Romancing in the Himalayas. Kashmir Great Lakes Trek
It wasn’t a surprise to my parents when we me and my GF and soon to-be-wife – skipped the usual destinations and chose a trek for honeymoon. After a bit of research and consultation with my friend-cum-trekker Rakesh Pant we decided on the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek. My family was thankful, coz at least we chose a paradise for our honeymoon although astonished that I was able to convince her!
Usually when all the brides go for bridal make up session, months in advance, my bride and me were doing the trips to gym. The list of trekking gear was marked besides our wedding outfits. And then the D-day dawned. No, not the wedding day. The day when we had to leave for the trek.
As the name indicated, The Kashmir Great Lakes trek had some of the beautiful lakes situated in the lofty areas of Kashmir region in Himalayas. Starting from Sonamarg, situated at the base of Zozila and passes through the Kishansar, Gadsar, Vishnasar, Gangabal, Satsar and Nundkol Lakes.
On day 1, at dusk, we arrived at Sonmarg. The camp was near the Indus river in tents. We had made a special request to TTH to let just the two of us share the same tent in advance. They were courteous to agree.
As darkness crept in, the magic unfolded. The sky was pierced by a million beaming faces, the entire milky way was there to greet us. After a brief session of introduction and dinner, we retired to our tents.
Next day we were awakened by the sounds of chai. A quick breakfast and off we were on a soul stirring journey. It was a weird feeling to look at henna clad hands of my wife holding a trekking stick and following the trekkers in the beautiful yet challenging Himalayan hills.
We had to reach Nichnai on Day 1, an ascent of almost 4000 ft while on day 2 we had to cross the Nichanai Pass. Long walks through the green meadows lined with peaks alternated with ascents and descents. After an arduous day 2, we reached our campsite and thats when we felt we were on a honeymoon. The campsite was a lush green carpet with a lazy river by the side. It looked like a scene from a Yash Raj Blockbuster. With SRK and Kajol swinging to the tunes of nature. Later we all went on a short trek to see our first Alpine lake of this trek, the Vishnusar. The aqua blue, crystal clear pristine glacier water of this lake was the most romantic sight of the trek till now. But a lot more was to be experienced.
Day 3 was dangerous. We had to cross the steep incline of Gadsar pass (13,750 ft. ) As we huffed and puffed on the path, i could not avoid but admire my wife. Tired, breathless, yet so determined. She never looked so beautiful. We looked back only to soak in the beauty of the twin lakes – Vishnusar and Krishnasar. We walked hand in hand to help each other walk the steep Gadsar pass. Walking down was much easier. As they say it, nature has the power to heal. The picturesque meadows took off all the exhaustion of the strenuous climb.
The dawn of the new day started with a river crossing. The walk through the meadows was fairly simple. Just before reaching camp we walked into wispy clouds and we were reminded once again that we were on our honeymoon.
Day 5 was saved for the Satsar pass. Another very steep ascent brought us to the pinnacle of this pass. Our camp site for the night was at the shores of the gorgeous Nandkhol lake. Our last day was a descent. A true, knee breaking, toe crushing ordeal. But everything was pleasant and quiet. The surroundings were so beautiful that it was very hard to leave and move forward. Everything was like putting an effort to tell you the advantages of living close to Mother Nature.
Me and Pratibha (Wife)
On this special trek, living close to nature had brought me and my wife closer to each other. The whole trek was a very good experience and helped us to understand each other much better. A big thanks to Trek The Himalayas Team.
Written By:- Amit Mamgain