Kashmir Alpine Lakes Trek

Gangabal Lakes Trek.

 4.9/5

Trek Duration: 3 N 4 D.

Trek Cost: 10300/Person or $USD 150.

Difficulty Level: Moderate.

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Embark on the mesmerizing Kashmir alpine lakes trek, a captivating journey that unveils the beauty of Nundkol and Gangabal Lakes, collectively known as the Gangabal Trek. Commencing from the renowned tourist hub of Naranag, this moderate trek promises a blend of tranquility and adventure. Approximately 20% of the trek is a leisurely stroll, making it accessible even to those with moderate fitness levels. Ganagabal Lake Trek has a restricted season of four months, from June to the first week of October. The hike is recognized as the most beautiful short trek in the valley.

The trailhead is about 45 kilometers from Srinagar and takes about 2 hours to reach the alpine village of Naranag. The first day of the trek will be an acclimatization day, with a 5Km walk on a flat stretch ending in Dumail. Which is also a tourist destination where two rivers meet to produce the snow-fed Wangath river. The trailhead is about 45 kilometers from Srinagar and takes about 2 hours to reach the alpine village of Naranag. The first day of the trek will be an acclimatization day, with a 5Km walk on a flat stretch ending in Dumail. The Stretch from Naranag to Dumail is an awseome campsite tourist attraction where two rivers meet to produce the snow-fed Wangath river.

Tarsar Marsar Lakes Trek.

 5/5

Trek Duration: 6 N 7 D.

Trek Cost: 13500/Person or $USD 200.

Difficulty Level: Moderate.

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Covering 3 Alpine lakes in the Himalayas. Tarsar, Marsar, and Sundarsar Lakes. The trekking season is confined to all of Kashmir’s alpine lakes, including the Tarsar Marsar Lakes excursion. The trek to these lakes can be completed from 20 May to late September, although the optimum time to visit is from June to 15 September. Tarsar Marsar Lakes are located in Jammu & Kashmir’s Anantnag district (Forest Block Aru). The trekking path begins in Aru Valley, which is 14 kilometers from the world-famous hill resort Pahalgam. The walk is well-known for its natural beauty and diverse wildlife, as well as its spectacular position. This trekking trail offers a breathtaking view of snow-covered mountains, glaciers, and pinnacles, passes, boulder patches, meadows, and snow-fed river flowing through valleys.

Tarsar Marsar is listed in a number of travel guide books about trekking in Kashmir valley. It is the only trip from Kashmir featured in Lonely Planet’s book, Indian Himalayas. The walk has two trailheads, the most popular of which is Aru and the other is Sumbal Sonamasti. If you have never done a high altitude trek before and want to try something easy, the Tarsar Marsar Lakes trip is the perfect option for you. Tarsar Lake is an oligotrophic alpine lake in Kashmir that is flanked by the state’s highest mountain (Mount Kolahoi) to the east and Dagchigam National Park to the south. A mountain road from Tarsar Lake joins Pahalgam with Sonamarg.

Kashmir Great Lakes Trek.

 5/5

Trek Duration: 6 N 7 D.

Trek Cost: 15000/Person or $USD 200.

Difficulty Level: Moderatly Difficult

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The Indian Himalayas’ most breathtaking lakes trek. A route that crosses three extremely high mountain passes and eight Alpine lakes. Regarding the Kashmir alpine lakes journey, the Great Lakes journey is the most stunning, well-liked, and fashionable trek in the Kashmir Valley. The walk passes through more than eight gorgeous alpine lakes in the Kashmir area, encompassing an amazing mountain environment. While watching the sunrise and morning break over the alpine lakes, the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek is full with hallucinogenic views of mountain peaks, meadows, and feelings of a far-off planet that emerge from the heart. This amazing hike is ranked as one of India’s top five hikes.

The Great Lakes Trek offers stunning vistas of cliff valleys, glaciers, and wildflower-filled meadows after passing the tree line at 300 meters elevation. Trekking is permitted only during the designated seasons by the Department of Tourism Jammu & Kashmir. After leaving the tree line, hikers must rise and cross the 4100-meter-high Nichnai Pass. The trek from Nichnai Pass continues for an hour with a traditional down ascent. Trekkers will enter the magnificent valley of Vishansar meadow, where the trek difficulty will normalize. During the journey, trekkers will be able to experience the most of Kashmir’s natural splendor. Himalayan Bird Adventures offers a well-managed trekking program in the Standard and Premium categories, with 6 to 8 scheduled days each month throughout the season.

