Ormara is a fishing town on a rocky headland that pokes out into the Arabian Sea, and it feels like a place the twentieth century half forgot. About thirteen thousand people live here, in low concrete houses and boat sheds strung along a sheltered bay. A navy base occupies part of the peninsula, but the heart of the town is the harbour, where wooden dhows come in with the catch and the smell of drying fish hangs in the air. A walk to the end of the jetty at dawn, with the boats unloading and gulls wheeling, is as good a morning as the road offers.
The place has a very old story. The Makran coast was the route Alexander the Great's admiral Nearchus took in the fourth century BC when he led the fleet home from the Indus, and ancient writers describe the fish-eating peoples of the shore. Fish are still the staple. The harbour town traded with Oman and the Gulf for centuries, and old links with Arab and East African sailors show in the faces and the dialects along the coast.
To get here, the Makran Coastal Highway runs west from Karachi, over the Hingol River and the Buzi Pass, then drops to the coastal flats. The last stretch into Ormara is quiet, flat and straight, with salt pans and scrub on one side and the sea on the other. The road is generally in good condition, but crosswinds and sand across the surface are common, and distances are big. Speed is not the point; steady cruising and plenty of water are.
Fuel is available in Ormara, which is a proper town with garages, small shops and tea houses, though supplies of petrol can be irregular in this remote part of Balochistan, so fill whenever you can. Simple guesthouses exist, and fresh grilled fish is usually the best thing to order. Heat is the main hazard, and the sensible season is winter, when the air is mild and the sea clear. Summer brings strong monsoon winds and heavy swell.
Ormara's peninsula also has a bird and turtle life that deserves respect. Green turtles and olive ridleys nest on beaches in this stretch of coast, and the headland is a landmark for migrating birds. Check the security advice for Balochistan before you travel, and keep the day's riding within daylight hours.