Bahawalpur

Farther east, the Rohi, or Cholistan, is a barren desert tract, bounded on the north and west by the Hakra depression with ruins of old settlements along its high banks; it is still inhabited by nomads. It is at a distance of 30 km. from Bahawalpur. The word 'Cholistan' is derived from the word 'cholna' which means moving. It covers an area of about 16,000 square km and extends into the Thar Desert of India. The region was once watered by the Hakra River, known as the Saravati in vedic times. At one time there were 400 forts in the area and archaeological finds around the Darawar Fort, the only place with a perennial waterhole. The average annual rainfall is only 12 cm, and the little cultivation is made possible by underground wells, drawn up by the camels. The water is stored in troughs, built by the tribes, between sandhills and din waterholes called tobas. The forts here were built at 29 km intervals, which probably served as guard posts for the camel caravan routes. There were three rows of these forts. the first line of forts began from Phulra and ended in Lera, the second from Rukhanpur to Islamgarh, and the third from Bilcaner to Kapoo. They are all in ruins now, and you can see that they were built with double walls of gypsum blocks and mud. Some of them date back to 1000 BC, and were destroyed and rebuilt many times. Cholistan also boasts of many old forts such as Derawar,Vingrot, Banwar, Marcot, Wilhar, Maujgharh, Mao, Phuira and Din-gharh etc.