Kashmir Great Lakes- A Trek To Heaven

We started our journey from Srinagar and left for Sonmarg at noon. We started quite late than usual, you should leave Srinagar by 8 in the morning, so we were 4 hours late. All the other members had already reached but our fast and furious driver compensated some part of the lost time( tho we had our hearts in our hands).

We reached Sonmarg around 2 pm, our organizer was waiting for us there, and without wasting any time he gave us a lil brief about the trek and we started the journey that's going to be in our mind forever.

We were 5 people in our group( 3 guys and 2 girls). One of the girls was 50 years old and trust me she can beat half of the young population in the stamina level. The trek is a combination of upslope and downslope. After almost an hour, your phones will stop getting the signal.

The trek trail starts with Maple and Pine trees and throughout the journey, you will find plenty of them. Throughout the journey, you will find many water sources where you can refill your bottles. The best part was that the organizers were super friendly and throughout they were telling us about the places, about everything, and made sure that we are interacting and having a good time.

Our stop for the day was at Nichnai(11500 ft). We reached there at 8 pm and it was freaking cold and we were super hungry. Our cook was really amazing. He had already cooked super delicious meals for us and without wasting any more time we jumped on our plates. We were informed that we have to start our journey early tomorrow, so we went off to bed.

When you are on a trek, you know you have to compromise on food as the chances are that the food provided to you won't be of good quality and taste. But to our surprise, the food offered to us during the whole trek was healthy, hygienic, and super delicious. Our cook parvez bhai made sure that we get enough energy to go through the tough trek with ease.

We left Nichnai to Vishensar(12000 ft). The trek is 12 km long, and it takes around 6-7 hours to reach the campsite.

The day trek is a long walk on meadows with the scenery changing for the better all along. After around 2 hours you will reach Nichnai pass and surprisingly you will get mobile network there and you can make calls to family and friends there. After that, you won't get any signal for next 4 days. You will find a couple of waterfalls on the way to Vishensar.

The Vishensar lake is around 10-15 mins away from the campsite, After pitching our tents, we went to see the lake. The lake is crystal clear and blue in color. The lake is surrounded by snow-clad mountains. After spending a good amount of time there and clicking pictures, we went back to our campsite.

This day is the most difficult. But also you will get to see the most pristine and beautiful lake of all the lakes. So the difficulty is worth it. Today we left Vishensar to Gadsar(12000 ft). The trek is 10km long and takes 6-7 hours.

The trek starts with a walk to another lake called Kishensar. After that, there is a steep ascent for 2 hours and it will lead to Gadsar pass(13800 ft). It is the highest point on this trek and reaching this point is a big task. Make sure all your water bottles are filled and you have got enough energy bars with you.

When you are in the blue Iris area, you are almost at Gadsar. One of the prettiest and most pristine of the lakes on this trek. Gadsar is at the base of snow-clad cliffs. Blue flowers spring up one side and snow slabs fall into the lake from the mountain on the other side.

The campsite is around 40 mins away from the lake, so make sure you spend enough time at the lake. Even hours spend there will feel less. On the way to the campsite, there is an army camp where you will need to show your id cards, and only after you get the green signal you can move forward.

Today we had to reach Satsar(12000 ft). The trek is 12km and takes 6-7 hours. The trek is a descent for 1 hour, ascent for 3 hours and then a walk in the meadows.

The landscape is captivating. Isolated mountains stand in front. Towards the right is a small ridge. In between is a flat green bed with a stream flowing in between. Satsar is a collection of 7 small lakes but on your way, you only get to see 3-4 lakes.

Today we left Sarsar torwards Gangbal and Nundkol. These are also called twin lakes of Gangbal. The trek is 9km long and takes 6-7 hours. The trek is a mixture of ascents and descents.

After reaching the highest point of the day called Zach pass( 13400ft). The best part however is the surprise view you get from the ridge top. The twin lakes lying next to each other. A stream of water flowing from one to another. From there, there is a steep descent to your campsite.

We reached late in the evening and the campsite is Lil far from both the lakes, so we decided to see them tomorrow.

After waking up, the first thing we did is that we went to see the twin lakes of Gangbal and Nundkol. It took us 20 Mins from our campsite to Gangbal and from there another 20 mins to Nundkol. We also took a dip in Nundkol. The feel was shivery amazing. The water was freezingly cold.

The Nundkhol lake lies at the base of the Harmukh peak. The Harmukh glacier hangs on the sides of the rocky edges of the mountain. Both the Gangabal and Nundkhol are famous for trout fishing.

A fiery stream flows on the right of the two lakes connecting them. The stream has to be crossed to go to Gangabal from Nandkol. Do not try to cross the stream at the lower levels but go all the way to the bank of Gangabal and on the right you find a good man-made bridge laid out. Gangabal is huge. A parikrama of either of the lakes will easily take an hour.

It was time to bid adieu to our wonderful journey. The whole was full of roller coaster rides. There were times when our body surrendered but our enthusiasm kept driving us forward. The Organizers were very helpful, informative in every aspect. They made sure that we have a memorable time.

This day we left Gangbal to Naranag. Our cabs were there waiting for us to take us back to Srinagar.