We have always been captivated by the enchanting beauty of Kashmir. As kids growing up in the 80s and early nineties, thanks to the magical portrayal of this region in old Bollywood movies, my imagination was ignited with visions of snow-capped mountains, lush valleys, serene lakes, and a cultural tapestry that left me in awe. The way those actors and actresses of yore danced and sang among the flowers with the mountains in the backdrop will perhaps always remain in our memories. Some of those actors are either no more now, or are quite old and Kashmir itself has slowly lost some of its beauty in the face of development and the once pristine meadows are now choc a bloc with buildings, hotels and lodges.
We did visit Kashmir before and in 2014 during a Ladakh drive, we stayed a night Sonamarg. The meadows although charming, had too many man made structures, in my view and I thought that in another 10 years the beauty may be fully gone.
But then, as they say, the real beauty of kashmir lies in the hidden valleys, away from the popular tourist destinations. A couple of years ago, I happened to see a picture in a travel group, of Gadsar lake in Kashmir, I was transfixed. I had seen only one lake in Kashmir, the Dal lake, of course. It is a part of the city scape of Shrinagar and although pretty, not really that spectacular or something. But this lake held me spellbound. The colour, the glacier in the background and most of all, the wildflowers leading to the water, was straignt out of a fairytale. A quick google check confirmed that this was accessible only by a "moderate to difficult" trek.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20230619_091245.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465713d1687807285t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20230619_091245.jpg)
A picture to inspire a dream.
Some research was done and finally the plan began to form. My wife, Jinee was won over thanks to multiple pretty pictures downloaded from the internet
![Clapping](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Clapping.gif)
We did not ask any of our friends to join us, prefering to meet new people and make new friends. So it was just us as a couple.
Now only thing left was to prepare mentally and physically for what was going to be our first multi day high altitude trek.
We both were quite fit, but any trek needs some weeks of dedicated preparation. Two months before the scheduled dates we started long walks beginning with 5-6 kms and going on to 12-15kms on at least 3 days a week. The days when we could not manage time, we did a quick half an hour late night run. Jinee played badminton and had represented the state in the civil services tournaments the previous few years and so she also did some training with the team. Near the end of the period we upped the game a bit and walked all over the nearby hills and did some longer walks.
Mental preparedness is also paramount. We are so used to basic luxury that spending a week camping, without gadgets( no charging points anyway and power banks can only go so long), not bathing for a week, sleeping in a tent on hard uneven ground on a piece of foam all need mental preparedness. Most of all, using a hole in the ground for the morning business and using toilet paper instead of water needs the maximum mental adjustment for most of us. A trek teaches us how many of our seemingly indispensable things we can actually do without.
Regarding the trek organisers, we did not want to go with the more popular ones like trek the himalayas or indiahikes since their goup sizes wer too large. In hindsight this was a very good move. We had seen their chaotic campsites on the trek and would not want to be in one of them. Peace and quiet for me please! We went with a company called trekmunk and it turned out good.
Finally the day arrived, we took a flight to Delhi from Guwahati and arrived late evening, and then went for dinner to a close friend's place nearby and by the time we got back to our hotel it was 2am. After some inadequate sleep, we were back on a flight. This time headed to Shrinagar.
On reaching Shrinagar, we found out that most of the folks in the group had already left for Shitkadi (near Sonamarg) where the base camp was. But luckily met one trekmate, a navy submariner at the airport and three of us could share the fare of an innova arranged by our trek coordinator and reached Shitkadi by early evening.
The evening was spent on getting to know our trekmates, all of them were decent folks from different background and professions but with real enthusiasm for travel and trekking.
After an early dinner, we turned in for the night inside surprisingly cozy sleeping bags in the tent.
Here are some pictures of the base camp located at Shitkadi, just a few kms before Sonamarg. This was Day1.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20220821_184509.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465589d1687296599t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20220821_184509.jpg)
Nearby area.
Day2-
Shitkadi to Nichnai table top hill.
Time taken-7.5 hours.
We woke up at 5.30, breakfast was ready by 6.20am, and after a bit of warm up and stretches, we were off on the trek!
The initial climb of the day was a few hundred feet but it took our breath away..literally! It was the altitude more than anything else that was tiring us easily. However the secret is to push on steadily using small steps. So push on we did and as we climbed higher, the more breathtaking the views became, we were climbing on rolling meadows now and could see the sleepy town of Sonamarg below us bathed in the morning sunrays.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20220906_083434_copy_1692x1269.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465612d1687296599t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20220906_083434_copy_1692x1269.jpg)
Sonamarg in the distance.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20220906_083619_copy_1784x1337.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465615d1687296657t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20220906_083619_copy_1784x1337.jpg)
The gradual climb over the meadows.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20220906_083537_copy_1543x1157.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465614d1687296599t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20220906_083537_copy_1543x1157.jpg)
and some wildflowers dotting the grass.
