Great Lakes Trek

Day 1:

Arrive at Srinagar. Depart Srinagar by 2 pm and drive to Sonamarg base camp (4 hrs). We start our adventure in Srinagar. Once everybody has assembled, we embark on a 4 hour ride to Shitkadi, which is one kilometre behind  Sonamarg. After checking into our accommodation, take the free time to get to know the other members of the group. It’s also a great time to approach us with any questions you have about the trek. Relax the night away.

After a hearty breakfast, we start trekking down the Srinagar road. This is the last spot of civilization before we arrive at Naranag, which is where we end our trek. Here, you can stock up on snacks and beverages for the road ahead. The day’s trek is going to be a 3 hour climb which is followed up by a 1 hour descent and finally a gentle 2 hour ascent to Nichnai. Half an hour into the trek, we will hit a maple and pine forest. Walking through a lush cover of maple trees is truly an experience unique to Kashmir. The forest ends at the top of a ridge, which is a great spot to take in the view of Sonamarg and its neighbouring valleys. The descent begins from here in a meadow. As you walk through, you will see small snow-covered peaks. This area is Shekdur, which will also be our lunch stop. In 45 minutes, the trail goes down and climbs back into a river valley. The river valley is the beginning of Nichnai. The trail leads us to the right bank of a river, which eventually joins the Sindh. The river valley widens and you can see the green meadow widening in between the two mountain ranges. Far ahead lie triangular twin snow-clad peaks. Here we will pitch tents and end the first day’s trek at Nichnai.

As the day is a long trek, 6 hours to be precise, we will leave by 8 am to have enough time to enjoy our walk through the meadows. Our first milestone will be the Nichnai pass, or Vishnusar Berry. It lies to the right of the twin snow-clad peaks. The trail starts to ascend as we move through the meadow and the following hour is a climb to the pass. It is a medium climb to Nichnai pass, 12,500 ft, followed by a small descent followed by a long flat meadow walk ending near Vishnusar Lake. As you climb, notice a small lake at the foot of the mountains. As the climb to the pass is a quick ascent, it is common for people to feel the altitude. However, the descent is rapid and it leads to a wide green meadow with mountains lining the sides. We will continue in the meadow for an hour and a half until we reach the end of the valley. The lake is not seen yet but we will pitch our tents anywhere besides the stream coming from the lake. From here we will head to the twin lakes. The Vishnusar lake is 100 feet above the campsite. It carries the beautiful reflection of the Kishansar peak and changes colour depending on the time of the day and the clouds in the sky. The Kishansar lake is about 45 minutes away from the campsite and is as beautiful as the Vishnusar lake. 

The next day, we return back to the trail to Kishansar lake and up the top of the ridge. It is an hour and a half climb to the top of the ridge at a moderate pace. 45 minutes into the climb, you will be treated by one of the loveliest views you can ever imagine. Both the Kishansar and Vishnusar lakes, in full view, together. The top of the ridge leads you to Gadsar Pass, which is the highest point on the trek. After a steep 2-hour ascent to the top, we descend to the Yamsar lake. As we continue to descend, we find ourselves in flat meadows once again which eventually lead to Gadsar lake, the prettiest and most pristine lake on our journey. It lies at the base of snow-clad cliffs. We can set up camp by the side of the lake.  

We embark on a 6 hour trek to Satsar lake in the morning. The trail goes up the mountain and finally flattens out in a place called Maengandob. The landscape ahead is beautiful with isolated mountains in the front and a small ridge to the right. It is the ideal spot to set up camp, right by the first of the Satsar lakes. Satsar is a collection of 7 lakes and 4-5 of them have water in them, depending on the time of the year. As the area is close to the 3rd line of defense from the LOC, there will be id checking and some basic questioning by the armed forces. We will pitch our tents here and enjoy the rest of the evening. 

The day’s trek is a consistent ascent and descent journey. As we head out from our camping area, we arrive at the biggest Satsar lake, which is also the last of the Satsar lakes in our journey. After heading up and down along ridges for a couple of hours, we are greeted by the view of the twin lakes, which lie next to each other. These are Gangabal and Nandkol. From this viewing point, we begin to head towards the lake. It is a steep and stone-filled route, so make sure to be careful at every step while climbing and descending. We soon arrive at the shores of Nandkol. This lake is a popular weekend destination due to its proximity to the Naranag, which is also our final destination. Gangabal lake is 20 minutes from Nandkol. Gangabal is the bigger of the two lakes. We set up camp on either shore and rest the night away

If one has to cover the circumference of both lakes, it will easily take about an hour. Which is why we camp an extra day at the twin lakes and enjoy the scenery while also recuperating from the intensive trek of the previous day. Both lakes are famous for trout fishing. You can explore the areas around or simply enjoy the cool breeze in the comfort of your tent. 

Gangabal lake to Naranag.

Drive to Srinagar and reach by 6.30 pm. Stay overnight at Srinagar.

It’s time to head to our final destination of the trek – Naranag. The trek is a gradual descent followed by a steep descent along a ridge which finally opens up into the meadows. At this point, turn behind and admire the Harmukh peak which stands grand. After a consistent ascent and descent, you reach the mark where the trail begins to descent steeply.  It is not rare to spot a lot of people trekking up here from Naranag, headed to Gangabal. Naranag slowly comes into sight and a couple of tricky tracks later, you find yourself at Naranag’s main road. From here we head back to Srinagar.