Heaven on Earth , Northern Areas of Pakistan

 

Hello Friends  and reader

from Skardu 

We wanted to reach Gilgit  (Northern Areas)  

But unfortunately, a land sliding caused road blockage. So we reached back to Skardu after taking a 7 km detour.

Today's plan is simple: Somehow, we have to get to Karakoram Highway (KKH)  near Gilgit. 

Since I've to go to Fairy Meadows, I'll have to reach KKH anyway. 

Today we are not taking the Gilgit Skardu main road b

ecause we don't know when the landslide will be cleared. Although it's expected to be cleared by noon, but it's not confirmed.

Workers on road are blasting rocks in order to construct new road. 

So there are loose rocks and which causes landslides every now and then.

In order to avoid that risk, we'll go back using the Deosai road. 

This route is exceptionally beautiful but it's lengthy. However, there are a few spots here which are vulnerable to land sliding.

Our plans of seeing Fairy Meadows. Lets start the day and pray to not see any landslide on our way to Astore.So that we have a great ride today. *Prayer for the journey*

May Allah makes this a safe and fun filled day for us. 

And that we can follow our plan today.

We are a little above the main Skardu Bazaar and we need to go to Deosai. 

Sadpara lake and the last time I was here, it was already dark. 

However, this time I 'll try to remedy the situation. 

It's a really beautiful lake a

nd they have a built a power station with the dam over there. 

This is where the electricity supply of Skardu comes from.

 But according to my information, Sadpara Dam is the source of electricity here. But there may be other dams as well. We are now ascending the roads of Deosai. Deosai has an altitude of over 4000m Whereas, Skardu is a around 2500 m. 

That's a normal phenomenon when you gain altitude. 

Some parts of this road is in bad shape, so this is gonna be a slow ride here.But we don't feel any lack of power. Lets see if it becomes a problem later.

Because we don't know about the oxygen level at 4000 m altitude. But my previous experience with similar passes were problem free.Hopefully it's not gonna be much different this time. How on earth am I going to cross these guys now. The road is narrow and they don't seem like giving me way.If we keep at their tail, all this dirt is gonna make us ghosts.

When you have to stop every now and then, it puts you off rhythm. 

Coming? Guys this is the top of Deosai... after all these ascends  However there is another top ahead. Watch him go...I was thinking about stopping here for some time.

Should we stop somewhere ahead?  

Yeah, we 'll make a break soon. Because too many stops may stop us from getting to Astore (Town) in time. Barra Paani (A land Mark , a small river) is almost 15 - 20 minute ride away from here. At the most 20 minutes  we are going at a fine pace today. 

Barra Paani has a nice camping and we'll do something about our meal there. 

Although I'm not hungry  but we may have a cup of tea or coffee. It's getting quite cold ever since we reached Deosai.

My hands are also freezing. So.. Barra Paani is where we are gonna take our break.

Going at a pace of 35 - 40 km/h. 

Looking forward to a nice and warm cup of tea at Barra Paani.

Until then, We are marching on. 

Here we are at Barra Paani and we are gonna have our much awaited break.I think the camps that you just saw belong to army.Then there's Tourist Police. And there are Wild Life people too.The camps in front of us are for the tourists. That's our destination for now. I didn't have this much fun in Deosai before. And that's because of this great weather. The sunlight is amazing and making me feel like staying here to relax. I could barely sit here the last time I was here.

It would rain every few minutes a

nd the wind was really cold. Today, it must be 15 - 16 degrees in sunlight.  In the absence of sunlight, it's around 10 degrees or so. It was somewhere below zero the last time.We better leave now. Done with the tea and refreshment, so feeling very fresh now. Hopefully our next stop will be in Sheosar (Lake on Deosai Plain) Unless we find a nicer place.

Now we are at the Sheosar lake. 

This is Sheosar lake camping. Don't feel like stopping here because it's very cold here.

Lets check out the lake before we leave. 

That's Sheosar lake for you

guys.

Thanks for stay tune with me