Himalayan Trek - The Great Lakes of Kashmir

It's that time again when the mountains beckon, and you know another trek is on the cards. I had skipped an April trek in Uttarakhand, wanting to explore the Himalayas differently. And different it was...with the Great Lakes of Kashmir trek, a 6 days-7 nights trek that starts from Sonmarg and goes deep into the mountains, passes and valleys of Kashmir.

This time around, I will describe the trek, not so much through a day-by-day account, but as snippets of what the eyes, heart and mind experience while there. Hope it gives you a glimpse of what I felt, and hope it inspires some of you to go experience it yourself too.

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We are just beginning to settle down for lunch on the mountain slopes on our descent to Naranag on the last day of the trek. Suddenly from behind us, two gun-bearing soldiers dressed commando style charge down the slopes from behind us, one of them shouting "Idhar milega. Idhar milega". Tensed with the thought of who could be coming from the pine forests below, we stopped all our work to stare at them...until one of them stretched his hand out on the slope below to check if he was catching mobile network. 

The armed forces make their presence felt on this trek as I've never experienced on other treks.  They are first visible as soon as you land in Srinagar, with small groups of armed forces on the sides of the roads and dotting the landscape within the thickets of trees and along farms of rice, corn and apple or walnut on our way to Sonmarg. There are three army checkposts we come across on our trekking trail, the first is at the trek's start from Sonmarg. The military is posted here mainly for the safety and security of trekkers, this being a popular trekking trail among Indians and foreigners. When a foreigner trekker didn't report out from the other end of the trail a few weeks earlier, these army men had gone looking for her and only when they found out she had exited the trail at another point, they were assured of her safety. 

The next Gadsar army checkpost turned out to be the location of our campsite on Day 4. Most of the jawans (soldiers) posted on this trekking trail are from Rashtriya Rifles. They are based here for months at a stretch, and with these locations receiving more than 20-22 feet of snow, the army will leave these posts starting November. You soon realize that the soldiers are as excited meeting you and talking with you, given how little interaction they'd have with others in these remote far flung locations. 

All checkposts proudly have the national flag fluttering, and four flags denoting the four leading religions of India - Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism. Somehow, seeing the Indian flag fluttering wildly in the wind in these remote locations tugs at the heartstrings in a way that leaves one feeling quite choked with emotion. 

The Satsar army checkpost along the way from Gadsar to Megandob on Day 5 was one such. Located at an altitude of 3800 meters and less than 20 kms from the Pakistan border, our entire group of sixteen sang the national anthem here with the soldiers with the flag flying high and our voices blowing in all directions with the strong winds. By the time we ended with Jai Hind!, we realized that not one of us was left dry-eyed. 

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You get a good mix of terrain on this trekking trail. You wade through or cross streams and rivers (you're often best advised to take off your socks and shoes and wade through the shallow sections rather than trying to jump over the rocks and invariably slipping and getting yourself wet). 

You climb...or jump...over rocks and boulders, especially near the streams and rivers. At the this time of the year when the summer has melted most of the snow, you still see snow in the higher reaches and also get a little snow to walk over at some places. 

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Forests - dense covers of pine, silver birch, maple - are found only on the first and last days of the trek. Other than that you don't get to see a single tree for majority of the way. 

But you don't really notice this fact, as your senses are filled with lush green grass all over mountain slopes, rolling meadows and valleys. It's the kind of green that not only provides a nice soft cushion for your feet as you walk hour after hour, day after day.

 It's also the kind of green that sends you very inviting messages to roll down the slopes, until the little stones and rocks embedded between the grass deter you from converting that thought into action. 

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Early mornings usually have clouds that hang thick and low on the mountain slopes just in front of you, as if they've decided to sit down for a bit of rest from all their drifting around.

Even during summer (which is when this trail is best done), you often find yourself in the middle of clouds. At many times during the trek, especially when doing the long climbs to the summits, you find yourself walking in the clouds...with the cool mist in the clouds softly settling over you. 

On the way to Vishansar, you cross the stream and look above to see the steep ascent, wondering how you're going to do it. You start climbing and slowly you realize the thinner air is making your legs heavier and your breath shorter. Your steps gets smaller and you try to maintain a steady rhythm. You see you are following the stream in a reverse direction, climbing higher until the stream is a rapid waterfall. Climbing further until the waterfall is just a small rivulet again. But now the waters are surrounded by glaciers with the clouds floating all around, reducing visibility and giving everything around a mysterious foggy appearance. Some of the glaciers along the edges have neatly carved patterns on them resembling the walls of an igloo as remembered from schooldays. The air is still thinner, and you can feel the coolness - from both the high altitude and from the mist of the clouds. 

