Mirpur Khas

Mirpur Khas, literary the "land of most royal Mirs", is an ancient and historical city of Sindh. It used to serve as gateway to the Great Thar Desert and is today counted amongst the largest cities of Sindh. Unfortunately, it doesn't offer much to see for its visitors, except for the ancestral graves of Talpur Mirs on the outskirts of the city.

Understand
The early history of Mirpur Khas dates back to the 4th-century CE Buddhist settlement known as Kao Jo Daro. Much later, armies of Muhammad Bin Qasim settled in the area when Sindh was conquered by Muhammad Bin Qasim, and shortly following that, the city of Mirpur Khas was founded by Mir Ali Murad Talpur in 1806. The city remained the capital of Talpur Mirs of Mirpurkhas until 1843 when Sindh was annexed to British India under the East India Company. Later Sindh was made part of Bombay Presidency. Soon after the 1947 partition, the population of Mirpur Khas swelled as it became the first city to welcome refugees from across the Indian side of the new border to Pakistan and acted as a primary railway junction for the first trains to roll across Rajasthan to Sindh.

Get in
Mirpur Khas lies 80 km east of Hyderabad can be reached both by trains and by car or bus. Buses from all major cities of Sindh can be easily available for Mirpur Khas. A ticket on air-condition bus and van from Karachi cost about Rs 300 and journey may take around 3 hours.

Non-air-conditioned trains Saman Sarkar Express travel between Mirpur Khas and Hyderabad while Marvi Passenger between Mirpur Khas and border town of Khokhropar. The train passes through famous Thar Desert.



Get around
One can go to different parts of the city by self-driven cars, private taxis as well rickshaws both shared motorcycle type rickshaws as well typical rickshaws. Within Mirpur Khas, rickshaws of both types provide cheap and quick transportation for going from one place to another or for city tour and are perfectly fine. Taxis are generally private cars and operated by taxi companies and can be easily hailed only from the taxi stands as distinguishing between a taxi and a private car may be difficult. You can ask at a hotels to arrange a taxi as well. These taxis are usually air-conditioned, modern and clean fleet which makes them the most comfortable, luxurious way to navigate around the city of Mirpur Khas especially in the blistering hot weather of Summer.

A rickshaw can be hired for Rs 1,000 to visit the Chittori, and archaeological site, both on the outskirts of the city.

See




Buy
Mirpur Khas is known for its mango production and farming of different varieties, with the most famous being the "Sindhri" — literally the mango from Sindh.

Mirpur Khas has a few shopping areas and bazaars, the most popular, traditional and oldest of which is Shahi Bazaar.

Eat
There are many simple restaurants scattered throughout the city, all serving Pakistani food. There are also some restaurants worth going to on Station Rd and Hyderabad Rd, most of them serve barbecue at night.

Go next

 * Thatta
 * Umerkot
 * Hyderabad
 * Mothparja