The northern areas of Pakistan are known for their enchanting natural topography, however, the unexplored beauty of the country’s southern regions, such as Sindh, will also leave you spellbound. Sindh, a province located in the south of Pakistan, is the land of one of the oldest civilisations in the world.
Many of you might not know that there are a lot of eye-catching tourist attractions in Sindh. One such tourist spot is the Keenjhar lake in Sindh.
Graana.com, Pakistan’s smartest property portal, has come up with a complete tour guide to it.
Keenjhar Lake Location
Keenjhar Lake (Source: Pinterest)
This Lake is also known as “Keenjhar Jheel” and “Keenjhar Dhand.” Located in the heart of district Thatta of Sindh, Keenjhar Lake is an artificial water reservoir. Among the locals, it is known as “Karli Jheel.”
The lake is situated at a distance of 36 km (half an hour’s drive) from Thatta. It is famous for a lot of reasons, and one of them is the fact that this lake is the second-largest freshwater reservoir in the country.
Importance of the Lake
The importance of this lake can not be denied, since it is a major source of drinking water for the metropolitan city of Karachi and its surrounding areas. The lake is frequently visited by a huge number of people on public holidays and weekends for fishing, swimming, and boating in a peaceful and natural environment.
In addition to that, the lake serves as a habitat for regional birds and winter migratory birds such as ducks, herons, egrets, ibises, terns, coots, geese, flamingos, cormorants, waders, and gulls. The lake has also been given the designation of a wildlife park. Moreover, you can also find crocodiles at Keenjhar Lake.
How to Get to Keenjhar Lake?
Keenjhar Lake is situated on National Highway N-5, halfway between Thatta and Hyderabad. From Karachi to Keenjhar Lake, the total distance is more than 100 km, and if you drive at a speed of 80-90 km/hr it takes around two hours to reach there. other than that, the majority of people travel to Keenjhar Lake in their private cars.
Places to Stay | Keenjhar Lake Resort
If you are searching for spaces to stay near Keenjhar Lake, you must have come across the name of Keenjhar Lake resort. This resort is one of the recent projects of the Sindh government. Moreover, the construction of the resort has immensely increased the number of tourists to the lake, hence, turning it into a full-fledged tourist spot.
The resort comes under the direct administration of the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation (STDC). Tourists can book the resort for one day for almost Rs 10k-15k.
The booking can also be done both manually as well as through online means. The check-in time of the resort is 4:00 pm and the check-out time is 3:00 pm.
Eateries Near Keenjhar Lake
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Most of the time, people bring food with them when they visit the lake. However, some restaurants are also located nearby. At these restaurants, you can find tea, drinks, and some simple snacks.
One thing that you should know about these restaurants is that they are only functional over the weekends, and during the working days they do not prepare meals due to less number of visitors. However, if you place an order beforehand, they can prepare a meal for you.
Inside STDC Keenjhar Lake rest house, you can find a really good restaurant – “Keenjhar Lake Noori Restaurant”. It was named after “Jam Tamachgi’s” beloved “Noori”. Also, this restaurant serves food to even outside guests.
Things You Can do at Keenjhar Lake
The list of to-do things at Keenjhar lake includes a variety of things such as boating, fishing, jet-skiing, bird watching, and swimming.
Fishing
Talking about fishing, Kenjhar Lake, Karachi is considered one of the top fishing spots in the premises of Karachi. In addition, the minister of Livestock and fishing in Sindh led a project last year to promote fishing in the lake. During the period of the first six months of 2019, approximately 60,000 fish seeds were thrown in the lake.
Swimming
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Keenjhar Lake is a reservoir of clean water, which makes it suitable for swimming. The seawater is salty and polluted which is why people avoid swimming there. This is the reason why a lot of people visit Keenjhar Lake for swimming. Moreover, swimmers can also rent an inner tube for Rs 100 only.
Boating
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Along with other stuff, tourists can also enjoy the facility of motorboat rides. The seating- capacity of these boats is 8-10 people. In case you don’t want to share the ride, you can privately hire the boat for one hour. The charges for hiring the boat start from Rs 500 and go up to Rs 2000. The prices depend upon the time you hire the boat.
Shrine of Jam Tamachi
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Besides all these recreational activities, you can also visit the Keenjhar Lake Mazar of Jam Tamachi, which is situated in the middle of it. A huge number of devotees visit the shrine of the late prince every day. However, you can only access the shrine via motorboat only. For just Rs 500, you can hire a boat to and from the shrine.
Keenjhar Lake Huts
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Along the shoreline of the Lake, cabana-style huts can be found. During working days, the per-day rent for these Keenjhar Lake hut booking is just Rs 100. During holidays and weekends, it rises to Rs 500.
You can spend quality time with your friends and family inside these huts, and enjoy the eye-catching view of the lake. However, you can only hire these huts during the daytime.
Tourist Attractions Near Keenjhar Lake
As Keenjhar Lake is located close to the historical city of Thatta, it is adjoined by many prominent prehistoric landmarks. Hence, if you are planning to visit Keenjhar Lake, you should definitely pay a visit to those places. Some of the most visited tourist attractions near the lake are as follows:
- Old Jamia Masjid Thatta
- Soonda Graveyard
- Tomb of Sultan Ibrahim
- Nawab Ameer Khani Mosque
- Maqam Qadam Shah Graveyard
- Dabgir Mosque
- Shahjahan Mosque
- Kalan Kot Fort
Keenjhar Lake is one of the prominent tourist attractions of Sindh. It has gained a lot of attraction from tourists in recent years, and this number will continue to grow.
For more information regarding tourist attractions in Pakistan, visit Graana.com – Pakistan’s first online real estate marketplace.