Kashmir, the crown of India, is known for its natural beauty. But not many of us have heard about the great lakes of Kashmir. Kashmir Great Lakes(KGL) is a series of lakes situated in the pristine region of Himalayas in Kashmir. This trek takes one through a series of lakes with different landscapes making it even more beautiful.
Ideally KGL opens only for a short period of time, just after the summer ends and till the monsoon gets into full form. The window would be for a rough 1.5 months.
This year we happened to do the KGL trek during the early July(1st week). One of my friends asked me for the trek and without second thought we all decided to go in. We were now all together 5 in number. Since these treks were well organized, it usually would be conducted in groups by certain organizations. We had booked our seats thru Himalayan dreams, managed by Sobi Negi. Just like ours there were so many other well known groups like YHAI, IndiaHikes, etc who would also conduct these treks. One could go thru any of them to identify the one that's better suited.
So post the KGL booking we had our flight tickets booked. The plan was to fly to Srinagar. Then from there the company had arranged for a pick up the next day. And post that trek for 6 days and later fly back home via Amritsar.
Travel Day : Reaching Srinagar
Since we all were coming from different places, we all met directly at airport and later boarded the flights together. We landed Srinagar somewhere around 12 noon. And shockingly it was quite hot there, not something we would have thought of. To our imagination Srinagar was a cold place filled with ice and snow, but we forgot that Srinagar also experiences summer like the rest of Indian cities.
Post landing there was one more thing that we noticed. None of our phones(prepaid) worked in Srinagar. Though we had read previously that only Airtel and BSNL had their network here, but it was working only for postpaid. Hence we decided to buy a local sim.
So post landing we had our driver pre-booked who would drop us to our stay, which was also pre booked. Luckily we were able to find him without the need of phone. Since we weren't in mood of going to our stay directly, we instead asked him to take us for some sightseeing. So as part of sightseeing we first visited the Pari Mahal.
Pari Mahal, aka Palace of the fairies is a terraced garden located on top of mountain, originally built by the Mughals. From here one can see the beautiful Dal lake .
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| Dal lake from Pari Mahal |
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| Dal lake view from Pari Mahal |
Next we headed to Chashme Shahi. This is one of the famous Mughal garden in Srinagar. On top of the garden lies a spring which receives continuous cold water from Haramukh, a mountain peak near Sonamarg. The water is quiet cold and is in its purest form. In fact one can find people filling bottles/cans and carrying water with them.
Post this we headed to a couple of famous gardens of Srinagar. One good thing about Srinagar is its gardens. There are plenty of them and we could only cover couple of them. In fact most of the gardens appear similar. Hence we visited only the famous one's. Our next stop was Shalimar Bagh, one of the famous gardens in Srinagar. The attraction of this garden was the pavilion built inside it. And all thru the garden there was continuous water flowing thru it. Though it was quite heavily loaded with people, the garden still seemed quite good.
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| View in Shalimar Bagh, one of the Mughal gardens |
Post the garden, we were all bored to go around garden. Hence we decided to go boating in Dal lake. Dal lake is a huge lake, with its boundary only being roughly around 16kms. The Shikara's are quite famous here, having reference in plenty of movies. There are few packages in the Shikara with each covering few places. Since we were 5 of us, we had to take 2 Shikara's as one can accommodate at the max 4 persons only. The Shikara ride is really an amazing experience especially during the sunset. It was amazing and relaxing all together.
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| Shikara ride in Dal lake |
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| Sunset point, Dal lake |
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| Sunset point, Dal lake |
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| Sunset point, Dal lake |
Post this we headed to our homestay which we had pre-booked, Imy homestay, and called off after having a good dinner.
Day 1: Off to the base camp
Though as per initial plan we were to start to base camp only in the noon, we had to start off early due the restrictions imposed as per Amaranth Yatra. The base camp that we were headed is located close to Sonamarg. We had our pickup arranged by the organizers and now all together there were 12 of us. Our trek organizer had put our camp near the base of Sindh river near Shitkadi camp. This was our first time at the camp and we actually reached bit early. The time we reached they were still setting up tents and making arrangements. For a minute, most of us had the question on the trek seeing the hot weather around us. However, these later improved and other people too joined.
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| View from Shitkadi base camp |
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| Welcome to Sonamarg |
Shitkadi base camp is around 8000ft above sea level. The base camp is located close, or on the banks of Sind river. The first day is basically the acclimatization day. This day was just spent off lazily roaming around the base camp. There will be small briefing on do's and dont's during the trek. Apart from that nothing major usually happens this day. People just start to get to know each other. For someone going to the trek, they can even skip this day and join directly the next day.
