Six peaks above 7,000m, run from Skardu by our own Balti team. Permits, oxygen, insured high-altitude porters and a turnaround policy that is actually enforced.
Six peaks above 7,000m, run from Skardu by our own Balti team. Permits, oxygen, insured high-altitude porters and a turnaround policy that is actually enforced.
The Deosai Jeep Safari — Skardu to Astore Traverse is a 7 days guided trip in Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan, topping out at 4,250 m. It is graded Easy to Moderate — high-altitude 4×4 — short day walks. 6 fixed departures are open from $890 per person, all-inclusive from Islamabad.
Deosai is a 4,114m alpine plateau between Skardu and Astore — the second-highest plateau on earth after Tibet, open only in summer, and the last stronghold of the Himalayan brown bear. Most operators tick it off as a day trip. This 7-day safari crosses the whole thing. From Skardu you climb over the rim past Sadpara, camp two nights out on the plains at Bara Pani and beside Sheosar Lake at about 4,250m, and drop out the far side through Chilam into the Astore valley — roughly seventy kilometres of jeep track through a sea of green meadow, glacial streams and wildflowers, with Nanga Parbat on the horizon from the lake on a clear morning.
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Be clear that this is high country, not a picnic. Nights are cold even in July, there is no mobile signal, and the plateau is split by two river crossings — Kala Pani, usually shallow enough to drive, and Bara Pani, where the jeeps cross empty and everyone walks the little wooden bridge. That is standard practice here, not a stunt, and levels rise with the afternoon snowmelt, so timing matters. We run it with drivers who have made these crossings for years and a satellite phone in the vehicle. Local hands, real safety, fair price.
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Duration
7 days6 nights
Max altitude
4,250 mhighest point
Grade
Easy to Moderate — high-altitude 4×4
Days on foot
short day walksthe rest is travel
Group size
Max 8min age 12
Best season
June – Octoberopen June – October
Guide languages
3Urdu · Balti · English
Departures open
6next 24 Aug 2026
Deosai Jeep Safari Price
Join a Deosai Jeep Safari fixed departure from $890 per person, all-inclusive — Skardu hotels, 4×4 Land Cruiser with an experienced local driver, full camping and meals on the plateau, national-park entry fees and all transport. Seven days, maximum altitude around 4,250m at Sheosar Lake, right across the world's second-highest plateau.
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Fixed Departures
Fixed departures are scheduled dates you join as part of a group, rather than arranging your own trip. 6 dates are currently open, each capped at 8 people. Every date is the same price, $890 per person. A $150 deposit reserves a place. The availability column shows how many places are left on each date.
These are private departures, priced by the size of your party rather than by a set date. Pick the band that matches your group and the price per person is fixed at that rate, across 4 options. The more of you who travel, the less each person pays — from $1,950 for Solo (1 Person) down to $890/pp for 7-8 Persons. What each band covers is set out in the table.
Group size
Price
What it includes
Solo (1 Person)
$1,950
One traveller, private Land Cruiser, driver, guide and full camp. Your dates.
(2-3 Persons)
$1,350/pp
A private safari for a pair or a small group, on dates you choose.
(4-6 Persons)
$1,080/pp
The sweet spot — one full Land Cruiser, shared camp costs, still entirely your own trip.
(7-8 Persons)
$890/pp
Our best per-person rate across two vehicles, matching the fixed-departure price.
Is this trip right for you?
Yes — this is one of the easiest trips to say yes to.
Graded Easy to Moderate — high-altitude 4×4.
short day walksDays on footthe rest is travel
4,250 mhighest pointWe build in time to acclimatise.
12minimum age
Good to know
The highest point is 4,250 m, so altitude counts here. The itinerary is built around acclimatising and your guide sets a pace that gets you there comfortably.
You’re ready ifyou enjoy a full day out and do not mind some hours on the road.
Give yourself a little longer ifyou would like to feel fresher. A couple of walks beforehand makes the short strolls even easier.
This might not be your trip ifyou are after long days on foot and nights in a tent. Tell us and we will point you at one.
One thing we do insist on: travel insurance that covers helicopter evacuation.
Travel Experience
Itinerary — Deosai Jeep Safari, Skardu to Astore
Seven days from Islamabad across the whole Deosai plateau: fly to Skardu, climb over the rim at Sadpara, camp at Bara Pani and Sheosar Lake, then drop out through Chilam into the Astore valley and back down to the Karakoram Highway.
