Welcome to the magical land of Astor, a hidden beauty tucked away in Gilgit Baltistan’s beautiful scenery. Astor, one of Pakistan’s best-kept secrets despite its unmatched beauty, is just waiting to be discovered by travelers looking for untouched natural marvels. There are many beautiful places in the vast Astor area, each more captivating than the other. It offers a variety of locations that are sure to mesmerize visitors, from the lush meadows of Rama to the wild landscape of Minimerg, and the dreamy beauty of Domel to the vast expanse of Deosai. So, I urge you to explore and be amazed as I reveal the amazing beauty of Astor through this blog. Find out how to go to this heaven, where to stay, and get ready to be fascinated by Astor’s unmatched beauty, a place that changes how you perceive Pakistan’s natural beauty.
Let’s start with how you will reach Astor and the road conditions:
How you can reach Astor:
From Gilgit to Astor, it takes 2 hours by road on a car or jeep to reach Astor city, and if you are coming from Islamabad, when you are on Karakorum Highway (KKH), almost 60 km before Gilgit, you will see a signboard like this:
From this point, it takes 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach the city. Now if you talk about roads, the road condition from KKh to Astor city is normal, the road is single, but not very congested. The majority of this 44 km is quiet, and you will find not much population on the way as there is a mountain on one side of the road and a river on the other side. And from the main city of Astor to other touristic points, which you will find below, their road condition is neither bad nor very good, but its better to have a 4×4 if you want to visit Astor district.
Now Lets talk about the Natural wonders and landscapes which you will find in Astor
1. Rama Meadows
The first place you should visit is Rama meadows, which is just 7 km away from Astor city, The road is a little bit uneven; a car can go there as well but having a jeep is better. You will find plenty of guest houses there, which cost you from 4000 PKR to 8000PKR per night, Up there at the Rama Meadows, you can go camping as well. There is also a Forest guest house and PTDC motel.
The beauty of Rama meadows is just exceptional, there you will see a large meadow surrounding snow peak, mountains and forest, I think words are not enough, you should see it by yourself in the following pictures
You can easily spend a day in Rama, and if you want to explore further, you can go to Rama Lake as well, You can hike from Rama meadows to the lake, which takes 2 hours to reach, and you can go there on a horse, which you can hire from Rama meadows.
2. Astor city to Domel via Burzil top and Minimerg
First of all, to go to Domel, you must have a 4×4 Jeep, or you can hire it from there for a day, which will cost you 25000 PKR to 30000 PKR two-way. The journey towards Domel can take 3 to 4 hours on one side, but that journey will be your best one, full of stunning landscapes and untouched beauty, On the way, you will see crystal-clear streams of water and lush green mountains and fields on both sides of the roads.
First, you will ascend until Burzil pass/Top, which is at an altitude of almost 13800 feet. The road and the beauty of this place are just unmatchable.
After reaching Burzil Top and enjoying the cold weather even in the month of July, you start descending towards Minimerg, and the real beauty starts from here. Minimerg is a small town in between lush green mountains and eye-catching landscapes, There are some hotels as well where you can spend a night and you will find a restaurant for your lunch or snack meal. From Burzil Top to Minimerg, it will take almost an hour, but that hour will just go by in the blink of an eye because you will see landscapes like this:
From Minimerg your last trail of this journey starts towards Domel, which takes almost 40 minutes, Domel is the last stop of Astor; you cannot go further than that because ahead is the Kargil region, where tourists are not allowed, Domel area is managed by the Pakistani army, and I should confess they maintain and preserve the real beauty of that place.
While you get out of your jeep at Domel, you will see some landscapes which you have never seen before, You will find yourself in heaven. You think you are in Switzerland, but no, you are in Pakistan, It’s Domel, It welcomes you with a view like this
If you want to see a glimpse of heaven, then Domel is the place for you. It has 2 beautiful lakes, one the which is Rainbow Lake, with green and bluish water just in between beautiful landscape, and there you will find a small but cozy restaurant on the bank of the lake where you can enjoy your meal or snack while enjoying the surroundings. The second lake is just a five-minute walk and it is known as Crystal Lake. It is just a small lake; you can call it Lake cum natural Pond, but it has really crystal-like water.
Then there are some huts where you can spend a night as well. In short, Domel is so far my favorite place in Pakistan, and I’m saying it not only in terms of natural beauty but also in terms of the facilities and the way there natural beauty is preserved.
3. Deosai Plains
The third place in the Astor district is the mighty Deosai Plain. Although most people visit Deosai from the Skardu side, most of its part is in the Astor district, and the road to reach Deosai from the Astor side is also in good condition and more feasible.
Deosai, I call it a wonderland, a plain spread over acres, wild beauty and nature filled with streams, lakes, wildflowers, and wildlife, and above all, the jewel of this wilderness is Sheosar Lake, which is for me surely the most beautiful lake of Pakistan.
So these are just some places in Astor district. There are many other places, like Tarishing and many more.
Yes, infrastructure needs to be updated, especially roads, although they are not very bad but not as good as the roads of Hunza and Skardu. But even then, you shouldn’t miss visiting Astor, as I visited Astor five times in the last 6 years because its beauty and hospitality of local people attract me again and again.
Tips
1. Best time to visit Astor is July and August
2. Rather then staying in Astor City, you should stay in Rama or cross the city of Astor and go towards Deosai-Minimerg road 15-20 km and there you will find some good hotels on the road with nice views.
Thanks for reading.
If you have any questions or suggestions you can contact me on my email or comment below.
arslan72242@worldwitharslan.com