Is Deosai Open or Closed? Opening and Closing Dates

Deosai National Park is open to visitors only in summer. In a typical year the track onto the plateau opens some time in June and closes with the first heavy snowfall, usually in October, and from about November to May it is closed by snow. Whether it is open or closed on a given day depends on the snow and, in July and August, on the rain, so check in Skardu or Astore the evening before you go.

This guide covers the usual opening and closing months, what can close the road in the middle of the season, what "open" does and doesn't mean now, and how to find out before you set off.

When does Deosai open?

There is no fixed opening date. The plateau averages 4,114 metres and collects deep snow over the winter, and the track is open to visitors only once enough of it has melted and the drifts on the road have been cleared.

In a light snow year that can be as early as the end of May. In an average year it is early to mid-June, and after a heavy winter it can be later still. Online guides often give a single date, sometimes to the day. Treat any such date as last year's, not this year's.

Early in the season "open" can be a generous word. Expect soft, muddy stretches where snowmelt runs across the track, drifts still lying beside it, and lakes that have not fully thawed. A high-clearance 4x4 matters more in June than at any other time.

When does Deosai close?

The plateau closes when the first heavy snow of autumn covers the track. That is most often around mid-October, but some years it comes in the first week of the month and some years not until the last. News reports have described the park's season as running from June to November, and local vehicles sometimes still cross in November.

Late-season travel is where people get into trouble. In November 2024, 14 local travellers in two vehicles were stranded in heavy snow on the Deosai road for more than 29 hours, with no mobile contact, while the army and local administration searched for them. From October onwards, a fine morning in Skardu tells you very little about the afternoon on the plateau.

Can Deosai close in the middle of summer?

Yes, and in recent years it has. Snow is not the only thing that closes the road. The drive up from Skardu follows the Sadpara stream and climbs steep slopes, and heavy monsoon rain brings down landslides and floods.

• July 2025: heavy rain and flash floods blocked the road between Sadpara and Deosai at ten points. Police said 413 tourist vehicles were stranded; the road was restored overnight and the tourists were brought down to Skardu the next morning.
• July 2026: a section of the Deosai road was washed away when the Sadpara stream overflowed, and the Astore–Skardu route across the plateau was closed. The Jaglot–Skardu road was blocked at the same time, leaving hundreds of tourists stuck in both Skardu and Astore.

Some closures are cleared within hours; a washed-out section can take days. The lesson is simple: in July and August, look at the forecast, and don't drive onto the plateau in heavy rain, whatever the calendar says.

What "open" doesn't mean

It doesn't mean you can visit in winter

Occasionally the road is cleared out of season for official reasons. In December 2019, for example, the Skardu district disaster management authority cleared snow from Skardu to the top of Deosai at the request of the Pakistan Air Force, the first time the road had been opened in winter. That kind of opening is not an invitation to tourists. In winter the plateau is deep in snow, bitterly cold and without help if anything goes wrong.

It doesn't mean you can stay the night

After a brown bear attacked and injured a visitor camping near Bara Pani in September 2025, the Gilgit-Baltistan government banned night camping on the plateau. In December 2025 the Forest, Parks and Wildlife Department also banned seasonal hotels and commercial activity inside the park from the 2026 season. So even when Deosai is open, a night on it may not be allowed. Our Deosai National Park guide explains what this means for planning.

It doesn't mean every part of the route is easy

The track can be open end to end and still be slow, muddy or partly washed out. "Open" means jeeps are getting through, not that any vehicle will.

How to check whether Deosai is open

1. When you plan the trip, put your Deosai day inside the reliable window, late June to mid-September. Our guide to the best time to visit Deosai goes through what each month is like.
2. In the days before, watch the weather forecast for Skardu and Astore from the Pakistan Meteorological Department, and keep an eye on local news. Pamir Times and the national papers report when the Deosai road reopens in spring and when rain or snow closes it.
3. The evening before, ask your hotel in Skardu and the jeep drivers. In the season drivers go up most days, and they will know whether the track is clear and how it was that afternoon. On the Astore side, ask in Astore or at Chilim. Ask specific questions: is the track clear all the way across to Chilim, or only as far as Bara Pani? Was there rain or snow on the plateau today? What time did the last jeeps come down?
4. On the morning, if it rained heavily overnight or snow is forecast, ask again before you leave, and be ready to change the day.
5. At the checkpoint, follow what the checkpoint staff tell you. If they say the plateau is closed or the weather is turning, turn round.

Don't rely on a date from last year, a social media post, or any website that gives this year's opening day before the snow has melted, including this one.

If Deosai is closed: what to do instead

A closed plateau does not have to waste the day. Skardu has more than enough to fill it, most of it at gentler altitude:

• Shangrila and Upper Kachura, the two lakes twenty minutes apart outside town
• The Katpana cold desert, best in the last hour of light
• Shigar, an hour away, for the fort and the old wooden mosque
• Khaplu, three hours up the Shyok, if you have a full day

If the closure is up on the plateau rather than on the lower road, Sadpara Lake, at about 2,600 metres on the way up, can still make a quiet half-day. Our Skardu destination page has more on the valley. What you should not do is try to walk or drive past a closure, or go looking for a way round it.

Planning around the uncertainty

The honest position is that nobody can promise you Deosai on a particular date, even in July. What you can do is make a closed day cheap:

• Keep a spare day. Plan Deosai for early in your time in Skardu, so that if it is closed you can move it rather than lose it.
• Don't put it on your last day, especially if you are flying out of Skardu, since the flight needs its own weather margin.
• Be careful with the one-way crossing to Astore. If you have booked somewhere on the far side, find out whether you can change the date without losing the money.
• Avoid the edges of the season unless your dates are flexible. Early June and October are fine for people who can wait a day or two; they are a poor bet for a fixed long weekend.

This is how we plan our own seven-day Skardu and Deosai trip: the plateau sits in the middle of the week, and a spare day is built in for weather. For how the season fits the rest of the north, see our guide to when to go.

Frequently asked questions