Brief Itinerary
- Day 1 - Arrival & stay in Srinagar
- Day 2 - Drive from Srinagar to Yusmarg (1.5 hours) + trek to Barga valley via Dragtol meadows.
- Day 3 - Trek from Yusmarg to Astar valley via Liddermad and Dandair meadows.
- Day 4 - Trek from to Astar valley Duriem camp.
- Day 5 - Trek from Duriem camp to noonwan via Bodsar Lake, Navkansar.
- Day 6 - Trek from Noonwan base to Hafas camp.
- Day 7 - Trek from Hafas to Dhoodhpatri and drive back to Srinagar.
- Day 8 - Fly out of Srinagar
Inclusions & Exclusions
Trip Cost Includes:
- Transport: All ground transport in traveller/bus/4 by 4 vehicles from hotel to trek start point and back. Airport group transfers to and from Srinagar airport to hotel and back.
- Accommodation: 02 nights Srinagar stay in a standard Hotel/Guesthouse on twin sharing basis and 07 nights tented camps (02 person double fly dome tents on twin sharing basis).
- Meals: In Srinagar on bed and breakfast plan. During the Trek (All meals) Breakfast, Packed lunch, dinner, morning anf evening tea & coffee, drinking water.
- All camping gear included (tents, sleeping bags, mats, dining tents, toilet tents (pit loo as well as western style, kitchen tents, stools, etc.
- Lead and assistant guides, cooking staff, campsite helpers. Horses for backpack off-loading upto 10 Kgs.
Trip Cost DOES NOT Include:
- Airfare
- Visa (For foreign nationals)
- Travel/Trek insurance.
- Personal clothing and equipment.
- Any medical costs incurred by you, or costs associated with a medical incident, such as your evacuation from the mountain and/ or hospitalization.
- Optional trips or excursions.
- Tips for local staff and guides.
- Lunch and dinner in Srinagar.
- Any extra transport needed for private pickups or drops.
- Expenses in case of early arrivals or delayed departures for any reason.
- Single supplement tents or hotels.
Things to carry
Download as PDFExtreme temperature variations, high altitude, snow glare & proximity to sun are certain factors which necessitate the need to for proper mountaineering and trekking equipment. In order to enjoy your experience in the mountains, we have recommended that you carry the following with you.
Apparel
- Thermal Inners - At least 1 pair of Top and Leggings
- 6-8 t-shirts or long-sleeve shirt (cotton / dryfit)
- 2-3 pairs of trekking pants (no denim!)
- 1 Sweater/Sweatshirt
- 1 Fleece Jacket
- 1 Down Jacket
- 1 Waterproof Layer like raincoat or wind-cheater
- 1 pair of hiking boots
- 1 pair of comfortable sandals/floaters/sneakers
- 6-8 pairs of cotton socks (for day)
- 2 pairs of thick/woollen socks (for night)
- Gloves - liner and outer
- Sun hat
- Woollen cap
- Buff
Accessories
- Duffel bag / Rucksack (60L+)
- Daypack / Backpack (20-30L capacity)
- Sleeping bag (can be bought or rented in Kathmandu)
- 2x 1L Bottles (to carry drinking water)
- Torch + Batteries / Headlamp
- Knee/Ankle/Wrist Guards
- Trekking Poles
- Sunblock
- Sunglasses
- Moisturiser
- Hand Sanitiser
- Lunchbox
- Personal Medical Kit
- Personal Toiletries Kit
- Snacks!
