Why the Deosai Plains are known as the Land of the Giant
In short: Perched at an average elevation of 4,114 metres, the Deosai National Park is the second-highest plateau on Earth. Known to locals as the summer place, this remote alpine wilderness in Pakistan serves as a vital sanctuary for the critically endangered Himalayan brown bear and a host of rare mountain species.
The name Deosai originates from the Shina language, combining the words for giant and shadow to signify the land of the giant. While modern tourism often pluralizes this to the land of the giants, historian Salman Rashid established the singular moniker in the early 1990s to honor local legends. The Balti people offer a more practical perspective, calling the region Ghbiarsa, or summer's place, because the harsh high-altitude conditions render the plains accessible only during the warmer months.
Established in 1993, the park covers 843 square kilometres of the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe. Its creation was a direct response to the precarious state of the Himalayan brown bear, which had been decimated by poaching. Conservation efforts have shown measurable success: the population rose from just 19 individuals in 1993 to 40 by 2005, reaching 78 in 2022. Despite this recovery, the species remains threatened by climate change and nutritional challenges.
Beyond its bears, the park is a biodiversity hotspot hosting the snow leopard, Siberian ibex, and over 124 bird species. The landscape itself is a subject of historical intrigue; French ethnologist Michel Peissel suggested that the ancient Greek historian Herodotus’s accounts of gold-digging ants in the 5th century BC may have been a misunderstanding of the Himalayan marmot. According to this theory, local tribes were observed collecting gold dust excavated from the burrows of these marmots, a practice that likely inspired the legendary tales of antiquity.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Deosai National Park
- Also: Wikidata — Deosai National Park · CC0
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