Hingol mud volcanoes

The Hingol mud volcanoes (bal: ھنگول ئےِ خاک شان; ) are located in Lasbela District, Balochistan, Pakistan at a distance of around 100 km from Uthal, which is the headquarter of District Lasbela. The mud volcanoes are located in Hingol National Park, which is the largest national park in Pakistan.^[1] It contains about ten clusters of mud volcanoes, the most important of which are Chandragup and Khandewari volcanoes.^[2]

These are not located on the main road about a kilometer off the Makran Coastal Highway leading from Lasbela to Gwadar; the locals may provide guidance to the exact location. A landmark is an SSGC installation. The site is a complex of three major mud volcanoes and a number of smaller ones.

The three main mud volcanoes of the location, known as the Chandragup Complex,^[3] are Chandragup 1, 2 and 3.^[4] One of which is a 300-foot-high mud volcano. It is a sacred annual pilgrimage site for Hindus, along with the close by Hinglaj Mata Temple.^[1][5][6] Also known as Chandrakup, the volcano is considered holy by Hindus and is an important stop for pilgrims on their way to the Hinglaj Mata temple.^[7] Devotees throw coconuts into the craters to make wishes and thank the gods for answering their prayers.^[8]

Chandragup

Chandragup is an active mud volcano located in Hingol National Park in the Pakistani Balochistan.^[9] Also known as Chandrakup, the volcano is considered holy by Hindus and is an important stop for pilgrims on their way to the Hinglaj Mata Temple.^[7]

The Chandragup mud volcano is worshipped as an embodiment of the Hindu god Shiva, and called Baba Chandragup.^[10] Pilgrims to the volcano believe that the Hinglaj Mata Temple may only be entered after paying homage to Baba Chandrakup. Traditionally, the pilgrim stays awake all night, fasting and meditating on the sins they will confess at the rim the following day. They bake roti made out of ingredients contributed by all the yātrīs (pilgrims). On the next day they ascend the slope of Chandrakup, and the roṭi is served as an offering to Baba Chandrakup. Nowadays, coconuts, betel nut and dal are also offered. At the volcano's peak, the pilgrims must introduce themselves with their full name and place of origin and then call out their sins in front of the group. According to the bubbling of the mud and the reaction of the wind, the chaṛīdār is able to tell if the pilgrim's sins are forgiven.^[11]

Devotees throw coconuts into the craters to make wishes and thank the gods for answering their prayers.^[12]

See also

• List of volcanoes in Pakistan
• Hinduism in Balochistan

References

1. ^ "Pakistan's Most Wild and Beautiful Places". National Geographic. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
2. ^ "Hingol Cultural Landscape". UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
3. ^ "Pakistan Mud Volcanoes". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 2010-03-14. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
4. ^ Santiago-Fandino, V.; Tanaka, H.; Spiske, M. (14 April 2016). Tsunamis and Earthquakes in Coastal Environments: Significance and Restoration. Springer. ISBN 9783319285283.
5. ^ Xafar, Ali (20 April 2016). "Mata Hinglaj Yatra: To Hingol, a pilgrimage to reincarnation". Express Tribune
6. ^ Mulki, Muhammad Adil (24 February 2013). "Footprints in the mud". Express Tribune
7. ^ Mud Volcanoes of Balochistan Archived 2012-09-15 at the Wayback Machine, Owais Mughal, 2 March 2007, All Things Pakistan, Accessed: 25 September 2012, ... Very close to Chandargup is an ancient Hindu temple called ‘Hinglaj temple’ or ‘Nani Temple’. There are many pronunciations of the word Chandragup in practise. Due to close proximity a Hindu temple to these volcanoes, it is very likely that the word Chandargup is actually derived from the word ‘Chandargupt’. Another word which locally mentions this group of volcanoes is ‘Chandra coop’ which means Volcanoes of the Moon ... The Hindus worship these mud volcanoes as the habitation of a deity Babhaknath ...
8. ^ "Hindu Pilgrimage in Pakistan". National Geographic Society. 10 January 2019. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019.
9. ^ Muddy Coasts of the World: Processes, Deposits, and Function, pp. 149, Gulf Professional Publishing, 2002, ISBN 9780444510198, ... The Las Bela Coastal Plain in Baluchistan is also renowned for the occurrence of mud volcanoes (Snead 1964). The largest one of these, the Chandragup, forms an almost perfect cone 58 m high ...
10. ^ "Sacred Significance Of Chandragup Mud Volcano In Pakistan For Hindus". Times Now. 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
11. ^ Schaflechner, Jürgen (2018). Hinglaj Devi: Identity, Change, and Solidification at a Hindu Temple in Pakistan. Oxford University Press. p. 200. ISBN 9780190850524. Archived 12 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine.
12. ^ "Hindu Pilgrimage in Pakistan". National Geographic Society. 10 January 2019. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019.