Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally, Pakistan: A Guide On Fun, Dust & Absolute Madness

Speeding jeeps leaving the air so dusty nearly blinding the vision with spectators mindlessly riding their 70cc bikes amidst the racing vehicles; it’s hot, sandy, and chaotic in the middle of a barren flat desert – Welcome to the Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally in Pakistan.

An off-road racing event organized by the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab in Pakistan, the Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally is an annual event occurring for the last fifteen years in the Cholistan Desert of South Punjab. The desert borders with the Rajasthan province of India in the South is a flat desert without dunes. The rally is organized to attract mainly local automobile enthusiasts and off-roading lovers from all over the country to compete for the title of the fastest off-road driver in Pakistan. The race is carried out near the Derawar Fort, one of the oldest forts in Pakistan.

I was invited by Coyote Trails Pakistan to attend the 15^th edition of the Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally in 2020. This was my first time visiting South Punjab and to witness a mega motor event in Pakistan. In this article, I am going to breakdown everything you need to know about visiting this unique one-of-a-kind off-roading event in Pakistan. Take my word on it, this is not just another racing event. The Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally is synonymous with excitement, chaos, dust and absolute madness!

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What To Expect From The Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally

The Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally in Pakistan might sound like another racing event but there is so much more to it than the actual race! Being organized in a part of the country which seldom gets the attention it deserves from the local authorities, the rally is a festival to celebrate for the locals. The racing event is organized by the provincial government to promote the rich culture and tradition of South Punjab, which is otherwise often overlooked, thanks to the other popular cities like Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad in Punjab. The annual four-day event is held in February promoting the Cholistan desert as a winter destination for local and international tourists.

The race is designed on a track of around 250km with a mid-point for refueling. The event includes a qualifying round on the first day followed by eliminating rounds with the final race on the fourth day. The race is divided into four different categories A, B, C, and D based on the difference in the vehicle design and performance. Since 2018, a new category for women has been introduced in the race, thanks to the growing number of female racers from Pakistan. The latest edition of the race saw around 350 participants from all over the country. Foreign racers can also participate but a NOC from the tourism ministry becomes mandatory. The prize includes a trophy and a cash prize of five hundred thousand Pakistani rupees.

How To Reach The Cholistan Desert?

The Cholistan desert is located near the city of Bahawalpur. It can be reached through train and bus from other major cities of Pakistan. The Cholistan desert is around three hours’ drive away from Bahawalpur. From Bahawalpur, your only option is to self-drive to the desert if you are traveling independently. My trip to Cholistan was organized by Coyote Trails Pakistan so they took care of all the transportation.

P.S: I would highly recommend hiring a tour agency to visit the Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally as it is not very easy to travel independently in the area. The roads aren’t marked properly, locals from the villages near the desert are helpful but they don’t speak English or even Urdu for that matter. Besides, being with a tour guide will also help you in exploring some of the tourist sites near the desert with ease. Not many travel agents conduct tours to the Cholistan rally, however, Coyote Trails Pakistan organizes the rally tour every year and I highly recommend them.

What To Pack For The Cholistan Rally?

The rally happens in February which is a weird time to visit the desert. The days are hot and the nights are very cold. So you will be forced to pack both light and warm clothes.

For day time: As all the activities happen during the day, so I would advise you to pack more light and breathable clothes for the day time.
For the night: A good pair of thermals, a couple of warm jackets, and a beanie would be good enough for the cold nights.
Footwear: A pair of sneakers would be excellent to walk on the soft sand of the desert. If you are comfortable wearing trekking boots at all times (like me) that’ll be good too!
Other accessories: SUNBLOCK, SUNBLOCK, SUNBLOCK! I cannot emphasize enough how important it is as the desert sun is pretty darn harsh. Also, a cap, hat, or a scarf with a pair of good sunglasses is a must!
Basic medical supplies: Don’t be a fool to expect the luxury of health care in the middle of a desert. It is always recommended to carry basic drugs for headache, nausea, cold, and fever.

Where To Stay In The Cholistan Desert?

The beauty of traveling in Pakistan is that you are almost free to camp anywhere and everywhere without much restriction (of course it doesn’t give you the license to behave like a jerk and invade people’s privacy or trespass but otherwise you’ll be good!). For the Cholistan Jeep Rally, the area around the race arena is turned into a big shared campsite by the participants and the spectators. Find a good spot at a good enough distance from the race track to pitch your camp and you are good to go.

I enjoyed the perks of traveling with a travel agent as my friends at Coyote Trails Pakistan arranged a private campsite area with a dining hall and a toilet. There are no shops close to the racing arena so you will be on your own for the food, however, in my case, it was all arranged by the tour operator.

