Hinglaj - Geographical Location

Geographical Location

Hinglaj is situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is near the peak of one of the mountains of the Makran Coastal Range. It is approximately 120 km from the Indus River Delta and 20 km from the Arabian Sea. The area is extremely arid and the pilgrimage also called 'Nani ki Haj' by local Muslims takes place before summer. The pilgrimage starts at a place near the Hao river which is 10 km from Karachi.

The name of Hinglaj lends itself to the Hingol river, the largest in Balochistan and the Hingol National Park which at 6,200 square kilometers is the largest in Pakistan.

Since it is located in a desert which is called Maru in Sanskrit, the shrine is referred to in holy texts as "Marutirtha Hinglaj" which means Hinglaj, the Shrine of the Desert. "Marutirtha Hinglaj" (Bengali: মরুতীর্থ হিংলাজ) is also the name of a Bengali novel by Kalikananda Abadhut (Bengali: কলিকানন্দ অবধূত) who made a pilgrimage to Hinglaj and Koteshwar, Kutch. The novel is based on real-life experience and has later been adapted into a very successful Indian Bengali movie of the same name (মরুতীর্থ হিংলাজ 1959, Director: Bikash Roy; casting: Anil Chatterjee, Uttam Kumar, Sabitri Chatterjee, Pahari Sanyal, Bikash Roy, Chandrabati Devi).

The Makran Coastal Highway linking Karachi with Gwadar runs parallel to Balochistan's Arabian Sea coast. It was built by Frontier Works Organisation and follows the same path which Alexander the Great took when he ended his campaign. The highway has made the pilgrimage and visiting the shrine very convenient.