There was an army checkpost here and after verifying our documents we were on our way to the first stop of the day..maggi point.
Wish there were such maggi points on each day of the trek! But no, such luxuries were afforded only on the first and the last days.
It was located on top of a hill and it took us 4 hrs to reach here. After a refreshing cup of kehwa ,apples and of course, maggi, we were on the way again. We left the valley with the sonamarg view behind and entered another new valley. We filled our water bottles with water from the numerous meltwater streams that were cascading down the rocks.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20230619_090223_copy_1648x1236.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465712d1687807285t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20230619_090223_copy_1648x1236.jpg)
The last of the trees. After this point, the landscape changes and there are hardly any trees.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20230618_232446_copy_1585x1188.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465630d1687296657t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20230618_232446_copy_1585x1188.jpg)
The next valley.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20220906_084446_copy_1578x1183.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465618d1687296657t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20220906_084446_copy_1578x1183.jpg)
A lunch stop and a much needed rest.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20220906_084700_copy_1607x1206.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465619d1687296657t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20220906_084700_copy_1607x1206.jpg)
Some goat traffic
Some way to go..
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20230619_103354_copy_1625x1218.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465732d1687807338t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20230619_103354_copy_1625x1218.jpg)
Walking on.
Finally we reached the day’s campsite, on the Nichnai table top hill. Nice location on flat ground with the stream nearby, but quite windy. Over tea and bread omlettes, we regained our energy and explored the place and was surprised that daylight stayed on till almost 7.30 when it was dinner time. At night the night sky was a sight to see, with the infinite stars and the twinkling milky way. But no fancy camera to catch it with.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20220906_084718.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465637d1687296657t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20220906_084718.jpg)
A million star hotel, campsite on day2
Day3- Nichnai campsite to Vishnusar lake via Nichnai pass.
Distance approx 14 kms. Time 7-8 hrs.
Altitude 13000 ft.
In the KGL trek, you cross three mountain passes and today was one of the pass crossing days.
We woke up at 5 am to the sound of our guide Murad bhai clanging the kettle (with black tea)
Similar routine with breakfast of roti sabji, warm up and stretches and hit the trail by 7. The climb up to Nichnai can be arduous but the scenery on route makes up for it. With frequent breaks- to admire the view, we made it up the pass and into the next valley.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20230619_104137_copy_2221x1665.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465744d1687807338t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20230619_104137_copy_2221x1665.jpg)
It now felt that we were really in the middle of nowhere.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20230619_103929_copy_1207x1609.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465746d1687807338t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20230619_103929_copy_1207x1609.jpg)
The climb to Nichnai pass.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20230619_105529_copy_1776x1332.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465755d1687807398t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20230619_105529_copy_1776x1332.jpg)
Views from the pass
After the descent from the pass, the terrain eased to the gentle meadows again with the gushing stream in between.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20220906_153308_copy_1758x1184.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465752d1687807338t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20220906_153308_copy_1758x1184.jpg)
An artist's palette of colours, thanks to the shifting clouds.
We walked across these meadows and finally reached the day’s campsite near a stream which originates from the vishnusar lake which was just half a km away.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20230619_105430_copy_1743x1307.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465754d1687807398t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20230619_105430_copy_1743x1307.jpg)
The campsites from a distance, by the stream which originates from the vishnusar lake.
After tea, most of us trudged on wearily to see the lake.
![Kashmir great lakes - A trekking travelogue-img_20220906_175251_copy_2124x1593.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/2465753d1687807398t-kashmir-great-lakes-trekking-travelogue-img_20220906_175251_copy_2124x1593.jpg)
That is me standing by the lake.
The sky was overcast and so we missed out on the dazzling colours somewhat but felt fully refreshed by the sight of the calm waters and the emerald mosses and the sound of the tiny crystal clear streams pouring into the lake. After spending an hour or two here, we walked back to the camp.
There was an army camp nearby and just as we tucked into our sleeping bags at night, we heard two shots fired. But we had been told this was normal and so did not bother much. Only worry was that it had rained a bit during the day and dark clouds were gathering on the horizon. The next day was supposed to be the most difficult with Gadsar pass to cross and we had been told it might not be possible to cross the pass in case of further rains, because the trail becomes slippery and dangerous both for humans and the mules who carry the tents and equipment.