The Best Monsoon Trek: Kashmir Great Lakes

We leave from Srinagar around 1 PM and reach Sonamarg by 4:30 PM. The drive follows the Sind River, once we cross over to the true right of the river at Wayil bridge, 25 KM ahead of Srinagar. On the way we encounter the Anchar lake of Srinagar. The drive is a gradual climb all the way to Sonamarg, and from an altitude of 1,600 meters at Srinagar we reach to a modest altitude slightly over 2,700 meters at Sonamarg. We camp overnight at Shitkadi, and will have to walk a short distance of 500 meters to reach our campsite.

From our camp at Shitkadi we start the trek towards Nichinai camp. We follow the Nichinai stream which lays to our right throughout throughout the day today. After a 1.5 KM trek upstream, we run into a meadow with maple trees dotting the landscape along with pines henceforth. The trail continues to climb up the ridge and as we gain more altitude, the view towards the Sonamarg becomes quite picturesque. The maples continue all the way up to the top of the ridge, lining the eastern slope of the ridge. As we reach the top of the ridge an open grassland paves the way, that gradually descends to some distance. This meadow, known as Shekdur, runs almost 1.5 KM long and as we approach its end, the trail then enters the forest of silver birch for almost 1 KM before the tree line finally comes to an end. Henceforth we continue on the trail marked by patches of grassland and stone, all the way to Nichinai. We reach Nichinai by early evening and set up the camps.

The trek from Nichinai camp starts by an ascent to the Nichinai Pass. The altitude of Nichinai pass is around 4,100 meters .The ascent takes a good couple of hours to the pass from the campsite at a moderate pace. As soon as we crossover the Nichinai Pass, we can see a small lake at the base of the mountain to our left. There is another larger lake, almost 500 meters in lenght, around 2 KM ahead but it cannot be seen unless we climb up to the ridge to our right. The trail continues downhill from the pass and enters grassland with a gentle slope after an our of descent. From here the trail is gentle up to the Vishansar Lake. Its a few KM before we reach the base of the lake and our campsite. The lake will require another 20 mins to reach as it is slightly higher in altitude. Kishansar is further ahead of the Vishansar lake and higher in altitude still.

The trek from Vishansar to Gadsar is a beautiful but demanding. The trek today will take you across the highest point of the entire trek, at a modest altitude of 4,210 meters at the Gadsar Pass. The trail from Vishansar campsite continues to the right with the Kishansar lake to our left as we cross it. The trail then starts climbing with a steep ascent all the way to the pass and the trail that cuts across the mountain in zig-zag can be seen from far. It will take around 2 hour to reach the Gadsar Pass. As we climb higher we are rewarded with magnificent views of the two lakes as we turn to our backs. Take some time to capture these moments in your mind for you will cherish these for the rest of your life.

The trek from Gadsar to Satsar starts with an initial steep hike that will take a little over an hour, before we come across a trail that is gradual, mostly level plain. This will be a relatively easier day compared to other trek days.

The trek starts with an ascent to the Zaj Pass, which is comparatively lower in altitude than the former two passes we have crossed before along the trail. With an altitude of 13,280 feet, it takes around 2 hours to reach the pass. The trail descends steeply and then its a gradually descending trail, enjoyable to walk upon.

On the last trekking day, the trail oscillates between minor ascents and descents upto halfway, after which there is a steep descent all the way to Naranag. We arrive in Srinagar between 5 and 7 PM depeding on start time from Gangabal.