Deosai Plains Jeep Safari

About this tour

Deosai Plains is located in western Himalayas in Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Pakistan. It has an average elevation of 4,114 metres (13,497 ft) above sea level, making the Deosai Plains the second highest plateau in the world after Changtang Tibetan Plateau. The park protects an area of 843 square kilometres (325 sq mi). It is well known for its rich flora and fauna of the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe eco-region. In spring, it is covered by sweeps of wildflowers and a wide variety of butterflies.

The Deosai National Park was established in 1993 to protect the survival of the Himalayan brown bear and its habitat. Having long been a prize kill for poachers and hunters, the bear now has a hope for survival in Deosai where its number has increased from only 19 in 1993 to 40 in 2005. In 1993, after playing an instrumental role in the designation of Deosai as a National Park, the Himalayan Wildlife Foundation (formerly the Himalayan Wildlife Project) was founded with a substantial international financial support. The Himalayan Wildlife Foundation ran two park entry check posts and a field research camp in Deosai for approximately ten years. Documentation was completed by the Himalayan Wildlife Foundation for the handover of the management of the Park to the, then, Northern Areas Forest Department with the department starting to manage the park since 2006. While pressures that existed in the 1990s, such as hunting and poaching have subsided, the brown bear is still under threat due to pressures such as increasing numbers of tourists and the use of park areas for grazing.

The Deosai Plains are also home to the Siberian ibex, Snow Leopard, Kashmir Musk Deer, Himalayan wolf, Himalayan marmot and over 124 types of resident and migratory birds. Birds in the park include the Golden eagle, Lammergeier, Himalayan vulture, Laggar falcon, Peregrine falcon, Eurasian kestrel, Eurasian sparrowhawk, and Himalayan snowcock.

The following plant species are found in Deosai:

Artemisia maritima, Polygonum affine, Thalictrum alpinum, Bromus oxyodon, Saxifraga flagellaris, Androsace mucronifolia, Aster flaccidus, Barbarea vulgaris, Artemisia maritima, Agropyron longearistatum, Nepeta connate, Carex cruenta, Ranaculyus laetus, Arenaria neelgerrensis, Astrogalus leucophylla, Polygonum amplexinade, Echinop nivetus, Seria chrysanthenoides, Artemisia maritima, Dracocephalum nutsus, Anapalas contorta, Chrysopogon echinulatus and Dianthus crinitus. There were also observed some medicinal plants which are locally famous i.e. Thymu linearis (Reetumburuk), Saussures lappa (kuth), Ephedra intimedia (Say), Viola canescens (Skora-mindoq), Dracocephalum muristanicum (Shamdun) and Artemisia maritima (Bursay) etc. are used as traditional drug therapies.