Deosai National Park: Difference between revisions
Tariqashraf (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Nomenclature |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
{{Coord|34.94|N|75.42|E|display=title}} |
{{Coord|34.94|N|75.42|E|display=title}} |
||
The |
The Deosai National Park (Deosai is from "Devashaayie" in Sanskrit, meaning Place of Repose of Gods) is located in Astorevalley and partly inSkarduof Gilgit-Baltistanregion of Kashmir state as it was known, now in part under occupation of Pakistan. The park is located on the Deosai Plains of the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe, among the highest plateaus in the world with an average height of 4,114 metres (13,497 ft) above the sea level, covering an area of about 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi). For just over half the year - between November and May - Deosai is snow-bound. In the summer months when the snow clears up, Deosai is accessible from the Astore Valley in the west and Skardu in the north, both parts of Kashmir state. Deosai is well known for its rich flora and fauna in spring season when it is covered by a variety of millions of flowers and a wide variety of butterflies. |
||
==Aproaches== |
==Aproaches== |
||
[[Image:Sheosar Lake1.jpg|thumb|[[Deosai Lake]] in Deosai Plains]] |
[[Image:Sheosar Lake1.jpg|thumb|[[Deosai Lake]] in Deosai Plains]] |
||
The Deosai Plains can be accessed via two routes. One is through Astore District and the second through Skardu District .The road from [[Astore]] starts from Chilum, continues through the plains and is asphalt road till the main lake before climbing to Deosai. The route from Skardu is via an unpaved road which can be hiked in two days. By jeep it is only a matter of hours. |
The Deosai Plains can be accessed via two routes. One is through Astore District and the second through Skardu District .The road from [[Astore]] starts from Chilum, continues through the plains and is asphalt road till the main lake before climbing to Deosai. The route from Skardu is via an unpaved road which can be hiked in two days. By jeep it is only a matter of hours. |
||
Deosai Lake is located in Gilgit-Baltistan. Deosai means the "Land of |
Deosai Lake is located in Gilgit-Baltistan. Deosai is from "Devashaayie" in [[Sanskrit]] and the word means the "Land of Repose of Gods". It is the second highest plateau in the world after Tibet. The beauty of Himalayas is visible everywhere around Deosai. It is also the home to the endangered Himalayan brown bear. Fewer than 19 bears lived there in 90's and now the population is on the increase. The view here is taken at Sheosar Lake in Deosai. |
||
==Sheosar Lake== |
==Sheosar Lake== |
||
{{Main|Deosai Lake}} |
{{Main|Deosai Lake}} |
||
There is a lake named |
There is a lake named Sheosar Lake in the Deosai Plains meaning in Shina language "Blind lake" -Sheo-Blind, Sar-lake. An alternative explanation might be from Sanskrit, with Shiva being origin of "Sheo" (it would take a bit of research in possible names to get the rest which would deform into Sheosar). The lake is at a height of 4,142 m (13,589 feet). Its approximate length is reported to be 2.3 km (1.4 miles), width 1.8 km (1.2 miles) and average depth 40 m. |
||
==Wildlife== |
==Wildlife== |
||
Revision as of 16:37, 11 October 2010
35°01′08″N 75°24′52″E / 35.018930°N 75.414393°E
34°56′N 75°25′E / 34.94°N 75.42°E
The Deosai National Park (Deosai is from "Devashaayie" in Sanskrit, meaning Place of Repose of Gods) is located in Astorevalley and partly inSkarduof Gilgit-Baltistanregion of Kashmir state as it was known, now in part under occupation of Pakistan. The park is located on the Deosai Plains of the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe, among the highest plateaus in the world with an average height of 4,114 metres (13,497 ft) above the sea level, covering an area of about 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi). For just over half the year - between November and May - Deosai is snow-bound. In the summer months when the snow clears up, Deosai is accessible from the Astore Valley in the west and Skardu in the north, both parts of Kashmir state. Deosai is well known for its rich flora and fauna in spring season when it is covered by a variety of millions of flowers and a wide variety of butterflies.
Aproaches
The Deosai Plains can be accessed via two routes. One is through Astore District and the second through Skardu District .The road from Astore starts from Chilum, continues through the plains and is asphalt road till the main lake before climbing to Deosai. The route from Skardu is via an unpaved road which can be hiked in two days. By jeep it is only a matter of hours. Deosai Lake is located in Gilgit-Baltistan. Deosai is from "Devashaayie" in Sanskrit and the word means the "Land of Repose of Gods". It is the second highest plateau in the world after Tibet. The beauty of Himalayas is visible everywhere around Deosai. It is also the home to the endangered Himalayan brown bear. Fewer than 19 bears lived there in 90's and now the population is on the increase. The view here is taken at Sheosar Lake in Deosai.
Sheosar Lake
There is a lake named Sheosar Lake in the Deosai Plains meaning in Shina language "Blind lake" -Sheo-Blind, Sar-lake. An alternative explanation might be from Sanskrit, with Shiva being origin of "Sheo" (it would take a bit of research in possible names to get the rest which would deform into Sheosar). The lake is at a height of 4,142 m (13,589 feet). Its approximate length is reported to be 2.3 km (1.4 miles), width 1.8 km (1.2 miles) and average depth 40 m.
Wildlife
Deosai Plains make up one of the last frontiers of natural habitat for the Himalayan Brown Bear, a creature that once roamed the mountains freely. The Deosai National Park was established in 1993 to secure the survival of the bear and its habitat. Having long been a prize kill for poachers and hunters, the bear, Pakistan's largest omnivore, now has a hope for survival in Deosai where its number has increased from just 19 in 1993 to 40 in 2005.
The Deosai Plains are also home to the Himalayan Ibex, Red Fox, Golden Marmot, Wolf, the Ladakh Urial, the Snow Leopard, and over 124 resident and migratory birds. Birds in the park include the Golden Eagle, Lammergeier, Griffon Vulture, Laggar Falcon, Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Snowcock.
Herodotus - 'Gold-digging ants'
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.[1]
In film
Land of the Tiger, episode 5 ("Mountains of the Gods") features the plants and animals of Deosai.
See also
References
- ^ Peissel, Michel. "The Ants' Gold: The Discovery of the Greek El Dorado in the Himalayas". Collins, 1984. ISBN 978-0002725149.
External links
Wikimedia Atlas of Pakistan- Himalayan Wildlife Foundation (HWF), Islamabad, Pakistan
- Northern Areas of Pakistan
Photos
- KALEEM,S PICS of DEOSAI
- Asher Yaqub Khan's Deosai Photos
- http://www.pbase.com/waqas/deosai_plains - Photos from Deosai Plains by Waqas Usman
- Imran Ahmed's Photo gallery
- SufiBlade's photo album