Fitness
Download as PDF- The trek to Silent Meadows can be steep & strenuous at some places, even though it does not require that you have any previous mountaineering experience in particular, It’s important that you be in good physical condition and be able to hike at a comfortable pace for 5-6 hours over hilly terrain with a light day pack. Good cardio-vascular conditioning and muscles that are used to hiking will make your trip much more enjoyable. Our goal is to trek at max. Altitude of 13,750 feet and walk through beautiful meadows and glaciers leading to pristine lakes of Kashmir. You will spend 6 - 7 days in a land where life is simple, trails are steep and the air is thin. We recommend the following schedule to the participants:
WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULE TO THE PARTICIPANTS
- WEEK ONE/TWO: The participants should be develop the habit of being able to run / brisk walk for a minimum of 3-4 Km at least 4-5 days a week. This would represent at least 20-25 minutes of cardio exercise. Though difficult at first, keep at it. You can stop and take breaks as well. During the day, you should get into the habit of avoiding elevators and taking the steps. You should be able to climb at least 4/5 flights of steps daily. (Avoid going down steps too fast as this could result in some knee injuries). If you Don’t enjoy running and are into some other sport like cycling or swimming, spend about 45 mins cycling or about 600 – 800 mts of swimming for at least 4 days a week.
- WEEK THREE/FOUR: Assuming you have successfully survived week one and are consistent with your exercise, you can take up the pace a notch. Increase your distance to 5/6 kms per day and 5 times a week, you can additionally go to a gym. Avoid heavy weight training. Focus more on a core workout. These are your muscle groups that run along the length of your body and helps maintain your posture and sustains you during your long hours of working.
- WEEK FIVE/SIX: In addition to the week two exercise, one additional feature you should add in Week three is walking for half an hour during the evenings with a backpack on carrying 3-4 kgs. This could be 2lts of water, some snacks, a jacket etc. This will help strengthen your back and shoulders thus preparing you for the long hours of trekking. If you don’t want to just simply walk, also try increasing your time on climbing flight of steps. As compared to week one, you should aim to be able to climb 10-12 flight of stairs comfortably.
- WEEK SEVEN/EIGHT: Sustenance. Keep up the tempo, sustain the workout. Try avoiding doing anything very rigorous but be consistent with morning and evening walks/runs and climbing flight of stairs.
- WEEK NINE: Sustain the workout. Increase only if you feel comfortable. Start doing an additional 10-15 mins of climbing stairs in the morning/evening with a daypack of 2-3 Kg; about 30-35 floors once a day should help increase the stamina and endurance considerably.
Please remember, consistency is the key here. Do not do anything to exert yourself or something that will increase chances of Injury. Running / brisk walking 4-5 kms for 5 days in a week is far better than running a 20 km on one day of the week and injuring your Knee/Ligaments in the process. If you can be consistent with above mentioned schedule, The Great Lakes Trek, though physically challenging, will become a pleasant and enjoyable experience for you. Feel free to call us or mail us in case you want more details on how to prepare for this trek!
FAQs
Silent Meadows
Will you arrange transport to and from the airport?
We organize group pick-ups and drops to and from the Srinagar airport as part of our service. Upon your arrival, you are welcomed and greeted at the arrival gate by our representative member from a company, and will be transferred to your hotel in Srinagar. For departure transfer, we will come to pick you up at your hotel and take you to the airport for your flight.
What kind of accommodation do you provide?
The accommodation arrangements will be taken care of by Adventure Pulse. On arrival you will be staying in Srinagar in a 3 star, standard hotel on twin sharing basis. In case you want a single occupancy room, you can avail the same on additional charges. During your hotel stay, your Breakfast and dinner will be covered in the package in the hotel buffet. Lunch can be ordered from the menu and cleared with the hotel personally by the trekker. Any item ordered, that is not part of the buffet meal will be charge to the trekker on actuals.
Once we check out from our hotel and start our journey, the next 7 days you will be spending at camp sites. Our campsites, are huge beautiful accommodation, in the middle of a lush wilderness. We will be providing you with
- sleeping tents on twin sharing basis. You can upgrade to a single occupancy tent on additional charges.
- Dining tent for eating all your meals and also chilling during the second half until dinner time.
- Foldable stools for each trekker, so you don’t have to eat your meals at the campsite sitting on the ground.
