeguards, and they are the first to be closed to picnickers when the sea is high. Swim only in calm water, close to shore, and never alone.

East along the National Highway: Chaukhandi, Banbhore and Thatta

The N-5 National Highway leaves Karachi heading east towards Thatta, and three of Sindh's most important historical sites sit along it.

Chaukhandi tombs

On the eastern edge of Karachi, near Landhi and just off the National Highway, is a cemetery of carved sandstone tombs built between the 16th and 18th centuries, mainly for the Jokhio and Baloch tribes. The tombs are stacked like stepped pyramids and covered in fine geometric carving. An hour is enough, and it is the ideal first stop on the Thatta road.

Banbhore

About 65 km from Karachi, between Dhabeji and Gharo on the northern bank of Gharo creek, are the ruins of a port city occupied from the 1st century BC to the 13th century AD. Among them are the remains of one of the earliest mosques in South Asia, dated to 727 AD. It is an open archaeological site with little shade, so go early.

Makli necropolis and the Shah Jahan Mosque

About 100 km from Karachi, just outside Thatta, Makli is one of the largest cemeteries in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. Spread over some 10 km of plateau are hundreds of thousands of graves from the 14th to the 18th centuries, including large stone and brick tombs of the rulers, saints and scholars of lower Sindh. The site is huge, so allow two to three hours and focus on the big monuments.

In Thatta itself, the Shah Jahan Mosque, built in the 17th century during Shah Jahan's reign, has some of the finest tile work in South Asia and unusual patterned brickwork. Visit outside prayer times, dress modestly and cover your head if you are a woman.

Plan the Thatta day like this:

1. Leave Karachi by 7 am and stop at Chaukhandi on the way out.
2. Banbhore mid-morning, or keep it for the way back.
3. Makli before midday, before the heat on the open plateau becomes hard work.
4. Lunch in Thatta, then the Shah Jahan Mosque.
5. Head home by mid-afternoon, or drive on to Keenjhar Lake for the late afternoon.

Makli has almost no shade: bring hats, water and sunscreen even in winter, and sturdy shoes.

Keenjhar Lake

Keenjhar, also called Kalri Lake, is a large freshwater lake about 112 km from Karachi, beyond Thatta. It is an important source of Karachi's drinking water, and it is a Ramsar wetland and wildlife sanctuary that fills with ducks, geese, flamingos, herons and other migratory birds in winter. A shrine in the middle of the lake marks the grave of Noori, the fisherwoman of the Sindhi folk tale of Noori and Jam Tamachi.

It is a picnic lake: families come for boat rides, food and the breeze off the water. The Sindh Tourism Development Corporation runs the Keenjhar Lake Resort on the shore, with huts, a restaurant and boats, and booking ahead is wise for weekends.

As a day trip, it works best after a morning at Makli. On the water, insist on life jackets for everyone, especially children, and don't board an overloaded boat.

Gadani

Gadani is a coastal town about 50 km west of Karachi, across the Hub River in Balochistan, and about an hour and a half's drive from the city. It is known for two things: long, quiet beaches, and the Gadani ship-breaking yard, a 10 km stretch of shore where ocean-going ships are driven onto the beach and cut apart by hand. In the 1980s it was among the largest yards of its kind in the world.

The yard is a working industrial site. Entry is at the discretion of the yard's own security, and many visitors are turned away; see the ships from the public beach, and don't photograph anyone who asks you not to. The beaches either side are quieter than Karachi's, with few facilities, so bring everything you need.

You cross into Balochistan at Hub, so carry your CNIC for any checkpoint. Gadani is a normal day out for Karachi families, but check the local situation before you set off, as you would for any trip into Balochistan.

Kund Malir and Hingol National Park

Kund Malir is a long, empty beach backed by desert and mountains inside Hingol National Park, Pakistan's largest national park, on the Makran Coastal Highway. It is the most dramatic day trip from Karachi, and the most demanding: about 240 km and four hours each way.

The route runs north-west through Hub to Zero Point, where the coastal highway begins, and then on towards the sea. The road is paved all the way, but after Zero Point there is little in the way of fuel, food or signal. Fill the tank, buy water and use the facilities there, download offline maps, and tell someone your plan.

Many visitors also drive about 40 minutes further on to see the Princess of Hope, a wind-carved rock formation, and the Hingol area also has mud volcanoes and the Hinglaj Mata temple, an important Hindu pilgrimage site. Seeing more than one or two of these in a single day is not realistic.

A few things to take seriously:

• The sea. There are no lifeguards at Kund Malir, and the currents on this coast are strong. Paddle close to the shore, and don't swim alone or when the sea is rough.
• Daylight. Leave Karachi around 6 am and start back by 2 or 3 pm so that you are past Zero Point before dark. After attacks on travellers further west, the Gwadar district administration barred public transport from the coastal highway at night in March 2025. Don't plan to drive this road after dark.
• Security. The coastal highway runs through a province with ongoing security problems, and conditions can change quickly. Check current advice and news before you go, carry your CNIC for the checkpoints, and follow what the Levies and security staff tell you.
• Overnight is easier. If you have the time, a night in one of the simple huts at Kund Malir turns an exhausting day into a relaxed one.

Which day trip should you choose?

• With young children or older parents: Hawke's Bay or Sandspit for a half day, or Keenjhar Lake for a gentle full day. Short drives and no long walks in the heat.
• For history: the National Highway day, Chaukhandi, Banbhore, Makli and the Shah Jahan Mosque. It is the best single day of sightseeing within reach of Karachi.
• For clear water and snorkelling: Churna Island from Mubarak Village, between October and April, with a proper operator.
• For something different: Gadani, for the ship-breaking yard seen from the beach.
• For the most spectacular scenery: Kund Malir, but only with an early start, a car in good order and a firm return time. If you cannot leave by 6 am, choose something closer.

In summer, most of these become hard work, and it is usually better to keep to the city, the museums and the seafront, which our list of places to visit in Karachi covers. If you are planning a longer trip beyond Sindh, our trip planning page is the place to start, and the travel guide covers road travel and what to carry around the country.

Frequently asked questions