Fairy Meadows National Park

Fairy Meadows (), named by German climbers (German "Märchenwiese", “fairy tale meadows”) and locally known as Joot, is a grassland near one of the base camp sites of the Nanga Parbat, located in Diamer District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. At an altitude of about above sea level, it serves as the launching point for trekkers summiting on the Rakhiot face of the Nanga Parbat. In 1995, the Government of Pakistan declared Fairy Meadows a National Park.
Location.
Fairy Meadows is approachable by a fifteen kilometer-long jeepable trek starting from Rakhiot bridge on Karakoram Highway to the village Tato. The dangerous and narrow gravel mountain road from the bridge to the village is only open to locals, who provide transportation to visitors. In 2013, the World Health Organization declared it the second-deadliest road on the planet. From Tato onward, it takes about three to four hours hiking by a five kilometer trek to Fairy Meadows. The grassland is located in the Rakhiot valley, at one end of the Rakhiot glacier which originates from the Nanga Parbat and feeds a stream that finally falls in the River Indus. Since 1992, locals have operated camping sites in the area.
Tourism.
The six-month tourist season at Fairy Meadows starts in April and continues until the end of September. Tourists lodge at the camping site spread over , known as "Raikot Serai". The site of Fairy Meadows, though partially developed, generates about PKR 17 million revenue from tourism, mainly by providing food, transportation and accommodation services. The road to Fairy Meadows was built by Brigadier M. Aslam Khan (M.C, H.J, F.K), First Commander Gilgit Scouts, which today employs the locals. The local community stopped the extraction of timber to conserve the forest and promote tourism in the area. The main attraction of this place other than the meadows itself is the view of Nanga Parbat Mountain. Tourists usually hike to the base camp of the mountain from Fairy Meadows.
Flora and fauna.
The grassland is surrounded by thick alpine forest. The high altitude area and north-facing slopes mostly consist of coniferous forest having "Pinus wallichiana", "Picea smithiana" and "Abies pindrow" trees, while in the high altitude areas with little sunlight are birch and willow dwarf shrubs. The southern slopes are concentrated with juniper and scrubs, namely "Juniperus excelsa" and "J. turkesticana". In the low altitudes, the major plant found is "Artemisia", with yellow ash, stone oaks and "Pinus gerardiana" spread among it. Research has suggested similarities between "Pinus wallichiana" found in the meadows with a sister species, "Pinus peuce", found in the Balkans, based on leaf size.
Among mammals, a few brown bears are found in the region, with their numbers declining. Some musk deer, regarded as an endangered species, are also present.
Gallery.
Hover the mouse click or tap on the following images to see their captions.