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Not all mountains are green. Some are full of craggy black stony surfaces. The patches of snow on them try to soften their hard appearance...but as some hastily applied talcum powder, it does little to reduce its raw wildness. Others have sharply etched stone surfaces along their slopes making for interesting sedimentary patterns. Most of them have never been climbed, such as Mount Harmukh that at 5142 meters is the highest in that region of Kashmir and towers over Gangabal Lake, with some of its glacial waters still melting into the lake. The lake has another gushing waterfall on the opposite side that feeds water from the high mountains. This site was considered sacred by Hindu pilgrims before the Amarnath Yatra.

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For the first two days, you're left wondering where the lakes are on the Great Lakes of Kashmir trail. Then they start appearing by the end of day 2 of the trek, all majestic and bright blue-green, and cosily nestled between mountains. 


There is the Vishansar lake that is viewed after a short walk from your campsite on Day 2. Kishensar Lake and its scenic surrounding form a constant and splendid view for you as you make your steep ascent on Day 3. 

The Gadsar lake makes a delightful appearance on Day 4 as you push your tired body anxiously waiting for your lunch break. When suddenly after a bend in the mountain, this stop appears in front of you with the river flowing into a bright blue-green lake. The brightly colored flowers in the grass also form a stark background for the beautiful black mountain at the back of the lake that has it own little waterfall spilling its icy contents into the lake. Can there be a more picturesque lunch spot?

Gangabal twin lakes (including Kolesar lake which the twin is known by) is the location of your last campsite, also providing a perfect spot for a dip in the cold waters of the lake or in the gushing waterfall adjoining it. 

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Ascending mountains is hard and strenuous. Unlike the earlier treks I had done in the Uttarakhand Himalayan range, this route had not one, but many ascents to passes and summits upto 4300 mtrs (14000+ feet). During some ascents, we particularly felt the strain of the steep gradient and the thinner air of the high altitudes. Small baby steps was the mantra we picked up from some of our more experienced trekkers. Sometimes, you feel like you're just putting one foot in front of the other like a zombie, conversations between you and fellow trekkers reduced to grunts or gestures to pass the water bottles. 

Descents come in all varieties. Some include wider trails and roll smoothly along lush green meadows, such as what we experienced on days 2, 3 and 4 to Vishansar, Gadsar and Megandob via Satsar respectively. Other descents such as on days 5 and 6 are treacherous. 

And different trekkers take to descents differently. Some who can barely put one foot in front of the other on an ascent, suddenly start sprinting down almost as if a button has been switched on, and all they can do is run forward at full speed. 

Some others get taken up by fear of heights on the way down especially if the descent route is narrow and / or slippery. Over a few treks, most will realize that the fears have calmed down and a good steady pace help you reach your destination in a reasonable time and with lesser aches in your knees. 

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Flowers! Anything that can be said about the flowers here will be inadequate. It is very interesting that at an altitude and climate where trees cannot survive, little flowers of so many varying shapes and colours not only survive but thrive so wonderfully. 

It is almost as if they are defying the terrain and saying "you may be all massive and tough, but I can still be little and flourish in my bright colours. You can loom over us all you want with your giant size, we are happy swaying with the wind so close to the ground". 

You see them on many large parts of the trail, providing a multi colored carpet over the valleys and the meadows, or looming their dainty pretty heads between the boulders along the rivers. Stretches of yellow flowers continue for vast distances, until purple varieties mingle with yellow...and then there's stretches of purple flowers. And so on with pink, orange, white, many different shades of blue. I tried to capture them on camera but every time you think you've seen them all, one more variety makes it appearance. Be careful not to spend too much time sitting or lazing about in the flowers as some of the flowers are said to create a heady feeling. 

At some places, you see rocks that have developed interesting patterns in bright red (from their iron) and fluorescent green (from the lichen), adding further colour to this dazzling display of nature. 

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There are no roads anywhere close to you on your path once you leave Sonmarg until your last day when you make your steep descent to Naranag.  There are instead trails made by other trekkers who've been this way before you, and by shepherds who've been grazing their sheep here for hundreds of years. Everything about their routine is done at its own pace, and in a way that looks untouched for many generations. 

There are no settlements you see, and the few people you do see on these mountains and valleys are on the move. Along with them are hundreds and hundreds of sheep and sheep-herding dogs. And then there are the horses and a few horse-riders...who start as small dots on the horizon of an unending valley of flowers. And then before your eyes, they loom larger and larger until they cross you galloping away on the back of their horses in the wind. As you watch them gallop by in those massive green open valleys surrounded by even more massive mountains, you're thinking...is this for real?