7 days
Land in Islamabad, meet your guide and go through the plan over dinner. Deosai is cold at night even in midsummer, so we check layers and sleeping bags tonight.
The morning flight up the Indus past Nanga Parbat — the same mountain you will see across the plateau later in the week. Weather can push it; if it does we drive and use the buffer. Afternoon free in Skardu.
A gentle day to let the body adjust before 4,000m: Kharpocho Fort above the Indus, Upper Kachura and Shangrila, and the bazaar. Vehicles checked and loaded in the evening.
South past Sadpara and up the switchbacks onto the plateau — roughly 1.5 to 3 hours of climbing before the world flattens out into green. Camp at Bara Pani beside the stream, marmots whistling from their burrows.
Across the heart of the plains, crossing Kala Pani and driving the open meadow west to Sheosar. The lake sits at about 4,250m, roughly two kilometres long, and on a clear evening Nanga Parbat shows on the horizon behind it. Camp on the shore.
Sunrise on the lake, then out the western edge and down to Chilam at around 3,400m and on into the Astore valley — green terraces, apricot ground and the first villages in three days. Hot food and a proper bed.
Down to the Karakoram Highway and the long road south to Islamabad. It is a genuine full day of driving, broken with stops at the Nanga Parbat viewpoint and the Indus-Gilgit confluence. Assalam-o-Alaikum.
What’s included in the price
Every fixed departure is all-inclusive from Islamabad. This is exactly what your $890 per person covers, and the handful of things it does not — so there is nothing to settle at the trailhead.
Included in the price
Islamabad-Skardu flights (or overland transport if the flight is cancelled) and all 4×4 Land Cruiser transport across the plateau to Astore and on to Islamabad
Hotels in Skardu and Astore on a twin-share basis
Full camping on Deosai — tents
Mats
Dining and toilet tents
Kitchen crew
All meals on the plateau plus hotel breakfasts
English and Balti-speaking guide
An experienced local driver
National-park entry fees
A satellite phone in the vehicle
Not included
International flights
Pakistan visa fee
Lunches and dinners in town
Personal gear and warm layers
Tips for the driver and crew
Travel insurance
Anything not listed under Services Included
Wildlife sightings. The brown bears are shy and genuinely wild — we will not promise you one
Any operator who does is selling you something they cannot deliver
Why Karakoram Venture
Because the people who take you up this mountain are from it. Our guides grew up in these valleys, and they are our own team — not a booking desk handing you to whoever is cheapest that week. Every one of them is certified by the Alpine Club of Pakistan, holds Wilderness First Aid, and has between five and twenty years on high-altitude ground. They work in Urdu, Balti and English.
Because the safety is real, and we will name it rather than imply it. A satellite phone travels in every camp, we hold established helicopter-rescue contacts for this region, and we tell you exactly which travel insurance to carry. Budget operators cut precisely these things, because you cannot see them on a web page.
Because the price is honest. Local infrastructure is why $890 per person covers the trip from Islamabad rather than a stripped-down base rate. Exactly what it includes — and the handful of things it does not — is set out above.
How to book this trip
Four steps from here to the mountains
1Pick your dateA fixed departure above, or private dates you choose.
2Send the requestThe form on this page, or WhatsApp. Name, party size, date.
3Pay $150 per personThat holds your place. We reply within 24 hours.
4Balance 30 days beforeThen we take over: flights, hotels, permits, crew.
No card details on this page. Nothing is charged until you confirm.
More About the Deosai Jeep Safari
Booking & Payment
A deposit of $150 per person confirms your place. The balance is due 30 days before departure
Book through our website
An authorised agent
Or directly on WhatsApp
Cancellation Policy
Cancel 30+ days before departure: deposit held as credit
Balance refunded
Cancel 15-29 days before: 50% of the trip cost is refundable
Cancel under 15 days before: non-refundable. If the park road is closed by snow or the rivers run too high
We reroute or help you rebook
Permits & Documentation
Deosai is a national park with an entry fee collected at the gate, which is included in your price. It sits in an open zone
So no NOC is normally required and a standard Pakistan tourist visa is enough — this is not a restricted trekking area
Bring your passport (foreign travellers) or CNIC (Pakistani nationals) and keep the original with you for checkpoints. We confirm any current requirements with you before departure
Health & Fitness
Easy to moderate. Almost all the distance is covered in a 4×4
With short walks at camp and around Sheosar Lake — but you sleep two nights at around 4,000m and above
Altitude at that height is real. Nights are cold even in July
Minimum age 12. Not suitable if you have an unmanaged heart or respiratory condition
Talk to us first. Travel insurance covering high-altitude travel and evacuation is required — there is no mobile signal on the plateau
Important Notes
Carry at least 2 recent passport-size photos for verification and documentation.
