Deosai National Park

Lying to the east of Nanga Parbat and in the western Himalayas, close to the central Karakoram Range surrounded by Deosai Mountains, the national park is in the tentative list under World Heritage Site of Pakistan.

[12][13][14] The soils of this area are severely eroded, of a coarser nature and mixed with gravel and stones of various materials and sizes.

The Deosai National Park was established in 1993 to protect the survival of the critically endangered Himalayan brown bear and its habitat.

The Himalayan Wildlife Foundation ran two park entry check posts and a field research camp in Deosai for approximately ten years.

[19][5] The following plant species are found in Deosai: Polygonum affine, Thalictrum alpinum, Bromus oxyodon, Saxifraga flagellaris, Androsace mucronifolia, Aster flaccidus, Barbarea vulgaris, Artemisia maritima, Elymus longiaristatus, Nepeta connata, Carex cruenta, Ranunculus laetus, Arenaria neelgherrensis, Astragalus leucocephalus, Polygonum amplexinade, Echinops niveus, Senecio chrysanthemoides, Artemisia spp., Dracocephalum nutans, Taxus contorta, Chrysopogon gryllus subsp.

There were also observed some medicinal plants which are locally famous i.e. Thymus linearis (Reetumburuk),[20]: 11  Saussurea lappa (kuth), Ephedra gerardiana (Say),[20]: 9  Viola pilosa (Skora-mindoq),[20]: 11  Pleurospermum candollei (Shamdun)[20]: 10  and Artemisia brevifolia (Bursay)[20]: 8  etc.

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 Minaro to collect the gold dust excavated from their burrows.

Sheosar Lake is in the western part of Deosai National Park.
Bara Pani is the largest of the rivers that traverse Deosai National Park.
Bara Pani flowing through Deosai Plains
Bara Pani flowing through Deosai Plains
Several varieties of wildflowers grow on the plains.
The Himalayan brown bear, a key endangered species in Deosai National Park under Sustainable Development Goal 15 . [ 16 ]