Khuzdar (Balochistan)
Khuzdar is located at the distance of 302 km from Quetta City on the Karachi-Quetta Highway N-25. It is a historical city and was the capital of the Khanate of Kalat that was a princely state of the Brahui Kingdom of Makran.
Khuzdar has common boundaries with Lasbela, Awaran, Washuk, Jhal Magsi, Kalat, Qambar Shahdadkot, and Dadu districts. The Karachi-Quetta Highway N-25 runs across the center of the district and can be used to access all of its major towns. Another major road is Ratodero-Gwadar Motorway M-8 that also runs across the district that is also part of CPEC to access Gwadar Port. Airport is also available in Khuzdar to provide local flight services.
Khuzdar was part of Turan province during Arab rule by Muhammad Bin Qasim. Its old name was Qusdar. The ruins of an old fort built by the Arabs are available near the town of Khuzdar. It was a place of battle between the Khan of Kalat and the people of Jhalawan in 1869, when it was part of the Jhalawan Kingdom. The Khan of Kalat was victorious and it became the capital of the Khanate of Kalat. Mir Khudadad Khan, the Khan of Kalat, built a fort for his residency and for defense purpose there. It was remained as princely state in the British time and then finally acceded to Pakistan in 1955.
Naal is a hill station in the Khuzdar district located on Ratodero-Gwadar Motorway M-8. It has pleasant weather in summers when other areas have experiencing extreme hot weather. There are abundance of palm trees in the town that gives a beautiful scenic views before sunset.
Wadh is a mountainous region in the Khuzdar district and is rich in several mineral resources such as barite, manganite, magnesite, chromite, etc. Area also has rich resources of oil and gas. It is also an old historical town and there are number of ancient sites and cave painting of prehistoric period. The Tharia Cave Paintings are discovered in the Tharia Cave near Pallimas Valley in Wadh town. The tharia Cave Paintings are prehistorical paintings related to the Paleolithic period, also known as Old Stone Age.
Lahoot Lamakan is a spiritual, sacred, mythical, and secret cave near Noorani down in the Khuzdar district. There are numerous water springs from limestones of the cave and hilly torrents. People believe it was milk first, then miraculously it became water as people started to sell it. It was an amazing tourist spot to visit. Many people believe that Adam was first positioned here at the place called Lahoot La Makan. Someones believe that these are footprint of Caliph Ali, third caliph of Islam.
Moola Chotok is a hidden ravine situated in the center of the Khuzdar district at a distance of 105 km in northeast of Khuzdar town at an elevation of 4,058 feet. It is surrounded by tall cliffs, and there is a beautiful waterfall known as Chotok. There are several other waterfalls and lakes in the valley. The Moola River, the largest river in the Khuzdar town, flows throughout the year. River flows in the most narrow passage of tall cliffs that makes it the most adventurous place to visit. A small road leads toward the waterfalls from the Moola town.
The Kulachi River and Moola River as well as some of the streams such as Chil Jhal and Khanak Jhal, are the main sources of water in Khuzdar. The water of these rivers as well as karezes are used for irrigation purposes in area where cultivation is possible. The limited amount of various crops are cultivated, but area is famous of the production of various fruits such as grapes, apricots, peaches, plums, etc.
The weather of Khuzdar is extreme hot and dry in summer season, whereas winters become cool and pleasant. It receives negligible amount of rainfalls in the monsoon period.