Excursion to Astore-Deosai Plains
Deosai plains is accessible either by Astore or Skardu and we chose to travel by Astore. Our journey began on 2nd day of Eid and we departed early in the morning at 6:00am from Gilgit city. The excitement was at peak for it was the first time we were travelling to Astore-Deosai except for Waqar. Our Wolfpack included me, Waqar , Junaid, Ubaid and the legendary Zahid aka Barfaani Cheetah (Snow Leopard). The funny thing is that Zahid hails from Astore too, but this was his first visit to this beautiful district.
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| From L to R: Junaid, Zahid, Waqar, Me, Ubaid |
Bonji is the first town of Astore district; this little town being famous for the recruitment of Northern Light Infantry of Pak Army. The District of Astore isn't densely populated and Waqar didn't miss the chance to entertain us with some of the BhootNath stories of one notorious haunted building along the way. Passing through several beautiful little villages, one can't help but appreciate and devour the natural sceneries all along the way. We stopped for some light shopping in the town of Gorikot. We had planned to cook our own food and thus we started looking to buy some chicken but we couldn't find any. More about the chicken, later. For Breakfast we stopped at Waqar's uncle's place in the village of Makiyal. That was one of the most delicious breakfasts we ever had; the homemade butter, the doodhpati, the local bread Shirik, everything was just amazing. Our hosts were really friendly and I will carry the memories of their affable nature throughout my life. Our gracious hosts were kind enough to slaughter one of their pet chickens for us, but thanks to Waqar for forgetting that back at home. We are never going to forget about the chicken :P
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| Chicken Who? |
After a journey of about 2 hours from Makiyal, we reached the little town of Chilum. This is where the Deosai National Park starts. Deosai is the combination of two words 'Deo' (Giant) and 'Sai' (Shadow). The myth is that this place is haunted by giants and thus the name 'The Land Of Giants'. I was quite optimistic to see some Wun Wun down there, but I had to settle with humans only. Deosai is the second highest plateau in the world and has also been featured in several documentaries. The weather is quite unpredictable here and it can start snowing even in the summer. This area is mostly uninhabited due to the extreme weather, icy winds and the wildlife. The only people who survive the summer in this region are the nomadic Gujjars, who pass through Deosai with their herds.
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| Road to Deosai |
Along the way, we were lucky enough to see some Golden Marmots popping out of their holes and keenly observing our car passing through. The marmots dwell in mountainous areas and are abundantly found in Deosai. They are some of the cutest creatures and get startled very easily so it's quite a task to take a snap of them.
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| A Golden Marmot |
In summer, Deosai is host to a range of beautiful flowers of all hues and color and this adds to the beauty of Deosai tenfold. There are almost no trees in Deosai because the extreme temperatures don't support the growth of trees here.
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| Deosai Plains |
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| Somewhere in Deosai |
Some of other wildlife creatures in Deosai are the all famous Brown Bears. We heard all the stories about brown bears but weren't lucky enough to spot one. One can also find Golden Eagles , red foxes and many other wildlife creatures.
There are a lot of springs in Deosai, abundant with trouts which serve as a source of food for both the locals as well as the bears. Our attempts at fishing were futile and we bought some trouts from the local kids who are adept at fishing. These beautiful springs, the colorful flowers all around, the wildlife creatures and the beautiful weather is what makes Deosai one of the best places to visit.
After almost 2 hours, we reached Sheosar Lake. 'Sheosar' means blind in Shina, and it's called so because the lake has no visible inlet and outlet. This is one of the most beautiful lakes and the water is freezing cold here. After Sheosar lake, we left for 'Kala Pani'; another beautiful sight in Deosai. After wandering around the plains for a few hours, we decided to head back somewhere close to Chilum to pick a camping site. After picking a beautiful sight by the river, we began to unpack and took out our tents from the car. As this was my first time camping, I was of no help in arranging the tents. Thanks to Waqar and Junaid for building the tent, picking up the woods, cutting the woods, and then building the campfire. I did try to cut a few woods to help out my friends, but seeing how pathetic and futile my attempt was, Waqar grabbed the axe from me and continued the hardwork.
The sun set in and the temperature fell. We grabbed our jackets and tried to cover us with anything we could find. The constant threat of bears ripping apart our tents was horrifying and the stories narrated by Waqar didn't help us calm at all.
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| Sheosar Lake |
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| Kala Pani |
At night, the stars completely lit the sky and the moonlight illuminated the mountain tops. Sitting by the campfire along-with friends, making tea, reminiscing old times, taking jabs at each other, the experience of cooking trouts, and the horror of getting mauled by bears anytime, made it all a wonderful experience. Our very own Barfani Cheetah didn't miss a single chance to tease our celebrity singer Ubaid, but 'Karma' has its own ways. Around midnight, we put off our campfire and crawled into our tents. Only after closing the tent and putting on two blankets, we felt warm enough to close our eyes. We woke around dawn the next morning and having packed our tents and clearing the campsite area, we drove back to Chilum and had a nice breakfast at the Chilum rest-house, again Thanks to Waqar's connections :P
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| Our Campsite |
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| Campfire |
After leaving Chilum, we departed for our next destination, Rama Lake. Rama Lake is in Astore valley with verdure all around the track. Rama Valley is a popular tourist spot in summer and is easily accessible. After spending a few hours here, we started our journey back to Gilgit and reached there around 8:00pm.
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| Rama valley |
The Northern areas of our country are extremely beautiful and they please our soul. Deosai is a place where one can experience nature at its best and forget all the worries. People should take time out of their hectic routines to visit these beautiful places, because not only it will be a beautiful experience, but it will also promote tourism and economy in this region.
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