Gharo Thatta: Creeks and Fish on the Way to Keti Bandar

Gharo is a small fishing and farming town in Thatta district, on the N-5 National Highway roughly 60 km east of Karachi. For travellers it matters for one reason above all: it is where the N-110 leaves the highway for Mirpur Sakro and Keti Bandar, so anyone heading into the Indus delta passes through it. Gharo Thatta is a stop and a turning, not a destination, but the creek beside it is the first real taste of delta scenery on the drive out of the city.

This guide covers where Gharo is, what the creek and the land around it look like, what sits nearby, and which way to go next.

Where is Gharo?

Gharo sits in Mirpur Sakro taluka of Thatta district, on the main National Highway that runs from Karachi through Thatta to Hyderabad. The town lives mainly from fishing and farming, with a sizeable bazaar that serves the villages around it. Wikipedia puts its size at about 2,000 families in 2017, so it is a market town rather than a city.

Driving out from Karachi, you pass Port Qasim and Dhabeji and the city thins out into flat, open country. Gharo is the next town of any size, which is why it works as a natural break before the longer stretches beyond. The highway itself is the busiest road out of Karachi to the east, and heavy trucks are constant, so drive defensively and expect slow traffic around the bazaar.

Gharo Creek and the scenery around it

The best thing to look at in Gharo is the water. Gharo Creek is the north-eastern end of a chain of three tidal creeks, Gharo, Kadiro and Phitti, that together form the approach channel to Port Qasim. Environmental surveys describe the system as about 28 km long, between 250 metres and 2.5 km wide, and lined with mudflats and mangrove swamp, much of it thick on the southern side.

This is the western edge of the Indus delta mangroves. The trees are grey mangrove, Avicennia marina, which makes up almost all of the delta's forest: low, grey-green and dense, with mudflats exposed at low tide. Don't expect tall trees or clear water. What you get is a wide, flat, tidal landscape of channels, mud and mangrove, with fishing boats moving in and out and waterbirds on the flats in winter. The Port Qasim Authority controls about 64,000 hectares of mangrove, mudflat and creek in this part of the delta.

Light and tide make a big difference. Early morning and late afternoon are when the creek looks best, and a low tide shows the mudflats and the birds that feed on them.

Banbhore, on the same creek

A few kilometres back towards Karachi, on the north bank of Gharo Creek beside the N-5, are the ruins of Banbhore, an ancient port city occupied from about the 1st century BC to the 13th century AD. It has the remains of one of the earliest mosques in South Asia, dated to 727 AD, and a small museum. If you are stopping at Gharo, Banbhore is the place to spend an hour; our Banbhore guide covers the site and the museum.

The wind farms

Gharo also gives its name, with Jhimpir, to Pakistan's best-known wind corridor. It runs inland across this arid strip of lower Sindh, chosen because the wind is strong and steady and the land is poor for farming. More than three dozen independent wind farms now operate along it, and from the highway you will see lines of turbines on the open ground. One operator, Zephyr Power, has planted mangroves on its site to hold the soil against tidal flows, which tells you how close the sea comes here.

There is nothing to visit at the wind farms themselves, which are private industrial sites, but they are a striking sight from the road, especially at sunset.

Which way next from Gharo?

South to Mirpur Sakro and Keti Bandar

The N-110 runs about 90 km from Gharo through Mirpur Sakro to Keti Bandar, the fishing port on Hajamro Creek that is the usual base for boat trips into the delta. This is the road to take for mangroves, creeks and fishing communities. Facilities thin out quickly once you leave the N-5, so fill your tank and buy water before you turn off. Our Keti Bandar guide explains what a visit involves and how boat trips work.

East to Thatta and Makli

Stay on the N-5 and you reach Thatta, with the Shah Jahan Mosque and the tombs of Makli on the ridge above the town. Our guide to places to visit in Thatta covers the town and its heritage sites.

Water parks on the highway

Water parks have opened along the National Highway on either side of Gharo, and they draw Karachi families on hot weekends. Our Karachi water parks guide compares them, with tickets and opening days.

When to go

November to February is the comfortable season. It is cool enough to stand by the creek or walk round Banbhore at midday, and winter is when migratory waterbirds feed on the delta mudflats. From April to October the heat is fierce and the humidity high, and the monsoon months bring rough weather on the coast. In summer, keep stops short and travel early.

Gharo is in Sindh south of Nawabshah, which is not on the UK government's list of areas it advises against. The real risks here are road ones: heavy trucks on the N-5, and fewer services once you head south towards the coast.

Is Gharo worth stopping at?

Briefly, yes. A tea stop at Gharo and twenty minutes looking at the creek, combined with an hour at Banbhore, make a sensible pause on any trip from Karachi to Keti Bandar or Thatta. For photographers, the creek at low tide and the turbines at dusk are the two shots worth slowing down for.

It is not worth a trip on its own. We could not find hotels aimed at visitors or organised boat trips from the town itself, and if mangroves and creeks are what you came for, Keti Bandar gives you far more of both. For other places along this coast, see our destinations page.

Frequently asked questions