[vijayols]

That is a million Rupees Question and much like any other one which debates about the GOAT be it tennis,cricket or any other field every trekker would have their own take on it.

For me personally I feel that the KGL trek is definitely in the top 3 list of every trekker in India.The fact that on Aug 15th of this year there were over 800 horses and 2500 trekkers(albeit many only covering one leg of the trail) is a testimony to the popularity of this trail.It is also ranked in one of the best trails in the world along the other popular trail the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand.Maybe the 7 lakes trek in Arunachal which is on my bucket list is yet to gain the traction of these 2 famous cousins.

I will let the pictures decide the verdict I guess.The trail officially covers about 85km over 6 days and reaches a maximum height of 13800 feet at Gadsar Pass and covers 7 pristine Alpine lakes (Counting the 7 lakes Satsar as one) and is said to be Moderate difficult mainly because you actually ascend and descend every day like a new separate trail every day of the trek.


The Serene Vishnusar Lake.The first lake to be green due to the algae which later spread to all the lakes due to the biodiversity.


The twin Krishansar lake which can be viewed heading to the Gadsar Pass.Both the Visnusar-Krishansar lake with a couple of unnamed smaller lakes can be viewed in one frame.The color shades change from Blue to green to silver grey as we climb depending on the sunshine falling on the lakes.


The Galcier fed Gadsar lake.


Satsar Lake 1.The water levels had fallen this time of the year.



The typical boulder strewn meadows.


The twin Gangabal and Nandkul lakes.


The sacred Gangabal lake was also the largest of the lot.


The Nandkul lake where the camp site was.


The campsites near Nandkul lake.


Nandkul lake from up close.Crystal clear water.


The Glacier fed mountain amongst the meadows.


A dhaba which is so welcome after a hard days climb.

[vijayols]

Did the trek with YHAI with whom I had done the Valley of flowers earlier.Was part of a 22 member group with the lone representative of South India.

Day 1 after a flight from Bangalore to Srinagar via Delhi took me to the base camp near Dachigam National Park Srinagar.From Srinagar Airport you can either take a Taxi directly to Dachigam (The prepaid charges 2k but would suggest check the rate and then negotiate with the many drivers for around 1.5K) or take the typical Trekker option of a shared taxi till TRC stand for Rs 50 and then a shared taxi till Dachigam for Rs 75.

What to pack for the trek? Experience teaches you to pack minimum even erring in the side of packing less.Go through some blogs or videos on what to pack for that trek in that season.India Hikes have some excellent videos on the same.

Minimum for a Rain trek in August when temperatures are dropping and typically in the region of 5-10C and with the wind factor giving a feeling of being colder by 5C would be
1) Trek poles for the descend.
2) 3 layers or a max of 4 layers.(Sweater or Thermal/Jacket/T shirt)
3) 1 litre water bottle and a tiffin box with spoon.
4) 2 T shirts/underwear/trek pants/socks.
5) Poncho/hat and monkey cap.
6) Ankle height Trek shoes well worn in.
7) Medical pack/sun cream and snacks.
8) Battery packs for charging the phones.

No drones as I discovered in Kashmir.The above should not weigh more than 6-7 kgs and can be carried without offloading.

The Dachigam Park nearby was a delight being a 650 sq feet national park home to the red deer/leopards/black and brown bears and many more animals with a zoo of rescued animals who treat the Rescuer like their Dad and play with him.

The entry is online and costs Rs 25 with a safari for Rs 200 if shared with 6 others.


First glimpse of Kashmir from the Air.


The kashmiri Naan with butter and chai is a must taste.Costs Rs 5/10.


The park.


Pretty Wall mural.


A walk in the park.






Park Entrance.

[vijayols]

Day 1 ended with a session with Gulzar sir who explained about AMS/need for Hydration in the mountains/Pace to trek and signs to recognise and counter AMS.

Day 2 was an early start with chai and a gruelling warm up session where we were pushed till exhaustion point to prepare for the trek ahead and after a quick breakfast a preparatory 14 kms trek to a nearby hill side.

