Deosai National Park protects a vast high-altitude plateau above Skardu, one of the highest plateaus in the world, where summer brings a wide carpet of wildflowers across the open grassland. The plateau is also known as a refuge for the Himalayan brown bear, along with a range of other wildlife adapted to its short growing season. Crossing it feels distinctly different from the sharp, vertical scenery of the surrounding mountains, offering instead a wide, open, rolling landscape.