Lying down another time after the day's trek on the blue tarpaulin laid out on the grass, with the river gurgling a few meters below you. You are surrounded by rough edged black mountains on one side...and green rolling slopes in the other, with one slope letting a long white waterfall roll down its side. You and your fellow trekkers have just finished an impromptu open air massage session for each other.with half-open eyes, you're watching the sun play hide and seek with the clouds as they waft in and out between the mountains. An artist among us is sitting on the grass next to me with her water colours capturing on paper the scenic beauty that lies ahead of her. You hear some movement and a couple of horses who were drinking water from the stream are casually trotting in your midst to cross over to the other side of the meadow. And you're thinking again...is this for real?

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The Himalayas stand out for their sheer scale. Everything here is served in mega portions. And it's a good thing being here, being surrounded by its vastness...exploring its vastness on foot. When you traverse this terrain, it is both a humbling and an energizing experience. You appreciate a little more how minuscule you are amidst the vastness of these mountains and valleys that lie strong for centuries and centuries, unconquered for the most part. 

You stay open to the abundant energy within these open natural spaces, and strangely you can actually feel Nature restoring your energy, filling your cells with its abundance despite your body being pushed on a daily basis. In the process of ascending and descending its surfaces, you not only feel a step closer to Mother Nature in its purest form...you also feel a few steps closer to yourself. In putting one foot ahead of the other, you develop a connection - with the ground below...with the mountains and skies above and the universe beyond...and deep within you. 

The Great Lakes of Kashmir trek is a moderately tough trek, given the duration (6 days of long walks, ascents and descents, 7 nights of camping), high altitudes of unto 4300 meters (14000+ feet) and the mixed terrain. But with enough stamina building and gearing up physically before the trek and with the right spirit of adventure, it's a splendid trail that even first timers can enjoy. 

When you're back to the cities, you realise that what you've come from is all real...What we have in these pockets of Nature are how Nature meant them to be in the first place. In order for it to be preserved like this, we all need to play our part in treating it with respect and with love. Fortunately, despite this being a popular trekking route, it has been treated very well by the trekking community making sure there are clean campsites, no trash along the trail, and an overall pristine experience for others to enjoy. After all, when it comes to Nature, however much she has to offer us, I think she mostly tells us to leave her alone and untouched. 

Over to Changshil Pass - Himalayan trek in April 2014

Through the Obra Valley and further up to Devkyara Pass

This group is known for offbeat treks to locations that are yet to be explored as trekking routes. Our trek last year was to Devkyara Pass through the Obra valley in Uttarakhand. We started from Jakol near Sankri (below 6,000 ft) to Obra valley (8,000 ft) crossing Akoti to reach Bhawa (12,100 ft) near the Devkyara Pass before we started our descent. Over five days, we had traversed more than 48 kms through pine forests, snow, and not to forget...way too many landslides that left little trace of any trail. As the majority of the route was along the rivers, we had the added thrills of leaping over long stretches of massive boulders along the river banks, and crossing rivers over small wooden bridges, some of them nothing more than one or two tree trunks placed over the roaring chilled waters. 

This was an extremely scenic route...the river side, pine forests, snow covered mountains, Rhododendrons in full bloom on many of the mountain slopes made for perfect company....and introspection when one walked alone. We could stop over to fill water from the numerous waterfalls along the way, or from the river itself where it was gentler. The first two nights, we camped in tents pitched in meadows not too far from the river, which meant we had the sound of the water resonating in our ears all through the night too. (Have shared below some of my best memories in pictures).

On day 2, as three of us from our group of ten pursued with the remaining part of the trek and made way from Akoti to Bhawa, we encountered many places where the heavy snowfall earlier that year had led to trees keeling over and that had later led to landslides. I soon found myself gingerly and very quickly stepping over loose-soil as well as snow covered slopes overhanging the rivers flowing below. At times like this, you realize this ain't time to think too much...you just have to take a step through the loose soil and rocks or snow, judge quickly and move on real quick...to get onto the other side! 

I have a habit of getting into conversations with the local guides / porters who accompany us on the trek...always curious to understand their life, profession, views, etc. but I realize sometimes it does not always serve me well. I remember at one time on the climb up to Bhawa, there was just my guide, Ramesh ji and I and we needed to cross a mountain section covered with snow but in some places we could see the river through rugged cuts where the snow was thin and had worn out. Ramesh ji urged me to join him on the snow and as soon as I stepped onto it, he proceeded to tell me that just the previous year, two people had fallen through the snow and into the roaring river. I quite froze in my snowy track right there and asked him what happened to them. His chilling reply was "Woh toh dead ho gaye! Behte paani mein bahut door milein" ("They both died. And were found much further downstream"). After that, I chose to stay silent,and not just because I needed to catch my breath from the high altitude and steep ascent! (I had other such non self-serving conversations with our guide, Tikamsingh ji on this year's trek too. But more on that in another blogpost.)

Our campsite that night was in the midst of completely snow-clad mountains with a good view of the Kedarkantha peak too on the opposite side. We were just 5 of us (including Ramesh ji and our trek leader Kamlesh ji) who had proceeded until here and our two small tents there looked minuscule and remote. That and the fact that my conversations with the guide that day was about bears which, as I had found out inhabited these mountains, made for an interesting night as the winds blew all around us.

