Travel to the Prairie

I belong to Gilgit Baltistan the North part of Pakistan. One summer day I with my family planned to visit Deosai prairie. Deosai is the highest place in the world which is called the “Roof of The World”. It’s about 14,000 feet above from the sea level and spans over a vast area of 3000 square km.
We visited Deosai in July because this is the best time to visit this plain. We started our journey early in the morning from my home town Bunji. After five hours heroic driving through the mountainous area of district Astore, we reached Deosai where lush green, vast grassy area and water streams welcomed us.
Brown bears are core surroundings of Deosai. The Deosai Plains are also home to the Himalayan ibex, red fox, golden marmot, gray wolf, the Ladakh urial, snow leopard and over 124 resident and migratory birds. There is a park called Deosie national park. Where Birds in the park include the golden eagle, lammergeier, griffon vulture, laggar falcon, peregrine falcon, Eurasian kestrel, Eurasian sparrow hawk and snowcock.We also visited the Sheosar Lake which is 15 km away from my home district Astore. The lake is accessible from two tracks, one from Astore side and another from Skardu. Crystal clear water and small lush green mountains surrounding the lake where we had erected our camps. Its surface elevation is about 4,142m. Its length is about 2.3km and its width is 1.8km and its depth is about 130 ft.
We also visited Deosai national park. This Park is located between Kharmang, Astore (my home district) and Skardu. The Deosai National Park was established in 1993 to protect the survival of the Himalayan brown bear and its habitat. The Himalayan brown bear is a critically endangered species in some of its range. 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. Three important river systems originate from Deosai National Park namely; Shatung, Bara Pani and Kala Pani which form the Shigar River, an important tributary of Indus River. Deosai National Park remain snowcapped 8 months and rest of the four months. It hosts thousands of tourists. We met with many local and foreign tourists. They were very happy and enjoyed their holidays. Those who wish to visit this prairie, July to September is the best time to visit Deosai plain and National Park.

Muhammad Annas

Grade 5

Pine Campus, Abbottabad

Millennium Education