In July of 2018, I found myself back on the trail of one of the most beautiful parts of the western Himalayas; the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek. I had returned home from summiting Mt. Everest in May, after spending 2 entire months on the cold glacier of The Khumbu Icefall. After seeing the view from the Top of the World, I had imagined a nice long break to allow my exhausted body to recover. But, when Adventure Pulse asked me to lead a group for the Kashmir Great lakes trek, I leapt at the opportunity.

A DREAM COME TRUE

I have had the privilege of climbing several mountains around the world during my lifetime. These experiences have included the cold mountains of the Caucasus in Russia chilled by the harsh Siberian winds as well as the magnificence of Kilimanjaro, standing tall in the midst of the Tanzanian savannahs. I have spent a quarter of my life in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand & Nepal, exploring their lofty heights. No stranger to the mountains, I thought I knew what to expect on this trek. I could not have been more wrong.

The sheer beauty of the Western Himalayas in Kashmir stole my breath away. Within 20 minutes of leaving the road, the landscape transformed from the urban construction of roads to beautiful lush green meadows, dotted with white grazing sheep. Snowcapped peaks surrounded us in every direction, with huge Silver birch forests standing in the foreground. I was suddenly transported to my childhood when I watched movies in which Julie Andrews serenaded us at the top of her voice, that ‘The Hills were alive with the Sound of Music’.

KASHMIR – An Adventure Comes Alive

The Kashmir Great Lakes Trek had been on my bucket list for very long. I had first visited Kashmir in 2014, during a mountain climbing expedition to Mt. Nun and fell hopelessly in love with the landscape. Over the last few years, I would meet fellow adventure lovers,  who described the most remote glacial lakes of this trek in vivid detail. These tales captured my imagination and I was hooked.

The Kashmir Great Lakes Trek as the name suggests leads to many high altitudes alpine lakes situated at the foothills of different snowy mountain peaks in Kashmir. The trail meanders past several streams, plenty of colourful meadows and over three high altitude mountain passes. This trek, from Sonamarg to Naranag via the Nichnai & Gadsar Pass, without a doubt, is one of the most beautiful trekking routes in the Western Himalayas.

The trek has innumerable beautiful alpine lakes throughout its trail, thus giving it this name. The vistas will leave you with memories that would last a lifetime. Since it’s a moderate level trek, it can be taken up by fit but amateur trekkers or even a first-time trekker. Arduous days, steep and rocky passes and altitudes approaching 4200m; all make it a challenging trek in one of the most beautiful and serene parts of Kashmir.

MY JOURNEY TO KASHMIR BEGINS – Getting there

On the 5th of July, I found myself standing outside the Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport, also known as the Srinagar Airport. I took an airport prepaid taxi into the main city of Srinagar, as I planned on spending a night experiencing the culture of Kashmir, the beauty of the Dal lake and the famous Wazwan cuisine. The rest of the group were flying the next day into Srinagar, from where our taxi would transport them to Sitkari, the base village and the starting point of the trek. Though Sitkari is located at a distance of 87kms from Srinagar, it can take almost 4 hours to reach.

The closest major city is Srinagar, which can be reached in many ways. One can take a train to Jammu, followed by a taxi/bus ride for the rest of the journey. You can also take a flight to Srinagar from Delhi or Mumbai with or without a stopover at Jammu. By bus, Srinagar is linked by the National Highway 1A to the rest of the country. Most trekkers prefer reaching Sitkari the previous evening, as the trek begins the next day early in the morning.

THE GREAT LAKES OF KASHMIR – Starting the Trek.

I greeted the 6 members of our team at Sitkari on their arrival. I knew each of them well and had the pleasure of trekking with them in the past. With this small group of experienced trekkers, I would be setting out on a brilliant adventure; one that I had been dreaming about.

We began the next morning with the aim of ascending towards the Shokdhari campsite, along a Maple and Pine tree-lined route. As we climbed up the trail, we encountered beautiful views of Sonmarg, surrounded by lush green mountains. Though I have never been to Switzerland, the landscape resembled images I had seen on television. Within an hour, we reached the first military check post where the soldiers checked our permits and IDs against each team member. I was surprised to find how thorough they were as with polite courtesy, yet with searching questions began to cross-reference our answers with the ID cards.

As we climbed higher, I felt the altitude as the trail climbed steeply upwards to the Shokdari Camp, referred to as Table Top. We took our first long break here as we had to wait for the mules carrying our tents and luggage to catch up with us. As I sat on the grassy meadow near a small Gujjar hut, Altaf our guide offered me a hot cup of Kashmiri Kahwa. With the aroma of Kahwa and the gorgeous landscape of Kashmir before me, I could feel my fatigue fade away.

THE NICHNAI PASS – High Altitude Crossing

After a night spent camping in a beautiful meadow alongside a Himalayan stream, we awoke the next morning to resume our odyssey through this picturesque landscape. Today was going to be a tougher day, for our objective was to climb over the Nichnai pass and cross into the next valley. We were hoping to reach the Vishansar Lake by evening which was to be our destination for the day. As we climbed higher, the terrain gradually changed, from green pastures to rocky terrain. The melting snow from the pass through the eons of time had eroded away the soil, creating massive fissures along the hillside. As we continued our ascent, the pace became progressively slower. Suddenly, around a turn, we came across a large snowfield which came as a lovely surprise. Walking through the snow was such a dramatic change from the landscape we had started off from.

