Sonda graveyard is a small, little-visited cluster of carved sandstone tombs on the Thatta–Hyderabad highway, roughly 20 to 22 miles beyond Thatta and some way past the Keenjhar Lake turn-off. It carries the same carving tradition as the far better-known Chaukhandi Tombs near Karachi, but it draws almost none of the attention, and much of what was here has been lost to decades of neglect.
This guide covers the graveyard's founding, what survives of its carving, and how to fit a stop into a longer drive along the highway.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Where | Village of Sonda (Soonda), on the Thatta–Hyderabad highway |
| Distance from Thatta | About 20 to 22 miles (roughly 32 to 35 km) |
| Founded | 3rd quarter of the 14th century, by the Samma ruler Jam Tamachi |
| Carving style | Sandstone, comparable to the Chaukhandi Tombs near Karachi |
| Buried here | Local Makhdum saints, and warriors of the surrounding tribes |
| Condition | Neglected; largely unrestored |
| Entry | No fee, no facilities |
Who founded Sonda, and why the name
According to the historical work Tuhfat-ul-Karam, the village of Sonda was founded by Jam Tamachi, the Samma ruler remembered elsewhere in Sindhi folklore as the husband of Noori of Keenjhar Lake, in the third quarter of the 14th century. Before the village existed, the site was associated with a saint who had a particular fondness for a musical raga called Sondra, and the settlement is said to take its name from that association rather than from any founder's own name.
Sonda later became a place of religious standing in its own right. A family of respected Muslim saints known as the Makhdums lived here, among them Mullah Ari, Mullah Abu Bakar, Makhdum Ramzan Vedani and Mullah Bayazid, and their graves are part of what the site holds today, alongside the graves of local warriors.
The carving
The tombs at Sonda are cut from the same pale, yellowish sandstone used at Chaukhandi and, on a larger scale, at the Makli Necropolis, and the carving follows recognisably similar conventions.
- Warriors' graves carry a horse and rider, spears, swords and, in places, snakes worked into the stone, along with a slab laid across the top of the grave to mark that a fighter is buried beneath.
- Women's graves are carved with jewellery: bangles, necklaces, earrings and anklets rendered in fine detail.
- Human figures appear more directly here than at many comparable sites, a feature the graveyard is specifically noted for among Sindh's carved tombs.
- Quranic inscription and geometric and floral bands run across many of the platforms, the same visual language found at Chaukhandi and Makli.
Sonda compared with Chaukhandi
Anyone who has stopped at the Chaukhandi Tombs on the way out of Karachi will recognise the family resemblance immediately: the same step-like raised platforms, the same sandstone, the same distinction between men's and women's carving. The difference is scale and condition. Chaukhandi, though also unmanaged, sits close to Karachi and gets a steady trickle of visitors on the way to Thatta. Sonda sits further out, gets a fraction of the traffic, and has fared worse for it: by most recent accounts, little of the original carving has survived intact, and the site has not been rehabilitated by Sindh's antiquities authorities. What remains is genuine and, in places, striking, but go expecting a weathered, half-forgotten graveyard rather than a preserved monument.
Visiting: what to expect
There is no boundary wall, no ticket office and no signage worth relying on. The graveyard sits close to the highway itself, so finding it is more a matter of watching for it on the roadside than following any marked route, and asking locally in the immediate area is the most reliable way to confirm you've found it rather than a similar roadside grave cluster.
- Go in daylight, with time to look slowly; there is nothing to rush for, and low, angled light shows the carving far better than the middle of the day.
- Watch your footing. Broken masonry and uneven, unmaintained ground are the norm at a site like this.
- Don't expect anyone selling water or shade. Bring both if you're stopping for more than a few minutes.
- Treat the site gently. With so little formal protection, casual damage and souvenir-taking do real and permanent harm here.
Fitting Sonda into a longer trip
Sonda works best as a short, deliberate detour on the Thatta–Hyderabad highway rather than a destination anyone drives out specifically to see. A natural way to include it:
- Chaukhandi Tombs, on the way out of Karachi; see our Chaukhandi Tombs guide.
- Makli Necropolis and Thatta, the main event of a day along this road; our Makli Necropolis guide covers it in full.
- Keenjhar Lake, for lunch, boats and the shrine of Noori; see our Keenjhar Lake guide.
- Sonda graveyard, a short stop further along the same highway towards Hyderabad, for anyone with a genuine interest in Sindh's carved-tomb tradition and time to spare.
Is it worth the stop?
For most visitors on a standard Thatta day trip, Sonda is one stop too many; Makli alone shows the same carving tradition on a far larger and better-preserved scale, and most people's time is better spent there. It earns its place for anyone specifically drawn to Chaukhandi-style carving, or driving on towards Hyderabad anyway and happy to add twenty minutes at a genuinely old, unpolished site that very few other travellers bother to see.
For a wider plan through lower Sindh, our trip planning page is a useful starting point.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Sonda graveyard?
On the Thatta–Hyderabad highway, about 20 to 22 miles beyond Thatta, some distance past the turn-off for Keenjhar Lake.
When was Sonda graveyard built?
The village of Sonda was founded in the third quarter of the 14th century by the Samma ruler Jam Tamachi; the tombs date from the period of the village's history that followed.
How does Sonda compare with the Chaukhandi Tombs?
They share the same sandstone carving tradition, with similar motifs for men's and women's graves, but Sonda is further from Karachi, sees far fewer visitors, and has survived in worse condition.
Is there an entry fee for Sonda graveyard?
No. There is no ticket office, boundary wall or formal facilities of any kind.
Is Sonda graveyard worth visiting?
Only as an add-on for travellers with a specific interest in Sindh's carved funerary tradition. For most people, the much larger and better-preserved Makli Necropolis nearby is the better use of time.
