Deosai National Park

Deosai National Park, sprawling across a vast high plateau at around 4,000 metres in Pakistan's northern mountains, is one of the highest and most extraordinary wildernesses on earth, its name meaning the Land of Giants. Snowbound and empty for most of the year, in the brief summer it transforms into a boundless rolling expanse of green carpeted with a dazzling profusion of wildflowers, streaked by clear streams and dotted with the serene Sheosar Lake. This remote, treeless plateau is a crucial refuge for the rare Himalayan brown bear, alongside marmots, ibex and golden eagles.

History

The name joins two Shina words, deo, "giant", and sai, "shadow", while the Balti people call the plateau Ghbiarsa, "summer's place", since it can be reached only in summer. The English name "Land of the Giant" was coined by the travel writer Salman Rashid in the early 1990s, and the plains lie at an average of 4,114 metres (Wikipedia, Deosai National Park).

What's there

• The wildflower plateau - the summer carpet of flowers on the plains.
• Sheosar Lake - the serene high-altitude lake.
• The Himalayan brown bears - the rare bears the park protects.
• The vast wilderness - the boundless, treeless high plateau.

When to go

July to September is the only accessible window, when the snow has melted, the roads over the high passes open, and the plateau bursts into wildflower bloom; even in summer, the high altitude keeps it cold, especially at night. For the rest of the year the plateau is deep in snow and completely inaccessible.

What to expect

It is extremely remote and high, reached by four-wheel drive over rough tracks, with no facilities beyond seasonal camps, and the thin air at 4,000 metres affects many visitors, so it demands acclimatisation and preparation. It is usually visited from Skardu. The rare brown bears are elusive. For the surreal beauty of a vast, flower-carpeted high plateau and genuine wilderness, though, Deosai is magical and unforgettable.

Nearby

The town of Skardu, its lakes and the Baltistan valleys are within reach.

Key facts