A valid passport (foreign nationals) or CNIC (Pakistani nationals) is mandatory for booking and travel.
Keep your original passport or CNIC with you throughout the tour for security checks and hotel check-ins.
Foreign nationals need a valid passport and the correct visa; any NOC and trekking/restricted-area permits are arranged by Karakoram Venture.
Special Information
Professional and experienced Tour Manager available from start to end of the trip.
Delicious and fresh daily meals included from Day 1 until departure.
No complimentary meals provided on flights or during transit stops.
Follow updated state travel policies carefully for a hassle-free journey.
Transportation Details
Comfortable and spacious A/C Coaches for long trips and intercity travel.
Sturdy 4x4 jeeps for mountain roads and sightseeing (up to 7 pax per vehicle).
Reliable 4x4 vehicles (Land Cruiser / Prado) for off-road and high-altitude excursions.
Arrival & Departure Guidelines
Day 1: Report at the designated airport on time as per schedule.
Final Day: Depart after successfully completing the full itinerary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the Deosai Jeep Safari cost?
Our fixed departures start from $890 per person, all-inclusive — Skardu and Astore hotels, the 4×4 Land Cruiser and driver, full camping and meals on the plateau, national-park entry fees, and all transport including the flight to Skardu. Private rates for smaller groups are higher per person; see the pricing table above.
What makes this different from your other Deosai tours?
Our Skardu Deosai tours visit the plateau and come back the same way. This one crosses it. You go in from Skardu over the Sadpara rim, camp two nights out on the plains, and come out the far western side at Chilam into the Astore valley — roughly seventy kilometres of jeep track, end to end, with Sheosar Lake in the middle. If you only have a day, take the shorter tour; if you want the whole plateau, take this.
How high does it go, and is the altitude a problem?
Sheosar Lake sits at about 4,250m and the plateau averages 4,114m, so you sleep two nights above 3,900m. That is real altitude and it deserves respect — which is why we build in a full acclimatisation day in Skardu first. Most travellers are fine, but come with warm layers and tell us about any heart or breathing condition before you book.
When is Deosai open?
Roughly June to October. The plateau is locked under snow the rest of the year and the road reopens once crews clear the passes in June. Late June through September is the reliable window — early July for green meadows and wildflowers, late September for gold grass and the first snow on the peaks.
What are the river crossings actually like?
The plains are split by two streams. Kala Pani is usually shallow enough to drive straight through. Bara Pani is crossed on a small wooden bridge rated for limited weight, so the jeeps go over empty and passengers walk across. That is normal practice here, not a stunt. Levels rise with afternoon snowmelt, which is exactly why we time the crossings for the morning.
Will we see the brown bears?
Maybe, and we will not pretend otherwise. Deosai was made a national park in 1993 to save the Himalayan brown bear, and the population has recovered from about 19 animals to roughly 78 by 2022 — a fragile success. They are shy and you are not guaranteed a sighting. What you will almost certainly see are golden marmots, and with luck ibex, foxes, golden eagles and lammergeier; the park counts more than 120 bird species.
Is there phone signal on Deosai?
No. There is no mobile coverage on the plateau and the nearest help is hours away, which is why our vehicles carry a satellite phone and why we run this with drivers who know the crossings. Tell your family they will not hear from you for two days — it is part of the appeal.
Do I need a special permit or visa?
No. Deosai is an open zone, so unlike our Baltoro and Shimshal treks you do not need a trekking permit, an NOC or the Trekking & Mountaineering visa. A standard Pakistan tourist visa is enough. The national-park entry fee is collected at the gate and is included in your price.
Is it suitable for families or non-trekkers?
Yes — that is the point of a jeep safari. Almost all the distance is driven, with short walks at camp and around the lake. Minimum age is 12 because of the altitude rather than the terrain. If you want the Karakoram without a week of walking, this is the trip.
Why does it end in Astore rather than back in Skardu?
Because crossing the plateau beats doubling back across it. Coming out at Chilam and Astore puts you on the Karakoram Highway for the run south, past the Nanga Parbat viewpoint and the Indus-Gilgit confluence, so the last day is a scenic drive rather than a repeat of ground you have already seen. If you would rather return to Skardu, we can run it that way privately — just ask.
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