Fairy Meadows (Gilgit Baltistan)

 

Fairy Meadows, a lush green plateau, is located at an altitude of 3,300 meters at the base of Nanga Parbat in Diamer district of the Gilgit-Baltistan. It is a wonderful site that gives a splendid view of The Killer Mountain, Nanga Parbat. It is situated at the distance of 410 km from Islamabad via Naran-Chilas Road by turning right to Karakoram Highway after Chilas toward Fairy Meadows. From Raikot Bridge on Karakoram Highway, you have to hire a jeep to reach Tatoo village, then two to three hours trekking, then you will be in the Fairy Meadowns, a heaven on earth.

Fairy Measows was named by a German climbers Marchenwiese in his book 'Fairy tale meadow', whereas the local name of the region was Joot. It is a base camp for mountaineers to access the Raikot face of the Nanga Parbat. It was declared as a National Park in 1995.

From Raikot Bridge, You have to hire a jeep to access Fairy Meadows. It is one of the most dangerous treks of 15 km long along the high mountains and deep narrow gorges where stream from Raikot Glacier flows. It is also the second deadliest trek in the World declared by the WHO. Only local drivers can drive jeep there due to dangerous turns and narrow trek where one jeep can move at a time. Sometimes, jeep has to move back for a long distance to give path to coming jeep from opposite direction.

From Tatoo village, you have to complete 5 Km trek by hiking. Trek is much dangerous to cover as most of the parts of trek are much narrow. You have to be careful due to loose gravels and pebbles, otherwise you may slip there. After completing the trek, you can see a vast grassland in the shadow of mighty Nanga Parbat in front of Raikot Glacier.

Nanga Parbat basecamp trek is another most scenic and dangerous trek to visit. Trek gives more closest view of the Nanga Parbat as well as Raikot Glacier. Trek has number of patches of glaciers, so it must be cover with much care.

Fairy Meadows is a very peaceful and relaxing place after a long difficult and dangerous jeep track to enjoy the mountain atmosphere. It remains a lovely place for hikers, climbers, photographers, wildlife lovers, etc. The pine forests in Fairy Meadows provides one the best scenic view and definitely homeland for a number of species of birds and wildlife.

There is thick alpine forest having various kind of coniferous trees. It gives a unique view of the site at the altitude of 10,800 feet within the shining snow covered Nanga Parbat. In this forest, you can also observe brown bear and musk deer, regarding as endangered species.

There is camping facility to stay there for night. The camping sites are managed by locals. The night stay gives you one of the most fantastic view in the dark nights to view the higher number of shining stars in the sky. You can feel sky with shining stars just above your head. In night, the temperature drastically declined below zero, so must have warm clothes to face freezing temperature.

The trek to access the Fairy Meadows is normally opened from April to September, whereas in other months it was totally blocked due to heavy snowfall.

About Diamer

Diamer is the district of Gilgit-Baltistan on the Karakoram Highway along the Indus River. It is the gateway to access the mighty mountains of Karakoram Range in Gilgit-Baltistan from Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province. The Chilas is the capital town of the Diamer district. One of the major importance of this city is the Nanga Parbat, which is the 9th highest mountain in the world, having a height of 8,126 meters.

It is located at a distance of 456 km from Islamabad, the Capital of Pakistan. Its boundaries are connected with the Tangir, Gilgit, Astore, Neelum Valley, Upper Kohistan, and Mansehra districts. It can be accessed via Karaokoram Highway from the Upper Kohistan side as well as from Babusar Top from Kaghan Valley side. It is best to stay at Besham if you are coming from the Kohistan side. Whereas you can stay in Naran if you are traveling via Babusar Top.

Traveling toward Chilas from Besham gives a lot of picturesque and splendid views of the Karakorum Highway. There are a number of cold water and hot water springs in the mountain rocks on the road. Near Dassu and Shatia, you can see the Buddhist rock arts along the bank of the Indus River.

In Gilgit-Baltistan along the Karakoram Highway, there are more than 50,000 pieces of Buddhist rock art and inscriptions. These are found mostly in Hunza, Shatial, Shighar, and Skardu. The Kharosthi term Kaboa or Kamboa in Khrosthi inscription found in Chilas town in the Diamer district by the Archaeological Department of Pakistan. That indicates Chilas was part of an ancient Kamboja Kingdom.

Raikot Bridge is the point from where a jeep trek leads toward Fairy Meadows and Nanga Parbat Base camp. It is a beautiful bridge over the Indus River on the Karakoram Highway when the road moves on the left bank of the Indus River.

Fairy Meadows, a lush green plateau, is located at an altitude of 3,300 meters at the base of Nanga Parbat in Chilas in the Diamer district. It is a wonderful site that gives a splendid view of The Killer Mountain, Nanga Parbat.

Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest peak in the world, is located near Tattu village in Chilas. Fairy Meadows is the first base camp for Nanga Parbat Expedition. It gives a beautiful and clear view of Nanga Parbat Hill in clear weather. While traveling on the Karakoram Highway, the Nanga Parbat Peak remains in view for a long time.

As you have crossed the stream from the Dudishal town, after a few kilometers you can see the site of Diamer Basha Dam. It is located where the River Indus has much wider and moves within the deep mountain rocks.

Diamer has a dry and hot climate zone, so the mountains in this district are mostly barren and dry. The weather conditions in Diamer are normally dry and hot in the summer season, whereas in the winter season, the weather becomes more pleasant. Nanga Parbat is standing just a wall and blocking the monsoon rain. So in the Diamer district, there are mostly barren and dry mountains without trees.