Karachi is the most prominent coastal city of Pakistan. The beach lovers here have a lot of opportunities to visit different beaches of the Arabian Sea. Out of all the options, Clifton Beach holds the most critical value among all for giving fun seekers and beach lovers some excellent leisure and recreational opportunities. The Clifton Beach is also alternately known as Sea view which actually is a prominent and the busiest spot of the beach where you will see so many people at any time of the day and night. Some come from beach sports/ activities, some come for cool breeze, some want to have a walk along the coast while some come for so many other recreational activities which include food at the top.
The Clifton Beach, Karachi in the 20th century was rated amongst the most popular and top silver sand beaches of the world. But, just a few years ago in 2003, the beach got ruined with oil spill from a cargo ship which resulted it into a no go area for a few weeks.
Location:
The beach is located in the neighborhoods of the Saddar Town which is the city center. The Seaview Apartments just across the beach is a gated residential area which is rated amongst the top properties in the city. Owning an apartment in this area is something which every Karachiite wants but it can be a very costly venture which makes it an option only for the elite. Moreover, many other apartments and villas can be seen along the Clifton beach coasts which are getting popular in the same way as the Seaview Apartments. The Darakhshan Villas is another similar housing scheme having the eyes of many people looking for their dream accommodation in the city.
Beach Attractions:
The beach has many attractions for tourists which includes families and individuals of all ages and both genders. There is a nearby amusement park which has all the fun rides that you can ever see in a high voltage amusement park. People on the beach enjoy the camel rides and horse rides etc which is very much inexpensive and affordable for the middle class. Just recently, the tri-bikes are becoming the new buzz in the Clifton Beach area which attracts a lot of youngsters to enjoy this amazing vehicle at the beach. The tri-bikes can be booked on hourly rates which is the most economical way of enjoy this ride.
Another recent attraction added to the area is the newly constructed Cineplex Cinema which is the hot-spot for the residents of Clifton and Defense Housing Authority (DHA) area. All the national and international movies are staged here for the movie buffs. The cinema has been facilitated with arrange of state of the art facilities and a number of other entertainments as well.
The beach is ideal for picnics where you have a lot of liberty to do your own cooking or you can also eat readymade food out of the boxes. On weekends, public holidays or on any major festival, it can be very hard to find a quiet and lonely spot on the beach. If you are peace lover then the best time to enjoy on the beach is to come on any weekday when the beach is less crowded and peaceful.
The floodlights:
The Clifton Beach for the tourists has a lot of different flavors. It has a different feel during the day which completely overturns at the night time. Just as you see the sun-setting on the West, flood lights comes on which gives an electrifying effect to the entire area. The flood lights brighten up the beach and you will have a view quite far on the beach. The Seagulls at the beach are a treat to watch under the spectacular flood lights.
Food Street:
The Clifton Beach is growing in leaps and bounds and the authorities are utilizing the available space quite well. If you go deep down on the right side of the Seaview point then you will see nearly a hundred fine-dine restaurants straight in a line. They are spacious and usually have wood material in their construction which give Karachiites and all other visitors a totally different and a never-before experienced feeling. The food offered in these restaurants is Chinese and Continental but the main specialty however is the traditional Pakistani food items. Moreover, seafood is also a specialty and more particularly the ones which are cooked with conventional Pakistani recipes. The restaurants here are growing very fast. After every month or two, you will see a couple more restaurants added to the list. The restaurants are very busy during weekends and other public holidays. The restaurants can make reservations over the phone so it is highly advised to book in your place before visiting, particularly on off days.
Dolmen Mall:
On the other extreme of the Clifton Beach or on the left hand side of the Seaview point is the famous Dolmen Mall. It is a very famous shopping destination which was inaugurated in 2011. The mall is popular primarily because it was the first mall to introduce the top international brands in Pakistan such as Debenhams, Next, Timberland and Monsoon etc. The mall is good for its restaurants as well and you can find all your favorite international fast food franchises here.
The Clifton Beach is the main beauty of the city which should be well maintained and preserved so that the future generations can benefit in the same way as the present generation. There are some serious issues of erosion in the nearby apartments due to the excessive moisture. The residents of Clifton and DHA area are fight the erosion issues by bedding more sand which on the negative side can change the features and the overall shape of the Clifton Beach. The Sindh Government needs to intervene by giving their input to rectify the issues and make it a much fitter place for the tourists and the residents as well.
