There were things I did not expect when entering the Achro Thar, the White Desert of Pakistan. I did not expect to see the hot white sand turn cold and grey, covered with a layer of broken seashells, a few feet before a lake, of all things: two square miles of water in defiance of the seasonal drought.

I did not expect to see just how pristine this place was. Unlike the Tharparkar desert—the southern-most part of the desert strip which runs on the east of Pakistan next to the Indian border, part of the enormous cross-border Thar desert system—Achro Thar has remained in its pristine condition, untouched by any signs of modern development, mainly because of the absence of a workable transport.

Read more » Roads And Kingdoms

The Camel Ambulance of Achro Thar