I guess the preparation made us wary of what lay ahead especially for the first timers and most of us actually took a call to offload some stuff instead of carrying it on the trek.A poor decision on hindsight by me at least.


Out for the practise walk.


And its the season of juicy kashmiri apples.






And the famed Kashmiri Mirchi drying.


The typical mosque here seemed unique in shape

[vijayols]

The next day was an early start as we had to leave by 5.30 to reach Sonmarg which was the starting point of the KGL trek.We also met the India Hikes team who were also starting off with us.We had started from srinagar at appx 7000 feet and were to gain about 4000 feet today to reach our first camp site of the day Nichnai Table top.

As always day 1 of the trek always seem the longest.


Relaxing in the grass as me and our guide anwar wait for the others to catch up.


Hmm so relaxing just staring at the mountains.


And the mountains of Sonamarg.The thajwas Glacier at the far end.


The Bhoj Patra trees were the final tree line we would see.


Wild horses.


and one more!


And the juiciest watermelon on Table top reminded me of the song watermelon sugar


A gujjars house.


The endless meadows and the stream below!


Enjoying packed lunch by the river.


Petting the dog as both set of groups stopped for some hot chai.


Gurmeet pondering about the mysteries of life for a moment.


Panoramic view of the topography.


Spotting the campsite after a long day was a relief.




The shy Nazia wanted a toffee.


Take a moment to catch your breath and admire the view.

[vijayols]

The vastness of the land was humbling.


Lots of colorful flowers.


Wild flowers which were on their last legs as winter was approaching.








Vishnu sar was the first lake we saw in the trek.This was late evening after we had reached the campsite.The water was silver grey in the setting sun.

[vijayols]

It was so soothing just staring at the serene lake.


Last shot of the day of the lake.Its funny how water and a camera makes adults do the silliest of antics posing weirdly.


Ba Ba black sheep have you any wool?


Tough Climb?I do this everyday


Small River Crossing.


We met another group called Mountain Top who had several marathoners amongst them having done iconic runs like the Boston Marathon,New York Marathon and also the OG Marathon to Athens run.This from guys of my age group or older.


The team spotted a couple of Marmots a typical inhabitant of these terrain as well as in Spiti and Ladakh.One of the guide ran and chased to film them successfully.Hope to get photos of the same shared to post.


As we wait for the rest to catch up.


On top of the world?Almost at least on this trek as this was halfway up to the Gadsar pass height.








So that's the target for today?The 3rd day was the toughest as we had to climb a hill and then once more to reach Gadsar Pass @ 13800 feet.

[vijayols]

Don't mess with out own Pathan.Amit who packs a mean punch!


Posing away to Glory.


Sheep rule here.No messing with them.


Day 2 Camp site


The Vishnusar lake just a km away from our camp site in the morning sunshine.How different it looked in the morning as compared to the day time.


Vishnusar looks different as we climb higher towards Gadar pass.


The Krishnasar from ground level with the golden sun rays on the mountains.




Krishnasar oh you beauty! but we need to ascend a bit more to view the Vishnusar and Krishnasar together.


And Viola both of the beauties together with a hidden smaller one behind Krishnasar also visible.


Celebrating the highest point with the national flag and patriotism bristles with joy.


And then a simple board proclaiming the highest point of the trek.

[vijayols]

The Yamsar was the first lake after the descend from Gadsar Pass.


The serene Gadsar lake.Reaching this glacier lake was an adventure as the heavens opened up and a hailstorm later the ground became so slippery that many of us had a tumble.


Both the YHAI and IH groups converged at the dhaba to shelter from the hailstorm and have lunch.




The purple wild flowers looked so pretty.


Just after the Gadsar camp as we left in the morning towards our destination for day 4 the seven lakes of Satsar we had to cross an ice bridge and then a steep ascend to be made on all 4's to reach the path on the side of the mountain.It was both fun and scary as the threat of a slip up or the ice bridge collapsing under our combined weights was high.


