Bahawalpur is a historic city in southern Punjab, Pakistan, on the edge of the Cholistan Desert near the Indian border. It was the capital of a princely state ruled by the Nawabs of Bahawalpur until Pakistan's independence, and their legacy is visible in the city's ornate palaces and public buildings — several built in an Indo-Saracenic style in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The surrounding Cholistan Desert, stretching some 26,000 square kilometres towards the Thar, gives the region a distinctive character. Derawar Fort, a massive mud-brick fortification rising from the desert 100km south, is one of the most dramatic historical monuments in Pakistan. Lal Suhanra National Park, 35km east of the city, protects desert and wetland habitat with blackbuck, chinkara gazelle, and migratory birds.
The city's palaces — Noor Mahal, Gulzar Mahal, and the Darbar Mahal complex — reflect the architectural ambition of the nawabs who ruled this rich cotton-growing state until 1947. The ancient Sufi town of Uch Sharif, 75km west, adds a deeper historical dimension. Bahawalpur is a commercial and educational centre for the region, with a university and busy bazaars around Fareed Gate trading in cotton textiles, carpets, and the distinctive crafts of the Cholistan — hand-woven camel-hair goods, embroidered cloth, and date-palm basketwork.