Exploring Deosai National Park: A Journey to the Shadow of the Giants

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It is finally time! I've gotten so many recommendations from you guys about this place, and up until now, I just wasn't able to make it. But now it's finally time; we are going to Deosai National Park! First though, we have a few preparations to make, so let's go for this trip. We're loading up on snacks; you never know what the food situation is going to be like in remote places such as Deosai, so we like to come prepared.

 

Setting Off

Thank you so much! Where are you from? Uh, Netherlands. Netherlands? Yeah, only the essentials, right? Thank you! Okay, so it's currently almost 7 a.m., and the Jeep to Deosai is here. Let's go!

Deosai, which translates to "shadow of the giants," is one of the greatest natural wonders of Northern Pakistan, sitting over 4,000 m above sea level. Deosai is the second highest plateau in the world; however, it isn't exactly the most accessible place, as it's only reachable by one very bumpy road. Also, it is frigid cold here, even in the summer, and since we were going at the end of the season in October, I had a feeling we were about to experience a whole other level of freezing.

Entering the Park

Yeah, you can clearly see that fall is starting here in Pakistan. After about an hour of driving, we reached the entrance to Deosai National Park. The fee for foreigners, especially, is pretty steep, but it goes to a good cause, which is protecting the wildlife here, including the endangered Himalayan brown bear. Speaking of animals, while bears are cool and all, there's one other animal that lives in this park that I might be a tiny bit obsessed with.

So we heard that there are marmots in the park. Yeah, marmots! Is it like difficult to spot them? Quite common. Quite common, but it depends upon the weather conditions. Okay, so what about today? Do you think we have a chance? Fortunately, I think so. Yeah? Okay, that's good! It's my dream; I want to see marmots!

The Landscape

Once we entered the park, the landscape changed into something wild, desolate, and surreal. All we could see was just endless grasslands, sky, and mountains forming a distant wall around the plateau, as if they were guarding this secret place from the world.

Okay, so we just got to Deai Top, and we're going to have a little break here, and maybe I can score some coffee. Oh, this is nice! Cheers! Today isai and tomor. I need the shot from up close. I need it! There are like these little cheeky things; they're like a little bit like beaver-looking, a little bit, yeah, but they're fat in the ass.

Spotting Wildlife

After our coffee, it was time to continue our ride and slowly make our way deeper into the park. We then ended up at this beautiful riverbed where we also spotted our first animal, but it wasn't a marmot or a bear. Wow, guys, a fox! The fox blended in right into the golden brown colors of the plains, perfectly camouflaged. It was such a beautiful sight.

Next, it was time to make our way to our campsite for the night. When in Deai, you can actually choose to make it an overnight trip, and the most scenic campsite is known as Bani. Here, you can either stay in basic communal tents or you can treat yourself to a bit more luxury, which is what we did.

Arriving at Camp

Okay, so we just got to the place that we're going to spend the night, which is Camp Pakistan. It looks pretty good! This is amazing! Wow, so luxury! Yeah, like you wouldn't expect this in the middle of nowhere. Exactly! And then we have the bathroom right here. Oh wow, this is great! Like a full-blown shower! Ooh, like a rain shower even, and a western toilet, clean towels, water! Life, this is pretty lit!

I just love the contrast of staying in the shittiest places—like we've stayed at some shitty places—and then once in a while, you just switch it up with something like this, and it just feels like heaven!

Enjoying the Views

Okay, time for a bed test. It's pretty nice though! Ah, it is actually pretty nice and good pillows! I just know people are going to hate on my feet so much. Blur them! I should probably—sensitive content! I mean, look at these views from the bed! This might be the best waking up view I've had, probably!

After settling into our dome and sipping on some chai, it was time to hop back into our Jeep. Let's go! Because we weren't done exploring yet. There's a lake here called Chorar Lake, and it's known to be one of the most beautiful spots in Deosai. While I was excited about the lake, my attention kind of was elsewhere; I was still on the hunt for marmots, so I kept looking and looking, and then yes!

Marmot Spotting

Oh, so cute! Okay, so he just went back in his hole. I think these two are like marmot holes. Oh my God, I saw a marmot! They're the cutest ever! But I didn't really get the shot that I wanted yet, so I kept hoping I would get to see another one from up close.

Okay, so Chorar Lake, we are here! Food! All you need: some bread, some peanut butter, and then just slap a banana! Yes, call me a cook! The more, the better! Just make sure to leave a little bit for me. I'll try! Basically empty half the jar on—well, that's okay! I don't need any; take it all! Have some more! Can I? Peanut butter with bread? I mean, I love peanut butter! I can't help it! The perfect cheap traveler's food! So good!

Exploring the Plateau

As I mentioned before, Deosai is one of the highest plateaus in the world. I think it's the second highest or something, and I think we're definitely above 4,000 now. Let's actually check how high we are. Yeah, we are at 4,140 m! That's pretty high!

Oh no! Oh no! Help! My coffee! Save the coffee! Hi! Okay, so we just got back to the camp, and I absolutely love this space! Like, I know we are a little bit late in the season, and I know a lot of people prefer to have the greenery and the blossoms from like July-August period, but I love these fall colors! Like, I personally might actually prefer it! It's just a different vibe, but it feels almost like Mars, you know? Like a completely different world, and I really enjoyed it!

A Cold Night

I'm not really enjoying this chair; it hurts my butt! I think we are going to get a beautiful sunset, and a beautiful sunset it was! On my way out in the store, you said there's nobody you want!

So I just wanted to get ready for the day and go to the bathroom, and look what I found! This water is frozen! This thingy is frozen as well! Yeah, that's proof for you that it was freezing last night! Guess I'm washing myself in the river—that is freezing! That's my way to wake up! Even our water that was left in the room might have frozen! This is going to be cold!

Morning Challenges

That's a bad idea! Yes! So yes, last night was cold! We slept under like four blankets, and it was still freezing! This morning, we actually wanted to get up early for a hike, but there was just absolutely no way that I was going to get out of those blankets and go into the freezing cold, so that didn't happen.

We might still attempt a little bit of a hike—like a shorter hike now—because I want to see more marmots! I feel like kind of going on a bit of a marmot hunt because I'm a little bit obsessed with these animals, and seeing one up close, like I need to get closer, you know? Like, I need to get really good close-up shots!

The Marmot Hunt

So we asked the camp team which direction to walk in for the best chance of spotting the marmots. Okay, time to go on a marmot hunt! Let's hope we get lucky!

We then happened to walk past some ranger hut and ended up having some friendly conversations with them and, of course, took some selfies. We then told them about our marmot mission. Over there, we can go there? Is that okay? Thank you!

So we went behind the fence into the wildlife area, and after a short climb in the distance—oh, there's a—oh my God! I saw him! The most beautiful marmot I'd ever seen!

Conclusion

That's insane! It's so good! Thank you! Thank you! I did not think we were going to actually find one! No, we're so lucky! Well, that was a successful mission, I would say!

Back, I think I get now why they call this place the shadow of the giants. Being here, surrounded by mountains and endless plains, you really do feel the immense scale of nature all around you. Deosai really has this quiet, simple magic to it—from the freezing nights to the wide-open spaces to, of course, the marm ots.