Kashmir Great Lakes Trek is the dream of every trekker as well as a nontrekker. This is what every adventure lover in India wants to do once in a lifetime. The scenic beauty of this trek is extremely beautiful. However, the first question that every trekker asks before doing Kashmir Great Lakes Trek is how difficult the trek is. Is this trek doable for those who have no know-how of mountaineering? Is this trek for beginners? And in which difficult category does this trek fall? There are many such questions along with other questions like location, weather, etc.
To answer all these questions, this blog intends to explain how difficult is Kashmir Great Lakes Trek. In this blog, each day’s difficulty of the trek will be explained. But first of all a brief introduction to the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek.
Kashmir Great Lakes Trek Introduction
Kashmir Great Lakes Trek is a summer trek situated in Kashmir. The trek starts towards the Sonamarg area of Kashmir and is best done between July and September. The most followed duration of this trek is 7 days and the max altitude one goes in this trek is about 4200m. The trek has large meadows, jungles, alpine lakes, and varied mountain ranges. This trek goes over different grasslands and valleys and passes. The total number of passes in Kashmir Great Lakes Trek are three. The passes are Gadsar Pass, Zajibal Pass, and Nichnai Pass. The trek starts from Shitkadi base camp and ends at Naranag village. The trek is a circuit trek with an average duration of a trek every day at around 6 hours.
There are around a dozen alpine lakes on Kashmir Great Lakes Trek. The lakes fall just on the trail that you will follow. The most scenic alpine lakes on this trek are Gadsar lake, Vishansar and Kishansar lakes, Gangabal lake, Nundkol lake, etc. Gangabal lake is the largest alpine lake in Kashmir.
The difficulty of the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek
This trek is categorized as a moderate to difficult trek. The trek is in no way easy and is in no way recommended for beginners. One has to be physically fit to perform this trek. There are days when this trek becomes difficult in grade like on the 4th day when one has to cross over the Gadsar Pass. This is the longest day and the toughest day in terms of steep ascent and then a steep descent and long walk. The total distance of the day is around 16km. Similarly, there is the last day which has an extremely long descent and is very much heavy on your knees and ankles. The descent is safe but very much challenging.
Some days in this trek are moderate like the 5th when one goes through the meadows of Satsar valley. This is the meadow that has the best views and lush grass. The walk is easy and mild through these meadows.
The first day of the trek is just camping and acclimatization. No trek is done on the first day of the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek.
One should prepare for this trek. Hit the gym and do cardio and running. You should be able to finish the 10k run in one hour. Do squat exercises and jumps and core strength training. This will help you to remain fit and prepared for Kashmir Great Lakes Trek. Once you are fit for the trek then you will enjoy it the most. You will get the best out of this trek. The trek will amaze you with its beauty and charm.
Conclusion
To sum up, Kashmir Great Lakes Trek is a moderate to difficult trek. It has some days which are difficult in grade and some days that are of moderate grade. The trek involves a good fitness level. One should join the gym or do cardio exercising before a month of joining this trek. Enjoy this beautiful summer trek in India. It is a memorable trek for all the trekkers who have done this.
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