Being the only first-time trekker among the three and fearing we would need to retrace the same treacherous route back, I had decided that I would not make the 1-1.5 hour's trek further up the next morning toward Devkyara Pass. Little did I know then that things can change even for the better in the mountains, and on the descent back, the same route was much simpler with the snow having firmed up to our advantage and we could actually slide down the snow in certain sections. It was thus with regret of having left such a small section at the very last to complete, that I proceeded the descent back to Akoti where the rest of our group had camped. 

I was to encounter more challenging incidents on the subsequent trek - which also made me acutely realize that when you confront a problem, you are actually capable of surmounting it, much more than you have given yourself credit for up until that moment. As is true for so many areas of our life - To a large...very large...extent, it is about mind over body. 

The Obra valley - Devkyara Pass trek was a phenomenal experience overall, and by the time we were making our return journey, I knew well that I would be back here in these mountains. Soon.

Update: Received a few queries for a connect to the organizers of these treks. Please check them out at http://www.harkidun.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/harkidun.trek?fref=ufi

At Bhawa

Rhododendrons

Just before we left on Day 2 - the sunlight is about to bathe the Obra valley 

Tiny wild orchids on the rocks - on the way to Akoti

The mountains beckon - Getting ready for our Himalayan trek

It began with a casual mention of an upcoming trek to the Himalayas in Uttarakhand. It was then that I became conscious of the thoughts of the mountains I had been harbouring for several days...conscious that it was for a reason. The mountains were calling me. 

Quickly accepting the invite, I proceeded to find out what goes as preparation for the trek. Taking stock of what notched up as my own prior experience in this department, I came up with some outdoor camps and jamborees as a Girl Guide (where we got our first true sense of what it means to rough it out in camps) and a couple of one day / overnight treks in the Sahyadris with the Adventurers and Mountaineers Club of my college. Well, that was it...but in hindsight i believe this experience came in handy in an expectation setting of what it means to be camping in the outdoor. 

These were treks of moderate difficulty, so the mandate was to be physically fit. So began a month of preparation with ascents and descents of all inclined surfaces that included Pune's own tekdis" (hillocks), my building's staircases, and one or two visits to Sinhagad...all in the earnestness to make the body fitter, the lungs stronger and the knees more resilient. Skipping was also recommended, but was mostly skipped altogether. 

Now two treks down, jotting down my experiences for anyone else who may have a similar strong calling (do keep listening...to what your heart is telling you)...for the mountains, or adventure, or the outdoors.

This year's trek is to the Changshil Pass in North Western Uttarakhand. The journey starts from New Delhi. An overnight train to Dehradun makes for a good choice as you get to catch up on time plus some sleep, and get a nice and early morning start for the long drive from Dun. Irrespective of motion sickness tendencies, each of us down an Ondem to assist our digestive systems to tolerate the 8.5 hr, 210 km drive through the eternally winding roads. 

We pass Mussoorie (which is now too congested...I remember it as a sleepy idyllic place blessed with huge flowers everywhere from my trip with my parents some 30 years ago), Nainbag, Damta (either of these can be hot-paratha-breakfast stopover options), Purola (the biggest town close to Sankri), Mori and Netwar. At each turn and narrow pass along the way, I can only admire our driver's skill and patience with maneuvering the vehicle. It strikes me quite sadly how dirty some of these towns / villages are, especially with layers of plastic bags logging the storm water drains, turning many main roads into slush-filled paths. While the populace living here is using the same plastic wrappers and bags as in the urban areas, the infrastructure possibly assumes otherwise and garbage disposal and sanitation facilities are given a miss.

If you find the SUV wading through a waterfall, you will know you're almost at Sankri (this time, we did see work on this section of the road so the waterfall has a path under the road rather than over it..so fear not). Sankri and Osla (some 18-20 kms ahead) are the last stop - which means there is no motorable road thereafter! 

The first thing that hits you when you reach Sankri is the cold (esp. if there's rain and hailstones...which there was on both trips). It is not the coldest it will be during the trek, but it hits because of what we've come from...40 deg C. Sankri still is symbolic of a small quaint sleepy village (of not more than 200). Our trek organizer, Mr. Chainsingh Rawat belongs to Sankri and along with my friend, Neeta Godambe who has organized these treks for 6 years, has pretty much developed the trekking scene in this part of Uttarakhand. Our first day's meal is at Chainsinghji's residence, a lovely wooden house in the village where we are served steaming hot local food - an absolute treat to our cold, tired and slightly wound up bellies. We retire early for a good night's rest on a bed with cozy warm blankets - the last such material pleasures we will have in a week - before we start day 1 of our trek.