Now that you know about the nitty-gritty of the race, here are the things that add more fun or rather the madness to the Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally!

First thing first, there is no seating area, like nothing at all! Because this is Pakistan and craziness is the norm here, the only way to enjoy the race is to stand right next to the track wherever you can find the place to stand. Be ready to be covered with sand for the rest of your life!
You’ll find random spectators riding their bikes on the dirt track amidst the race while trying to chase the speeding vehicles! This is how crazy things can get in here. Be careful as the crazy locals often don’t care about the spectators while displaying their riding skills on the tracks (which no one really asks for).
To brighten up your day, you’ll encounter performers and dhol-walas (guys with a huge drum in their necks) at any point in the ground to give you a private performance. Do shake a leg on their loud beats – after all, where else can you find a rocking drum performance in the middle of a desert?
The traffic situation leading to the race arena is pretty bad. The roads are narrow and not in the best condition as no one really visits the desert before or after the event. Your best bet is to either reach early or after the race is commenced. That is the time when the traffic in the area gets stable.
You’ll get satisfactory mobile connectivity in the main racing arena of the desert, however, beyond it, the connectivity drops.
There is a mega concert on the final day of the rally when the prize distribution ceremony is held. As the party in the desert gets started, this is the time when the craziness of the event is at its peak. If attending the Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally in Pakistan then the final day concert is something not to be missed!
While I have presented everything you can expect from a trip to the desert, here is something to surprise you. The barren desert of Cholistan is surrounded by lush green farms! Barely a few kilometers drive away from the desert, you will encounter farms on both sides of the road for as far as you could see. I was truly astonished by seeing this as I never expected the land surrounding a desert to be so fertile. So while you’re at it, feel free to climb a dune and see the sun setting over the farms.

Sunset in the farms around the desert

Next up, here are some of the places you should DEFINITELY see during your visit to the Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally in Pakistan.

Places To Visit Near The Cholistan Desert

Derawar Fort

An architectural marvel and one of the largest forts in Pakistan – the Derawar Fort stands tall and alone in the Cholistan Desert. The Derawar Fort has forty solid towering bastions and the entire architecture of the fort has a high resemblance with the forts of Khiva in Uzbekistan that can be seen from a distance while approaching the desert. The mighty walls of the fort have a perimeter of 1500 meters while they stand up to thirty meters high.

The unique design of Derawar Fort has earned it a place in the list of tentative UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Pakistan. The name of the fort is derived from Dera Rawal, which translates to ‘the home of Rawal’. Though the exteriors of the fort have been renovated over time, it is all ruins from the inside. One cannot leave Cholistan without visiting the lonely fort, which I would like to call the ‘Queen of the desert.

Abbasi Mosque of Cholistan

Right opposite the Derawar Fort is the Abbasi Mosque, which is a mosque and a mausoleum of the ruling family of Nawabs. The interior and exterior of the mosque and the mausoleum have their designs inspired by the Shah Jahan Mosque in Sindh and the famous tomb of Shah Rukne Alam in Multan. All the ruling Nawabs of the Bahawalpur district are resting in the mausoleum.

It is part of the ancestral home of the then Nawabs of Bahawalpur and continues to remain in the Abbassi family. The Abbasi mosque has 3 domes and 4 minarets and the entire structure is made up of white marble. A humble and old gentleman looks after the mosque and he was very happy to show us around and also told us about the history of the mosque.

Bahawalpur – The City of Nawabs

Now when you have planned to visit the Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally in Pakistan it wouldn’t be fair at all not to spare a few days and visit the city of Bahawalpur, the largest metropolitan city near the desert. Bahawalpur was a princely state ruled by the visionary Nawab Sadiq before it became a part of Pakistan. The city has colonial times palaces built by the wealthy merchants in the area who voted in favor of becoming a part of Jinnah’s Pakistan against Gandhi’s India when both the countries seek independence from the Brits in 1947.

Bahawalpur is my favorite city in Pakistan for so many different reasons. From palaces to gardens, Pakistan’s largest library to the only Blackbuck sanctuary in the country, the city has it all! Read my full guide on The Best Things To Do and Day Trips To Take From Bahawalpur.

I hope I was able to convince you to visit the Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally in Pakistan which is way more than a racing event. It is a festival to celebrate adventure and joy in the middle of a lonely desert with broken glimpses of the rich past the desert and its surroundings enjoyed only a few decades ago.

Interested in more goodness from Pakistan? Check out my other Pakistan travel guides!

Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally, Pakistan: A Guide On Fun, Dust & Absolute Madness