I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
- William Wordsworth
Its not an exaggeration — really, one should visit and see for themselves. The Deosai National Park and the Sheosar Lake are the literal personification of Wordsworth’s poetry.
A hundred years ago, humans would consider uninhabited and far-off places too frightening to visit. They would refer to such deserted and forsaken lands with strange names which reflected their fear of the unknown.
Things are changing now. In this age of industrialisation and commercialisation, with scores of amusement facilities offered in the metropolis, the number of people visiting these forsaken lands in the northern areas of the country is increasing.
Humanity is progressing in intellect, but deep inside, the peace of soul and mindfulness appears to be missing which people are not seeking in these deserted lands. If one is in search of solitude and wilderness, then why not visit Deosai?
Deosai is the combination of two words ‘Deo’ (giant) and ‘Sai’ (shadow). For centuries, it is believed that this place is haunted by giants, thus the name ‘The Land of the Giants’ came into being. The weather in quite unpredictable here, sometimes it starts snowing in summer. Sunlight and clouds seem to play hide and seek here, with the sun shining one minute, and overcast in next.
This area remained uncrossable for ages due to abundance of variety of wildlife here. Icy winds, thunderstorms, and presence of wildlife make it impossible to dwell here even in this age, that’s why Deosai is mostly uninhabited.
Nomads from Kashmir pass through the Deosai plains with their herds, it is their path of choice since centuries.
Deosai has a deafening silence, a silence spanning over centuries. The silence is so deep that one can hear his own heartbeat, unless a marmot’s whistle fills the valley.
Deosai is located on the boundary of Karakoram and the western Himalayas, and at no point it is less than 4000 meters above sea level. It remains covered with snow for 8 months. The rest of the year, it hosts a range of beautiful flowers of all hues and colours, but not a single tree is found in this plateau spread over 3000 sq. km.
Deosai is accessible through two routes. One is via Skardu and the other via Astore District
Skardu Route
The road through Skardu can be covered by jeep in few hours, however, if trekked, it can take 2 days time.
Astore Route
Second route is from Astore District. From main Astore town, it takes about 4 hours' jeep travel through a semi-metal road to reach Chilm, the last residential area adjacent to the plains.
Himalayan Marmot
Research by the French ethnologist Michel Peissel makes a claim that the story of 'Gold-digging ants' reported by the Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC, was founded on the golden Himalayan Marmot of the Deosai plateau and the habit of local tribes such as the Minaro to collect the gold dust excavated from their burrows.
The soils of this area are severely eroded, of a coarser nature and mixed with gravel and stones of various material and sizes. In flat areas between mountains, soil is deep with marshy vegetation.
By Khaqan Ibrahim,(facebook)
