Churna Island

Churna is a bare limestone island near the Sindh and Balochistan boundary, about six kilometres from Mubarak Village, uninhabited and only about a kilometre long, and it matters because the water around it is the clearest easily reached from Karachi. Coral growth is patchy rather than spectacular, but the fish life is good: snappers, groupers, parrotfish, moray eels, rays and, seasonally, turtles, with visibility that in the right months allows genuine diving rather than murky wading. Operators run day trips from Mubarak Village, a fishing settlement reached by road from Karachi, taking small boats out for snorkelling, scuba with certified guides, cliff jumping from the island's rocks, and fishing. The island itself has no facilities of any kind, and everything, including drinking water, comes on the boat.

History

Churna, known locally as Cheerno, is about 1.2 kilometres long and 0.5 kilometres wide and part of the Churna-Kaio group of islands. Divers count more than 60 types of coral in its waters, and according to Yousuf Ali of the Karachi Scuba Diving Centre many new corals began to flourish after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 (Wikipedia, Churna Island).

What's there

• Reef fish - snappers, groupers, parrotfish and morays in clear water.
• Snorkelling and diving - the country's best accessible underwater site.
• Cliff jumping - rock ledges used by day-trip operators.
• The bare island - uninhabited limestone with seabirds.

When to go

November to March, when the sea is calm and visibility best; the monsoon months from June to September make crossings rough or impossible. Weekdays avoid the weekend crowd of boats. Trips start early from Karachi.

Things to know

Coral cover is limited and divers used to the Red Sea or Southeast Asia should temper expectations. Boat safety standards vary, life jackets are not always provided, and there is no rescue infrastructure; choose operators carefully. There is no shade or water on the island. The sea can turn quickly.

Nearby

Mubarak Village is the departure point; Karachi is two hours east.

Key facts