And one more good thing about this trek is the unavailability of mobile network. Network would be only available on the first day.
Day 1: The climb begins
So the first day of the trek. Early morning, around 7am, the climb begins and all start heading towards the mountains. Just few hundred meters from the Shitkadi camp is the army camp, where in the group is checked and everyone are asked to produce their ID cards.
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| One of the peaks, as seen from Shitkadi base camp |
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| Our base camp site as seen from top |
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| Trek begins |
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| River stream en-route |
Post this it is a climb forever. We climb from Shitkadi base camp, 8000ft to reach Nichnai Base camp, which is around 11500ft, covering a total distance of around 11-12kms. The climbs at times quite steep however the determination of group keeps everyone going. Also since its the first day of climb one shouldn't over stretch at times and try to relax and climb. Somewhere around the mid of trek, there lies a small dhaba where one could enjoy Maggie and by around 4pm we managed to reach the Nichnai camp. Near the camp lies the Nichnai lake which one could consider visiting as well.
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| Camp site for day2 |
Day 2: Nichnai to Vishnusar Lake
This day is a bit more tiring when compared to the first. One has to start from 11500 feet to reach Vishnusar lake about 12000ft covering around 12kms in total. But in between these 2 places lies the enormous Nichnai pass(13000feet). We started the trek around morning 7am. As usual we would have good breakfast at the camp, carry the lunch in boxes and then start trekking.
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| Nichnai camp site |
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| Snow bridge over rivers |
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| Trek trails |
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| View from Nichnai pass |
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| Snow on top of Nichnai pass |
But this was quite a tiring trek, we had to cross the Nichnai pass, around 13000ft and then start descending down back to 12000ft. On the way today as well there was again a small dhaba on top of Nichnai pass where one could munch in some snacks. Post the dhaba was a descend and then walk all the way thru plain land till we reach the Vishnusar lake.
Vishnusar lake is a very huge lake surrounded by mountains. Vishunsar camp site's were located close to the lake. One could consider visiting these lakes from the campsites and spend time enjoying them.
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| Vishnusar lake |
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| Vishnusar lake |
Day 3: Vishnusar to Gadsar Lake via Gadsar Pass(13800ft)
This day is a bit more challenging when compared to previous two. Also the distance to be covered is also greater than the previous ones, standing at around 15kms. Starting from the Vishnusar base camp we proceed further north. After a bit of small climb we witness the more beautiful Krishnasar lake.
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| Vishnusar lake en-route to Gadsar |
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| Vishnusar lake en-route to Gadsar |
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| Vishnusar lake en-route to Gadsar |
Krishnasar lake is too surrounded by mountains on one side. And on the other side lies the Vishnusar lake. Right from Krishnasar begins the steep climb of Gadsar pass. From the lake one can see the climb that has to be done to reach Gadsar. The climb is quite huge and is a continuous walk for around 3-4kms from the lake. From 12000ft we reach somewhere close to 13800ft. This is the highest peak/altitude of our entire trek. Once reached at top, the weather changes spontaneously. It starts blowing cold air with snow visible all around us. The mesmerizing scenery at the top of Gadsar captivates everyone.
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| Krishnasar lake |
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| Krishnasar and Vishnusar lake view from top |
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| Gadsar lake |
After spending some time on top of Gadsar we began our descent. The next 2-3km is a straight descent till we reach the plains. While getting down the pass, we could see the famous Gadsar lake. Gadsar lake is in the cluster of 2 lakes together.
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| Valley of flowers along trek trails |
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| Valley of flowers en-route trek trails |
After getting down the Gadsar pass we could see the pristine Yamsar lake. Yamsar lake is a really beautiful lake situated right between mountains. The lake is soo clean and beautiful that one could spend the whole day just admiring this lake.
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| Beautiful Yamsar lake |
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| Yamsar lake |
But our camp site was still around 4-5kms from here. And hence we had to head further. After walking further, we finally reached our campsite, Gadsar camp. Though this campsite is situated far from Gadsar, its still named as Gadsar campsite. This is the only campsite of the trek, that's not situated close to lake. Though there are river tributaries for water source, the camp site location isn't too bad either. Right next to our campsite here, there were moving shepherds who had build their temporary shelter here providing a nice and free orchestra service 😉.
Day 4: Gadsar Campsite to Satsar Lake
This day is quite short, or relaxing walk compared to the previous days. Just after the campsite, there's one climb, and post that its all walk in the plains. The duration too is less. We started off in the morning around 8am and managed to reach Satsar lake by afternoon, around 2pm.
