The Katpana Desert (Biang-a Naqpo), known also as Katpana Biang-a or Cold Desert, is a high-altitude desert located in
Skardu
Skardu (, Tibetan script: སྐར་མདོ, ) is a city located in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...
Valley in District Skardu,
Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...
, Pakistan.
The desert contains large sand dunes that are sometimes covered in snow during the winters. Situated at an elevation of above sea level, the Katpana Cold Desert is one of the highest deserts in the world. While the desert technically stretches from the banks of
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...
in the south of Skardu to New Ranga Village in the north, the portion of the desert that is most frequented by tourists is located near Katpana Lake close to
Skardu Airport.
Climate
Temperatures range from a maximum of and a minimum (in October) of , which can drop further to below in December and January. The temperature occasionally drops as low as .
Gallery
File:Cold Desert Skardu Gilgit Baltistan Pakistan.jpg
File:Skardu Katpana Desert.jpg
File:Desert, Water and Moutain in Katpana Skardu Baltitsan.jpg, Sand dunes of Katpana
File:Katpana Desert at Skardu (Cold Desert).jpg, Sand expanse of Katpana
File:Katpana Desert at Skardu, also known as the "Cold Desert".jpg
References
Deserts of Pakistan
Skardu District
{{GilgitBaltistan-geo-stub