Mirgarh Fort, Fort Abbas: A Cholistan Mud and Brick Fort

Mirgarh Fort (also written Mir Garh or Meergarh) is a square fort of burnt and mud brick in the Cholistan Desert west of Fort Abbas, in Bahawalnagar district. It was begun in 1799 by Nur Muhammad Khan of the Abbasi Daudpotra clan and, by local tradition, finished in 1803, as one link in a chain of forts guarding the caravan road along the dry bed of the Hakra river. Today it is an unrestored ruin in open desert, reached by sand track with someone who knows the way, and best seen between November and February.

This guide covers who built the fort and why, what is still standing, how to get there from Fort Abbas, and whether it is worth the long day.

Who built Mirgarh Fort, and why here?

Mirgarh was commissioned by Nur Muhammad Khan, son of Jam Khan Marufani, in 1799 (1214 AH). The federal Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) records that it was completed in three years; local tradition gives 1803. Jamgarh, a few years older (1788), stands in the same stretch of desert around Fort Abbas.

The reason for a fort in this empty country was water and the road. The Hakra, whose dry bed is still etched across Cholistan, once watered the belt, and a caravan road ran east to west alongside it. The Abbasi chiefs who ruled the Bahawalpur region built forts at points where they could control the wells and tax or protect the traffic.

Pakistan's 2016 submission to UNESCO's tentative list, "Derawar and the Desert Forts of Cholistan", names about a dozen of these forts, roughly from north to south: Meergarh, Jaangarh, Marotgarh, Maujgarh, Dingarh, Khangarh, Khairgarh, Bijnotgarh and Islamgarh, with Derawar the best preserved. Mirgarh is the first on that list, at the northern end of the chain.

What survives at Mirgarh?

The fort is square in plan. DOAM gives each side as about 28 m and records the bricks as 23 by 15 by 4 cm. The curtain wall rises to about 8.5 m (28 feet), and the corners are rounded bastions, which is the feature most people remember from photographs.

The single gateway is on the east side. Wikipedia's description, drawing on archaeology surveys, mentions a two-stage barbican and a vaulted passage leading into a central courtyard, which once held living quarters and wells. Narrow slit niches are set into the inner faces of the bastions.

Sources disagree on the bastions. DOAM records seven; other descriptions count four rounded corner towers and suggest there may once have been more. Expect to see the four corners clearly and argue about the rest.

Water explains the site. The well inside the fort is now filled in, but DOAM notes reports of six wells outside the walls that still give sweet water, and traces of an outer mud rampart can still be seen around the brick fort.

What condition is the fort in?

Poor. The Bahawalnagar district government's own page describes Mir Garh Qila as "a picture of ruin after years of neglect by the authorities concerned". In 2020 the Punjab archaeology department surveyed the surviving Cholistan forts, Mir Garh among them, to prepare a restoration plan; Dawn reported at the time that of about 46 monuments and historic places in Cholistan, all but 13 had been razed. A 2023 government heritage handbook rated Mirgarh's condition as "critical".

Relative to its neighbours it has done better. UNESCO's tentative listing text groups Meergarh with Derawar and Bijnot as among the forts in better shape, while Marot has largely gone. We found no report of conservation work at Mirgarh since the 2020 survey, and DOAM lists the fort as privately owned and not legally protected (Wikipedia names the Government of Punjab as owner, so the record is unclear).

In practice: walk the outside, look through the gate, and do not climb the walls or bastions. Loose brick and undercut wall cores are exactly what the surveys warned about.

How do you get to Mirgarh Fort?

Fort Abbas is the base. It is a sizeable town (83,192 people in the 2023 census) on the Cholistan edge, named in 1927 by Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan V after his son Muhammad Abbas, and it is the place to fill the tank, buy water and find a driver.

Published distances from the town vary, from about 9 km to about 15 km west. The coordinates in the DOAM and Wikipedia records place the fort further out than that, more than 20 km west of the town centre, so ask locally and drop a map pin before you leave. Wikipedia puts it about 130 km south-east of Bahawalpur.

• Use a 4x4 with a local driver. The last stretch is desert track, and the forts are not signposted.
• Carry water and food for the day. We could not confirm any facilities at the fort.
• Download an offline map and do not rely on mobile signal in the desert.
• Go in daylight and be back on paved road before dark.

There is a full day here if you start from Bahawalpur, which is where most visitors stay. Our Bahawalpur itinerary shows how a desert day fits around the city, and our guide to Bahawalnagar covers the other sights on this side of the district.

When is the best time to visit?

November to February. Cholistan summers are severe, there is no shade at the fort, and a long day on desert tracks in May or June is a genuine risk rather than an inconvenience. Our guide to the best time to visit Cholistan sets out the seasons, including when dust storms are most likely.

Is it safe to visit the Fort Abbas area?

Bahawalnagar district is not among the areas the UK government advises against in general. Fort Abbas, however, sits close to the Indian border, and the UK advises against all but essential travel within 5 miles of that border. Mirgarh lies west of the town, away from the frontier, but desert tracks around Fort Abbas can run into checkpoints and restricted zones.

Pakistani visitors do travel here. Before you go, ask the local police or district administration about current access, carry your CNIC, and photograph nothing that guards ask you not to. Visitors on foreign passports should check their own government's advice, since travelling against it can void insurance.

Is Mirgarh Fort worth the trip?

It suits a particular traveller: someone who already knows Derawar and wants the next fort in the chain, likes ruins as ruins, and is happy to spend most of a day driving for an hour among broken brick. The rounded corner bastions standing alone in the sand are a striking sight, and you will very likely have the place to yourself.

It does not suit a first trip to Cholistan, families with small children in hot months, or anyone without a 4x4. If you want one desert fort with a paved road, a mosque and royal tombs beside it, go to Derawar Fort instead, and read our overview of the forts of Cholistan to see how the whole chain fits together. Our experiences page has other ideas for southern Punjab.

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