Gwadar sits on a small hammer-shaped peninsula jutting into the Arabian Sea, at the far western end of Pakistan's coast, and for most of its history it belonged to somebody else. The Sultan of Oman held it for nearly two centuries, after receiving it as a gift in the 1780s, and it was only in 1958 that Pakistan bought it back. A few years later a deep-water port began to be developed here, and in recent times Chinese investment has built a large modern port and plans for a city, giving the place a curious mixture of fishing village and building site.
The old town is a small, hot cluster of low buildings and fishing boats on the isthmus, with a long beach on each side of the narrow neck of land. On the east side, the water is shallow and sheltered, and on the west the Arabian Sea rolls in. A rocky headland, Koh-e-Batil, rises at the end of the peninsula, and from its top you see the whole bay and the lines of boats in the harbour. The sunsets are rich, orange and dusty, and fishermen mend their nets on the sand. There are about fifty thousand people in the town.
The ride that ends here is a long one. The Makran Coastal Highway, running from Karachi, passes through Hingol National Park, where wind and water have carved formations that look like a sphinx and a princess, and crosses long stretches of empty desert. The road is a good surface for most of the way, with sea views and almost no traffic, and the heat is fierce in summer. Sandstorms and strong winds can arise suddenly, and the road is long and empty, so it pays to be self-sufficient.
Gwadar has fuel, markets, restaurants serving fresh fish and basic accommodation, and it is the only substantial town for a long way. Fill the tank and your water containers here before heading on, and take care to keep to roads you know. As elsewhere in Balochistan, you may meet security checkpoints, so carry identification and check the current situation before you travel.
Go in the cooler months, from about November to March. The sea breeze at dusk is the reward for a long day in the saddle.