The Princess of Hope
In the mountains of Balochistan stands a natural rock figure of a woman in a long dress, gazing into the distance. Nearby, a rock looks like a sphinx.
What was reported
Along the coast road through Hingol National Park in southern Pakistan, the soft mudstone hills have been carved by wind and rain into extraordinary shapes. One, about 15 metres high, looks remarkably like a woman wearing a long, flowing dress, standing on a pedestal and looking out over the land.
It's known as the Princess of Hope. Not far away is another formation that resembles a sphinx, and travellers stop to photograph both.
Explanations offered
The figures were shaped by erosion of soft rock, which forms strange towers and shapes in dry, windy places. It's an example of pareidolia: the mind's tendency to see familiar shapes in random forms. The name is said to have been given by a famous visitor in the early 2000s.
- When
- Shaped over thousands of years
- Where
- Hingol National Park, Balochistan, Pakistan
- Witnesses
- Travellers on the coast road
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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