On the horizon, we could make out the top of the pass. After another hour of walking, we finally reached the top, a tremendous cause for celebration. After many pictures (mandatory) to capture the moment, the fun part of the trek began. Descending by sliding down the snow-covered slopes not only added to the fun but also expedited the journey. Using our jackets, we slid down the snow coming to an abrupt halt at the base of the slope. Within 20 minutes of leaving the snow behind us, we came across green pastures once more.

Fed by the snowmelt, these meadows were lush green and dotted with little flowers in a multitude of colours. In the distance, large flocks of sheep grazed peacefully completing the imagery of a fairy-tale landscape. By the late afternoon, after an incredible day, we finally arrived at our campsite located on the banks of a lovely stream.

THE VISHANSAR LAKE – Heaven on Earth.

As the sun began to descend towards the western horizon, I left the campsite and began to trace the course of the stream up towards the mountains. Scrambling over some boulders, I crested a small mound to stumble on the first lake of the Kashmir Great Lakes trek, the Vishansar Lake. I was speechless. The beauty of the lake was so incredible. The exquisite turquoise waters of the lake were surrounded by lush green grassy banks. At the end of the lake stood a magnificent snow-capped mountain, with a huge glacier running down its face right up to the edge of the lake. The surface of the water acted like a polished mirror, catching the reflection of not just the mountain in its still waters, but even the dramatic colours of the evening sky.

Overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the moment, I silently sat by the lake, not wanting to disturb the peace & tranquillity of the moment and watched the sun descend over the horizon. In a matter of moments, the light began to fade and the sky lit up with stars. As I looked up at the night sky, I felt an incredible sense of gratitude for this incredible opportunity & being able to witness this natural splendour.

THE GADSAR PASS – An impossible crossing

The next day, Day 3 of the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek, we woke up to grey skies and a light drizzle of rain. Presuming it to be a passing shower, we broke camp and headed past the Vishnasar Lake on our way to the Gadsar Pass. The colour of the water mirrored the dark clouds of the sky, creating an impression that Vishnasar had a distinct personality of its own with changing moods. The waters now reflected a sombre mood more foreboding with hidden depths so different from the vibrant enticing colours of the previous evening.

As we climbed above Vishnasar, we passed the Krishnasar lake and slowly began our ascent up the Gadsar Pass. The light drizzle of the morning had increased in intensity and as we climbed up the steep pass, the trail became more difficult. The clay soil soon became completely slushy preventing us from taking a step upwards without falling down. Lower down, the pack horses were also struggling to gain purchase and the danger of them falling off the precariously narrow trail was soon becoming more inevitable.

After a few hours of struggling in these conditions, we finally abandoned this futile attempt and descended to the banks of the Krihsnasar lake where we established our campsite. The heavy rain had soaked through all our clothes and tents, so we were forced to spread our sleeping bags in the dining tent and huddle together. However, making the most of the experience, we stayed up till late in the night chatting away, as the rain continued outside in a torrential downpour.

THE UNEXPECTED RETURN

Despite our valiant attempts at braving the weather, after two days we had to take the call to return. The trail over the Gadsar pass had been reduced to slush, too precarious to attempt a crossing. So we broke camp, heading back the way we came. As we made our way up the Nichnai pass, the rain was replaced by sleet and then ice. With fresh snowfall, this crossing proved to be extremely cold and very difficult.

As we pressed on following the trail made by the pack horses, we slowly reached the top of the pass and began to descend down into the Nichnai valley. After the bitter cold at the top of the pass, we were shocked to see bright sunshine on the other side of the mountain. Within a few hours of our descent, the strong sun had completely dried our clothes and by the following, as we emerged onto the road head, there was no trace of bad weather.

HIGHLIGHTS – Lasting Memories

Though my journey on the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek, did not have a fairy book ending, the experience was an incredible adventure. As always, it becomes extremely difficult to capture the entire experience in the form of words and even more so to share it with you as the reader. However, they were some distinct memories of the trek which I will always treasure, like pictures in an album.

• The first view of the snow-capped peaks with the meadows and the birch forests.
• The encounter with local Kashmiri children from the Gujjar huts asking for chocolate, biscuits or “Baksheesh” (money), whichever is the most forthcoming. The little girls, though covered with grim and mud had the most angelic faces I have ever seen.
• The military check post where the soldiers questioned us and noted down our details. They were professional, efficient, yet courteous enough to offer us tea or water.
• The steep climb, up the mountain to finally reach Shokdhari campsite situated on a tabletop giving us an incredible panoramic view of the mountains in each direction.
• Walking through the silver birch forest with huge magnificent trees, ancient in age and appearance, with their bark peeling off like pages of an ancient manuscript.
• The Walk alongside the river with the waters roaring past us so loudly that any conversation was impossible.
• Walking through a boulder-strewn moraine with lush grass growing between each rock.
• Two Kashmiris on horseback riding small, hardy little ponies cantering up the slope displaying incredible horsemanship and control.
• Climbing each hill ahead of us and hoping against hope to stumble onto our campsite only to be greeted by yet another rolling meadow, with more boulders on the horizon.
• Finally walking into our camp and the feeling of relief.
• Watching the sun descend behind the huge mountain range giving way to the beautiful colours of dusk as late as 8:00 pm
• The valley dotted with numerous wildflowers exquisite like jewels set in the bright green grass.
• The night sky lit with millions of stars.

I do hope you enjoyed reading my feeble attempt at capturing an incredible adventure through a remarkable landscape. If this does inspire you undertake this adventure yourselves, please do feel free to reach out to me with queries, questions or comments and will be my pleasure to address them to the best of my abilities. See you on the trail.