Sukkur and Sadhu Belo

Sukkur sits where the Indus narrows between limestone ridges, which is why so much engineering has been concentrated here: the Lansdowne Bridge of 1889, a cantilever of red-painted iron that was among the longest of its type when built, the Ayub arch bridge beside it, and the Sukkur Barrage of 1932 whose sixty-six gates feed one of the largest irrigation systems in the world. Just upstream lies Sadhu Belo, an island holding a Hindu temple complex founded in the 1820s by an ascetic, with shrines, gardens and guest halls, still maintained and still receiving pilgrims, reached by boats from the bank. The old town has the Masum Shah minaret, a seventeenth-century tower climbable for the view over the river, and Rohri across the water has bazaars and the shrine of War Mubarak.

What you actually see

• Sadhu Belo island temple - a Hindu complex mid-river, reached by boat.
• Lansdowne Bridge - the 1889 cantilever span over the Indus.
• Sukkur Barrage - the 1932 irrigation works with its sixty-six gates.
• Masum Shah minaret - a seventeenth-century tower with a spiral climb.

When to go

November to February; Sukkur is one of the hottest cities in the country from April onward, regularly over forty-five degrees. Boats to the island run through the day but arrangements are informal. Hindu festivals bring pilgrims and a livelier island.

Honest expectations

Visiting Sadhu Belo may require permission or coordination at the boat point, and access is not always granted to casual visitors. Boats are basic and safety equipment scarce. The city is congested and dusty with limited visitor facilities. Photography around the barrage and bridges can attract official attention.

Nearby

Kot Diji Fort lies south; the Indus dolphin reserve is on the river nearby.