Today was a fairly straight forward walk with slight ascend and descend.




We reached a valley after a couple of hours where there was a strong cold cross wind.The high point was that we were the only batch with a clear sky to spot the Naga parvat in Pakistan the 9th highest peak in the world from here.The phone camera couldn't capture the scene though.


The satsar lake 1.Though there were 7 of these only satsar 1 and satsar 2 had water.The rest had dried and the rest would revive after the glaciers melt and the rains continue next year.


Satsar lake 2.




The Satsar lake camp.The next destination was the Gangabal and Nandkul lake camp.


The next day starts with an hour of boulder path to be negotiated.


Caution is the theme word today as a slip up could cause an ankle injury and a stretcher back to the next camp.


Celebrating halfway through the section.


A walk through the clouds as we cross the boulder section.


A view of the Gangabal and the Nandkul lakes.


We stop to take a breather from the steep descend and see the lakes yonder.


Amit and Gurmeet approach the Gangabal up close.




Me and Sharmaji with Liad and his friend from Israel.Liad a 22 year old was exploring India with 3 more of his friends.The duo amazed us by swimming in the ice cold waters of Gangabal.The quartet were trekking without any guide and were pitching their tents up close to the lakes.We constantly met them on all trek days.Good luck to you and your team Liad.

[vijayols]

The excess water from Gangabal feeds into the Nandkul lake.


After having spent time to our hearts content enjoying the largest of the lakes Gangabal we walked to the Nadkul where our camps were set.On the shore of the Gangabal which seems to be very sacred to the kashmiri Pandits who come here to pray in end of September as also to immerse the ashes of the departed souls,there is a small temple.


Our last lake of the trek.The Nandkul.




An early morning 5.30 start for the day crossing the river.








The dhaba where we enjoyed a hot cuppa Kahwa closed on 2nd Oct every year.


With TV9 Drishyam Channel Akash.


Celebrating completion of the trek.


Naranag Temple ruins.


We went for the safari at Dachigam Forest park in the battery operated Car.

How tough was the trek?

It is rated Moderate difficult.For anyone doing their first Himalayan trek it just means that you need to be physically fit before embarking on this one.For experienced Trekkers this trek this is just another Himalayan Trek.

How safe is trekking in kashmir?

This is my third travel and second trek to Kashmir.There is always an omnipresent threat to safety when one travels to Kashmir.But there is adequate security from the army who are doing their best to keep us safe.

The natives are friendly and have been genuinely invited by so many for tea and food at home.You hardly find this kind of warmth any where in India.

Overall I would say as generally tourists are not targeted that I have personally found Kashmir is a safe destination for travel of any kind.

Post the trek as I generally keep a buffer day or two for any unforeseen delays and have never had till date any reason to utilize the buffer for un expected delays the plan is generally to explore non touristy spots motor biking.

I once again rented from Kashmir Adventure Bikers in srinagar.The contact person Is Umar or Hisham 7006039159.This time it was a Himalayan bike @ Rs 1600 per day.

The destination was Gurez valley with a stop over at Wular Lake/Watlab lake

So lets start with the journey.


The lovely roads leading from Srinagar on NH 1 towards Uri.


Rice fields on the way to Watlab.


Waterfall near Watlab Lake.


Shikara on Watlab Lake.Personally found the lake dirty.


The vast Wular lake.This was about 64 kms from Srinagar.


Local Bakery to buy Kashmiri Naan.


Local mosque.


My companion on the ride.

[vijayols]

On the way to Gurez which is about 125 kms from srinagar before the Razdan pass.


The cobbled stone road @Razdan Pass.


Dawar town about 18kms into Gurez valley.


The army run Cafe at Gurez.I love Gurez which is the nerve centre of Dawar.


My Bike ride companion from India Hikes Sameer form Mumbai.Sameer was the planner and ensured we started at 7 am for Chickwadi village the last village of India and pushed us to keep going despite bad slushy and stone filled roads.