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| Climb from campsite |
The distance of this day's walk was roughly around 9kms, but time wise it was just around 6 hour trek. Since this was a short trek, we dint have to take lunch box, instead we were made arrangements for lunch at campsite. On the way of trek, one could spot the Nanga Parbat. But since it was too cloudy, we weren't lucky enough to have a view of it. Satsar, is a combination of 7 lakes together. While coming to the base camp one witnesses around 4 lakes. The rest 3 are situated on top of hill, near base camp.
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| One of the 7 Satsar lakes |
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| Nearing Satsar campsite |
After our lunch, we decided to visit the remaining 3, so as to cover the all 7 lakes of Satsar. The Satsar lakes, or most of them are surrounded by boulder hills. But still offering a beautiful view.
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| One of the Satsar lakes on top of campsite |
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| One of the Satsar lakes on top of campsite |
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| One of the Satsar lakes on top of campsite |
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| The last of the 7 Satsar lakes after much more climb |
Day 5: Satsar lake to Gangbal lake
This day we had to walk a bit more when compared to last day, standing at around 11kms. We have to cross the Zaj pass to reach Gangbal lake from Satsar. Also the path for the first 2-3kms are fully filled with boulders making it tough for some people. Post the boulders next 3-4kms is a steep climb till we reach the Zaj pass. Once on top of Zaj pass, we can see the 2 beautiful lakes, Gangbal and Nandkhol lake. And also one can see the Haramukh peak from here right next to Gangbal lake. From the top, next is the descent till we reach plain lands
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| View from Zaj pass |
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| Gangbal and Nankhol lake as seen while getting down the Zaj pass |
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| Gangbal and Nankhol lake as seen while getting down the Zaj pass |
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| Gangbal and Nankhol lake as seen while getting down the Zaj pass |
Once we reach the plain lands, we walk for another 3kms to reach Nandhkol lake. Both Nandkhol and Gangbal lake are located quite close to each other, approx. at distance of 1kms.
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| Nandkhol lake |
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| Nandkhol lake |
After spending some time here we head towards our base camp at Gangbal lake. On the way we have to cross the stream of water from Gangbal lake via a tiny bridge, which is adventurous.
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| The bridge to cross river strem at Gangbal lake |
Gangbal lake, like Nandhkol is beautiful indeed. And just next to Gangbal lies the majestic Haramukh peak. One can even see the peak's reflection in the Gangbal lake.
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| Beautiful Gangbal Lake |
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| Gangbal Lake |
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| Beautiful Gangbal Lake |
Day 6: Back to Naranag
This day is the return day, making the end of our trip. However, distance wise, we had to cover a lot more than the previous days. We were to cover roughly around 16kms, but since most of it was a descend it went in no time.
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| En-route back to Naranag |
On our way down, we had a quick stop at the dhaba. After having some snacks here we headed back to Naranag. We managed to reach Naranag by around 1:30pm.
This day marks the end of KGL trek. At Naranag there's a huge board welcoming one to this KGL trek. Also just nearby there's a historic temple ruined by the Mughals which would have been very beautiful given its location. From here our plan was to head to Srinagar.
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| First view of civilization after 6 days |
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| Ruined temples of Naranag |
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| KGL ends here |
However, due to the ongoing security conditions imposed, we were stuck at one of the check post at Manigam, around 40kms from Srinagar. The check post closes at 4pm in the current conditions, but the time we reached this check post it was around 5pm. We tried to convince the officials there to let us go as we weren't actually Amaranth yatra pilgrims. But at the end we were left with no option other than staying overnight at this camp and later headed directly to the airport the next day.
Golden Temple and Attari visit using the layover at Amritsar
Our flight was to depart from Srinagar via Amritsar this day. Hence on the way we did manage to cover Amritsar Golden temple and Attari border with the 5 hours layover that we had at Amritsar. From the Amritsar airport we booked a taxi who did the entire trip for us in 4 hours. The taxi drove us to Amritsar Golden temple first. After visiting the golden temple, we visited the nearby Jallianwala Bagh memorial and later headed to Attari. However at the Attari, the ceremony parade happens at around 6pm and we unfortunately didn't have time left for that. hence we just visited Attari and headed back to airport.
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| Amritsar Golden temple |
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| En-route Attari |
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| Indian entrance at the border |
Overall the Kashmir great lakes trip came to an end officially today. In the 6 days of KGL trek we had covered close to 75kms in walk, with plenty of scenic spots, plenty of memories to take away. We had also formed a good group which was an addon. This trek would be recommended to people who'd like to have a break or go on an adventure.
Few of contact info:
Sobi Negi (Himalayan dreams trek) : 8089693825
Imy Homestay : 9906476389
Driver(Imtiaaz srinagar) :9149645454
Satnam Khalsa (Amritsar airport cab) : 6239560008
