5 Reasons why Kashmir Great Lakes will spoil you for all other treks in India 2021 | Kashmir India
- 1lifeinabucketlist@gmail.com
- Sep 21, 2021
- 5 min read
It had been 1.5 years since COVID-19 had changed our lives forever. Deprived of our natural love for travel, we'd been on the lookout for a place that would blow our minds away. We'd all heard that the Himalayas have some splendid landscapes to offer - unreal sights that would match, or rather surpass, any exotic location in the world - inaccessible by road and not too technical, but challenging enough for a lay person. We decided that it was time we tried our hands (and legs :P) at it and check out what this buzz was all about :) That's how we ended up in Kashmir . . . * Please note: All photographs in this blog have been put up without filter. We understand how disappointing it is when you reach and what you see is very different from your expectation. We have your back. This is as real as it can get . . .
This picture is our favourite from the trek. Of course you can see why! We sat here and clicked hundreds of pictures as the sun chose to play hide and seek with us over the lake. And believe it or not, every picture was different from the other. You can see 3 lakes in a single frame. Are you able to spot them? We call them "The Great Trio"
“Kashmir Great Lakes route entails trekking for 6 days (+1 buffer day) alongside 10 breathtaking lakes (if you're lucky and the weather is clear), snow clad Himalayas, meadows and valleys. The best part is that you never cover the same route twice. Every step ends up in a surprise!”
We are super excited to share 5 solid reasons to get your fitness game on and consider going on this trek. We chose Trek The Himalayas as our partner - you can go through a day to day account of the trek in our next blog post.
Bouldering like Spidey (didn't know bouldering was a sport hah!)
Lakes, Lakes and some more Lakes - Still you never get enough
The Valley of Flowers
Starry Night
The Mighty Himalayas
1. Bouldering like Spidey
bouldering (noun) /ˈbəʊldərɪŋ/ -
climbing on large boulders, either for practice or as a sport in its own right
Throughout the course of 6 days, there were patches where the only way forward was to cross big boulders spread across a 45 degree incline with a valley right underneath. Bouldering is tougher than trekking but easier than technical mountain climbing. Crossing boulders is exactly like solving a puzzle on all fours with a 10-15 kgs rucksack on your back. Super exciting and thrilling! One of the most exciting parts of the trek. Screen through the carousel below to truly understand what we are talking about.
To add another boost for adrenaline junkies, on the last day we crossed a high speed flowing glacial river originating from Gangabal Lake on a thin plank. Imagine the vibrating plank and the site of rapids flowing underneath the bridge. This can easily make you dizzy while crossing (check out the video below). Needless to say the locals did this seamlessly and made us look like babies. Takeshi's Castle in action! However, we're proud to say we both did it, although slowly, without assistance and came out alive.
Gangabal Lake is one of the "Twin Lakes" with exceptionally clear water as it has low nutrient content because of the topography underwater (oligotrophic lake). It is present at the foothill of Mount Harmukh (crown of Hara (Shiva)), known as the most difficult mountain to climb in Kashmir province.
2. Lakes, Lakes and some more Lakes
"A mountain with it's boisterousness, vision, achievement is centered and balanced by a lake with it's adaptability, rationality, hands on experience and humility. Together, they create magic."
Let the photographs speak for themselves. These pictures have been posted without any filter. To redress your expectation versus reality bubble, you have to keep in mind that the colour of the lake is very much dependent on the sun. A phenomenon knows as Rayleigh Scattering. Nerd Alert! (lol) - we have a habit of seeing everything through a scientific lens. If it is a clear, sunny day and if the the sun is ideally positioned, you will see the lakes reflecting these amazing blue - green - yellow hues. One minute the lake may seem like a normal blue, and the next minute the sun allows for magical colours. The key point being - don't give up, wait patiently and you'll be handsomely rewarded!
3. The Valley of Flowers
We had no idea that we would be trekking on trails exactly like the Valley of Flowers, National Park in Uttarakhand. Unfortunately, a lot of photographs you see online are filtered and edited to look unreal. If you go for Kashmir Great Lakes, in a way you are also covering the Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttarakhand. Day 3 onwards, we were surrounded by flowers all around. There were hills covered with yellow flowers - all we could think of was, "....and it was all Yellow" by Cold Play. We went there in the first week of August, 2021 and luckily that is exactly when all the flowers in the meadows start blooming. It was a treat for sore eyes, sun-burnt nose and tired legs. We've tried our best to capture it on camera (given the limited battery that needed to last 7 days!).
4. Starry Night
Unlimited shooting stars, the majestic Milky Way, and the feeling of infinity will take your breath away. We would stand outside our tents even with 1-2 degrees outside just to look up and absorb the infinite space. So many stars that we were able to capture them on Oneplus 7 Pro. Do DM us if you want to know about the settings and equipment required to capture your own universe :)
5. The Mighty Himalayas
We would recommend everybody to visit the Himalayas at least once in their lifetime. The Himalayan way of life is quite different. A life which is dictated by the sun, a terrain that has a microclimate of it's own. It was a popular saying within our group, "Nobody can ever feel bigger than the Himalayas. When you're in the Himalayas, you know that nature is bigger than you. It's bigger than everybody."
A word of caution: We went from 7,800 ft above sea level to a maximum altitude of 13,750 ft through out the trek. We were extra cautious about Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and checked our SPO2 & resting heart rate every evening. Luckily, the 2 of us were able to finish it but some really fit people we knew on the trek could not and were sent down immediately. Anyone can get symptoms of AMS, irrespective of the fitness level, as nobody knows how their body will react at that altitude. Hence, it is very important to go with certified groups like Trek The Himalayas, as a beginner, as they're trained in dealing with AMS .
We hope this got you excited about travel in Kashmir, India. We've hiked in places like Torres Del Paine (Patagonia), Chile and New Zealand but can surely say that these landscapes are worth witnessing.
*Picture courtesy - our dear friends - Charan, Thrupti, Akash
When you travel, we hope you travel responsibly and keep the place clean, just as we got it from nature. In a way we are glad that no motorable road can reach these sights - these places are booked for a daring few! All the best people. DM for anything.
Until next time!
XoXo
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Glitter in my eyes and a smile on my face - this is me after reading your post. Amazingly captured and so well written.
Looking forward to your next post featuring your day by day Himalayan chronicle.