Kausarnag trek.

 4.1/5

Trek Duration: 5 N 6 D.

Cost: 20000/Person or $USD 300.

Difficulty Level: Moderate.

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The biggest alpine lake of Kashmir with religious importance to the Hindu faith. The lake is located in the lap of the Pir Panjal Mountain range of Kashmir. This Oligotrophic lake is 2 miles long and half-mile in width and located at an elevation of 4000 meters above the sea level. As per the Hindu belief, Kausarnag lake is among worship places of Vishnu. Every year hundreds of Hindu pilgrims trek to this lake and consider the water of this lake as Holy water.

The main water source of Aharbal fall is Kausarnag Lake and the fact is that the outflow of this lake could not be seen but as per experts the water flows under the ground, beneath the rocky terrains. The trekking route to this beautiful lake starts from the famous Aharbal Fall which is 61 km ( 37.96 miles ) away from Srinagar City. The beauty of the trek incorporates natural wonders and some of the best panoramas of Indian Himalayas. This alpine lake of Kashmir also holds the history of Monsters inside it which were later considered as alligator or Himalayan Turtles. No one has seen those living creatures from centuries but few incidents are mentioned in the books related to geography and history of Kashmir. { Historical Geography of Kashmir by Maqbul Ahmad, Raja Bano (1984) }

Sheshnag Lake trek. Easiest Alpine Lake Trek.

 4/5

Trek Duration: 3 N 4 D.

Cost: 14000/Person or $USD 220.

Difficulty Level: Easy.

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Great things happen when humans and mountains meet.

Sheshnag in the Sanskrit language means “the King of Snakes” and As per Hindu Mythology, The Sheshnag Lake was made this Giant snake himself and is still living in the same lake. It is an beautiful high altitude oligotrophic lake in laps of Pir- Panchal and Zanskar Himalayan Mountain Ranges. The route to Sheshnag originates from world famous Tourist Hill Resort “Pahalgam” which is 80 Km away from Srinagar ( Main City of Jammu and Kashmir ).

The Lake remains surrounded by snow even during summers and elevation of this Alpine Lakes is 3590 Meters with the length of 1.1 Kilometers and maximum width of 0.7 Km. The route leading to Holy place of Hindu Faith namely Amarnath Cave is the route for Sheshnag Lake too but we need to follow the Amaranth Trail only for 19 Kilometers and the separate trekking route of 4 Km leads to Sheshnag Lake, the total distance of Sheshnag Lake trek 23 Kms from Main Road of Pahalgam and the trek duration is 3 nights and 4 days.

Vishansar and Krishansar Lakes trek. (Twin Alpine Lakes Trek).

 4.4/5

Trek Duration: 4 N 5 D.

Cost: 16000/Person or $USD 240.

Difficulty Level: Easy + Moderate.

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Sonamarg Kashmir is a famous hill resort located 50 miles (80 km) to the northeast of Srinagar City. This destination is popular for various adventurous activities like skiing, paragliding, hiking. This beautiful meadow is also a famous for leisure tours with a number of 3-star hotels. Sonamarg is the most effective and popular way (Base camp) for a number of multi-day and short treks. Vishansar & Krishansar lakes are the most beautiful part of Kashmir great lakes trek and trek to these beautiful lakes also starts from Sonamarg.

The lakes have got the name from Vishnu. As per Hindu belief, Vishnu is the preserver god, he saves the planets from getting destroyed and keeps it going. The lakes are situated at an elevation of 3710 meters and 115 kilometers (71.4577 miles ) away from the Main City of Kashmir (Srinagar). The trek provides beautiful views of rolling meadows rugged mountains and the number of twinkling streams that are flowing parallel to the trekking route. The trekking route remains disconnected from the rest of Kashmir valley for almost 6 to 7 months and still depends upon the weather conditions and scale of snow present on the mountain passes.

Gangabal Lakes Trek.

Tarsar Marsar Lakes Trek.

Kashmir Great Lakes Trek.

Kausarnag trek.

Sheshnag Lake trek. Easiest Alpine Lake Trek.

Vishansar and Krishansar Lakes trek. (Twin Alpine Lakes Trek).