night-skyline-arvind-pandit

The Kashmir Lake Trek must be one of the most beautiful treks in the world covering 6 main mountain lakes and numerous other small ones. The trek covers 60 km over a 7 day period touching a high point of 13,750ft. – cut off from mobile phones, emails and landlines.

The trek starts from Sonamarg (www.jktdc.in/destinations/sonmarg.html), a 3 hour drive from Srinagar. We arrived in Srinagar on Day 0 of the trek and drove up to Sonamarg where the base camp had been established at a height of 8,000 ft.

Day 1 – Sonamarg(8,000ft) to Nichnai(11,500ft)

We left the base camp at Sonamarg at 7:45pm after breaking camp. Our first ascent took us to the Shekdur meadow which is lined with Silver Birch trees. After resting a while we made some good time, reaching our destination Nichnai by 12 noon. We crossed several mountain streams on the way and broke for lunch by the banks of one before proceeding to the camp site. By 2pm the camp was all set up and we had plenty of time to relax in our tents.

Day 2 – Nichnai(11,500ft) to Vishnusar (12,000 ft)

We left Nichnai at 7:45 am and were on top of Nichnai Pass (13,500ft) by 9:15 am. Good time again! After a rest and some energy boosters we descended down on the other side and walked down to the camp site close to Vishnusar Lake by 1:30pm after a leisurely lunch. Vishnusar Lake was a over the mound from the campsite. Vishnusar was the first of the mountain lakes on the trek. What a breathtaking site, nestled between mountains, green in color! It gave us an opportunity to click tons of pictures.

Day 3 – Vishnusar (12,000 ft) to Gadsar (12,000ft) via Gadsar Pass (13,750ft)

Today was the longest day in the trek. Hence we had an early 7am start after breaking camp. We hiked up to Kishansar Lake in 30 minutes and spent some time there. Post that started the grueling ascent to Gadsar Pass – the highest point on the trek. I was the first on top by 9am giving me plenty of time to rest. Post descent and a long walk we arrived at the Gadsar Lake where we broke for lunch. We trekked past the lake to the hospitable Army checkpost where we were served tea as we completed security formalities. We arrived at the camp by 3pm to be welcome by piping hot Maggi noodles.