- Toilet tents: Our campsite will have 2 or 3 toilet tents depending on the size of the group. 1 pit-loo style tent, and 1 bio western toilet with a flush. Toilet tents will have fresheners hung in it and also a garbage collecting bag for your comfort and hygiene.
- Our team will have a kitchen tent where all your meals will be freshly cooked every single day.
What kind of meals will be provided?
On the trek, our staff will be carrying a kitchen tent with all the ration. They will accompany you for the entire duration of the trek. As you wake up in the morning, you will be provided with hot coffee or tea with some biscuits. It is important to stay hydrated in the mountains and the best way to consume liquids is in the form of hot beverages. Tea and Coffee will also be available for breakfast and in the evening’s.
For Breakfast, you can expect parathas, bread and jam, poha, oats and noodles. We will try our best to provide an assortment of food and avoid repetition. Lunch will be provided in the form of packed meals. At the start of the day, your trek leader will prepare your tiffin box with the meal prepared, juices, biscuits, chocolates and toffees. Sugar provides some much-needed energy while you are trekking. The Dinner Menu will include items such as fried rice, hakka noodles, biryani, Dal-Roti-Sabji-Rice among others. We will also provide soup and dessert before each supper.
What is the cell-phone connectivity like?
In Kashmir only postpaid sim cards work. In case you do not have a post-paid sim, you can buy one from outside the airport, which will cost you around INR 600/-. Do not forget to carry your original ID and a passport size photograph to buy the sim. Networks like BSNL, Jio and Airtel have good connectivity in the region. In case you need to contact someone when you land before you step out of the airport exit area, you can also access the landline at the luggage belts and request them to allow you to make a call to your operator/driver as the case may be.
On the trek – The trek to the Silent Meadows is a complete black out in terms of network. You will not have any network from Day 2 onwards once you leave the base village of Yusmarg. In Yusmarg you will have connectivity if you have a Kashmir simcard, or a sim card like BSNL, Jio and Airtel. However, please be prepared for patchy network as Yusmarg is a slightly remote village and there may be times when you won’t have enough network to access internet.
What documents should I carry with me?
To enter Kashmir, you need to make sure to carry your Identification card (Original Hard copy).
- Either Original Aadhar Card or Passport. (Hard copy)
- Visa in case you are a Non-Indian passport holder.
- Your other trekking documentation will be taken care of by Adventure Pulse once you have submitted soft copies of the same with the representative.
How much luggage can I take on the trek?
The weight limit for your luggage is 10 kg per trekker. Two trekkers will be assigned one porter, and combined luggage should not exceed 20 kgs. We never overload our porters. However, you might need to carry your own knapsack or backpack (with valuables or anything important). Only carry the essentials. You can leave excess baggage safely, either at your hotel or at the Hotel or office store for free. We will recheck everything (luggage, equipment, etc.) during our briefing before starting the journey.
If you are carrying a suitcase or any extra luggage, you can leave that behind at your hotel in Srinagar. Please note – Suitcases or any other hard bound structure bags/ wheel bags will not be allowed on the trek, neither with the porter nor on the mules.
Is there electricity on the trek?
There is no electricity supply once you start camping. Please keep all your devices fully charged, before you set foot on the journey. We recommend you to carry fully charged power banks for your phone etc. to be charged. To be on safer side, always try to carry at least 2 fully charged power banks with you. The only light you have after sunsets, will be your head lamps, torches etc. and of course the beautiful shining moon up in the sky.
Do I need to account for any tips?
Tipping the staff has become an important part of the culture where it allows you to directly show your appreciation for the staff for the hard work, they have put in. These men & women, work tirelessly, not only trekking with you, but also ensuring your safety, and comfort for the duration of your stay. Tipping is not included in the salaries of your guides, porters, or crew and therefore tremendously appreciated when it comes directly from you. The recommended amount of tips to be paid will be part of the Orientation once you register for the trek.
Backpack offloading
Western style bio-toilet
3:1 guide ratio
Extra Spacious Tents
Small group size
Group airport pick-ups and drops
Premium dining tents
Personalised attention
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