Deosai Plains, Land of the Giants, Baltistan Photo Gallery by Arif Khan at pbase.com

Deosai Plains, Land of the Giants, Baltistan

Deosai means Land of Giants. It is among the highest plateaus in the world. The Deosai National Park is above the tree line and at an average height of 13,500 feet above sea level covers a vast area of almost 3,000 square kilometers.

Between November and May - Deosai is snow-bound. In the summer months it is accessible from Skardu in the north and the Astore Valley in the west. Deosai Plains make up one of the last frontiers of natural habitat for the Himalayan brown bear that once roamed the mountains freely.

A New Morning - Pakistan	Deosai Plains	Deosai Plains - Land of the Giants	Clear Water Stream at Deosai Plains
Sadpara Lake	Deosai Plains	View of Sadpara Lake in the Distance	Wild Flowers at Deosai
Nanga Parbat (Killer Mountain)	Deosai Plains	The Unspoiled Beauty of Pakistan's Deosai National Park	Sheosar Lake at 14,500 ft above sea level
Deosai Plains	We crossed two rivers this way	Deosai Plains	Bridge Crossing
Wild flowers ay Sheosar Lake, Deosai Plains	Deosai Jeep Safari	Deosai Plains	Stream
Deosai Plains	Deosai Plains	Sheosar Lake at 14,500 ft above sea level	Deosai Plains
Flower-bedecked Alpine Pastures.	Sadpara Lake

Sadaqat Ali Syed		28-Sep-2006 02:54
Dear Arif Sahib, Your travel pictures are a treat to watch. Being a Pakistani, I greatly admire your work on Pakistan. Thanks for sharing and showing a beautiful picture of Pakistan. Sadaqat

Vipin Mayer		24-Feb-2006 10:39
A beautiful place and wonderful photos,great captures ,it really is a place worth travelling to,what a beautiful undisturbed landscape. great.

Arif Khan		10-Feb-2006 15:41
Thanks for the visit to the web site. Many viewers have emailed me for advise on travel to Deosai. Here are my personal comments: It is certainly one of the most beautiful places that I have visited and this is a trip of a lifetime. Travel should really be about remote and unusual places like Deosai that open you horizon to the world. You need to have a 4 wheel drive jeep to visit Deosai. While it is possible to drive yourself, there are no metal roads in the Deosai National Park. The tracks are not marked well so it will be very easy to lose your way if you do not have a local person with you to guide you. Preferably rent a jeep from Skadru or at least take a local driver. You need to cross two rivers along the way. These need to be crossed at the right spot where it is shallow enough for the jeep to go through. Plus it gets a bit tricky with the smooth round pebbles on the riverbed where the jeep could easily get stuck in the midst of freezing water. My kids, who are young teenagers, were with me enjoyed it very much. The trip has left lasting memories for them. The drive up from Skardu involves a rather rapid climb in the first hour and half or so. The gradient here is constant and at times steep. The road can be pretty rough in places. Once you get on to the plateau and enter the park area (need to pay a small toll) the climb becomes gentle. You should take your own food for the period you are in Deosai as there are no restaurants or hotels there. There is no construction permitted in the Deosai Park. Four hours from Skardu is the spectacular Sheosar Lake that is one of the highest lakes in the world and close to Chilim Valley on the way to the base camp of Nanga Parbat. You can either continue from Sheosar on towards Astore and end up at the KKH or return to Skardu to stay in Baltistan. I would cancel the trip if it is raining on the day you have planned it. Even if it is hot in Skardu you must take very warm clothes with you as the jeeps can be drafty and at 13000 to 15000 elevation in Deosai you will feel the sudden change in temperature. We went with an open top in order to enjoy the views and returned with the canvas top closed because it was pretty cold even though in August Skardu was quite warm. Deosai is not recommended for anyone who has high blood pressure or a heart condition. Some prefer to go to Deosai with an overnight stop (in tents) in order to get the body acclimatised to the height, though we did not do that. Let me know if you want any other information. I wish you luck. Arif PS. I am based in Montreal and visit Northern Pakistan once every two years with my family. We just love it!!

Ali		14-Jun-2005 01:34
Great photography Khan saab, InshaAllah I'll visit the place soon after going to Pakistan, though its a shame for me as my hometown is Abbottabad. Your work is simply marvellous. Regards, Ali Humair, London

Anwer Arifi		13-May-2005 14:08
Great job presenting Baltistan, a Beautifull place but neglected!

Arif Khan		30-Jan-2005 22:46
Paul, Thanks for taking the time to visit. Coming from you, I know this is an honour. This happens to be one of the most beautiful places I have visited.

Paul Keates		30-Jan-2005 20:14
Hello Arif, This is a very interesting gallery with great shots. Best regards, Paul.

Brussels Sprout		21-Sep-2004 00:36
Extraordinary place. I always regreted not to have time to spend more than a few days when I was travelling to Pakistan in the past.

Phyllis Stewart		07-Sep-2004 06:23
Fascinating place and great photos of it!

Selvin Chance		05-Sep-2004 23:53
Arif, Wondeful journey into the Deosai plains captured by your camera. Thank you for sharing this with us. Aloha

Mansour Mouasher		28-Aug-2004 23:03
Lovely gallery. Nice combination of earth, water, sky and clouds. Artistic and expressive photos. Well done!

Amir		28-Aug-2004 11:19
WOW! looking at these images makes me realize what we've missed - hell we should certainly take a look at these areas by visiting there sometime soon. Amir

Aziz		27-Aug-2004 01:26
Respected Arif Khan, What an amazing job, how wonderful photography. May God Bless you for your 'true artistic' mentality. That is all I can say at the moment. Am so proud of you, especially the way you have taken pictures in the northern Pakistan. THis will help promoting both local and foreign tourists. So nice of you once again. Your admiror Mehbob Aziz University of East Anglia, UK

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