A massive 18th-century fortification rising from the Cholistan Desert, with 40 circular bastions and walls 30 metres high. The interior is closed but the exterior, the adjacent Abbasi Mosque, and the royal tombs are accessible. Around 100km south of Bahawalpur; requires a 4WD or desert-capable vehicle.
Derawar Fort
Forty massive bastions rising from the Cholistan Desert
A story
Derawar Fort was rebuilt in its current form by Nawab Bahawal Khan I in 1733 on the ruins of a much older Rajput fort. The royal family of Bahawalpur is still technically the owner. The adjacent graveyard holds the tombs of the Nawabs of Bahawalpur, and the Abbasi Mosque beside the fort — a smaller replica of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore — is the real architectural jewel of the complex.