Several checks by the army made the journey slow and took us nearly 4 hours one way.The return was quicker at 2 hours.


So near yet so far.






We passed several small villages like this one.


Then last point we were allowed up to a mere 7 kms from our target.








Razdan pass view.


As we bid adieu to Gurez.


the final destination at Srinagar Lal Chowk for Dry fruits purchase before the return back to Bangalore and the end of the Kashmir trip.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[sachinayak]

Fantastic pics.

I just did the KGL trek last week, and while the trek is undoubtedly beautiful with the wide valleys, meadows, forest sections, the gorgeous alpine lakes, this trek is now attracting more "tourists" than "trekkers", resulting in rapid degradation of the environment.

While everyone talks about the beauty of this trek, I am just doing a quick reality check.

1. This is a tough trek. Almost every day you climb up a pass and descend. It is more like a series of treks than one single trek.

2. The trail is insanely crowded. Around 800 trekkers started on the day I started my trek. Some time in august, this touched close to 3000 (there were 273 toilet tents).

3. There are more and more "tourists" than "trekkers". Young folks in early 20s are doing the trail on mule-back, while seniors over 70 climb slowly and complete the trek. This is so disheartening to see. Most of the young folks seem to be there to capture Insta reels.

4. This trek has more mules than any other place. Carrying not just basic stuff - tents, food etc. but tables, chairs, bedding. This trail also sees the maximum mule deaths, and their bodies are left to rot around.

5. Many trekking companies do not follow rules. You are not allowed to setup your camps near the lakes, but most local companies care a damn.

6. On this trek, you will almost always be rushed - to avoid the crowd. The daily target will be to start early and rush up the pass to get a "relatively" calm experience at the pass top. Quite contrary to how trekking is normally done. This is the T20 of treks, that goes on for a test match duration.

I did not do this with YHAI, but a YHAI trek guide (whom I bumped into at Zostel) told me that very likely trekking on this trail will be banned for a couple of years to let the environment heal itself. This year, government was supposed to restrict the crowd on this trail - with each trekking organization being limited to 2 batches per week and each batch with not more than 12 people. However intense lobbying ensured that this did not come into effect. Plus with the landslides in HP, all the trekking crowd there was redirected to Kashmir. Hope we do not end up spoiling one of the relatively unspoilt environments that we still have in the nation.

A quick reality check video that I can now completely relate to (not my video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcFCDBIBepE

[vijayols]

First off Sachin what a lovely video and unbiased description of the trek.

Couldn't agree more on the fact that it is highly crowded and commercialised.YHAI had 36 daily batches of maybe an average ticket size of 15-20.

The trek lead @Amit from India Hikes did say IH is planning to discontinue and focus on new trails like Pir Panjal.

Though IH with green trails does its bit there is no doubt that all of us are responsible for putting immense strain on the fragile eco system.

It is also a moderate- difficult trek more so for under prepared first timers and yes older folks(Incl me) do seem to be better prepared physically and mentally for the grind not withstanding knee issues which is painful during descends(and there were so many of them in this trek)

But there is no denying that the rewards far outweigh the efforts with this kind of surreal beauty any where in the himalayas not just kashmir.

Trekking is a bug and if you are bitten the mountains keep calling out to you

[trippytragopan]

Great frames. Thanks for sharing.

The trail is insanely crowded. Around 800 trekkers started on the day I started my trek. Some time in august, this touched close to 3000 (there were 273 toilet tents).

What is the best time to avoid the crowds on this trek?

If you guys are into trekking Himalayan lakes, I'd recommend you to hike Temso lake. This ~5000 meter high lake is in Kinnaur. Explored by very few people.

There are actually two more lakes near Temso Lake. Only one is most frequented by the local people.

[niranjanprabhu]

The photo labeled as "And its the season of juicy kashmiri apples." is that of pomegranates! Please see again
Brilliant post. Thanks so much for sharing.