“To those who are enthralled by the mountains, their wonder is beyond all dispute. To those who are not, their allure is a kind of madness.” – Elizabeth von Arnim
The charm of Himalayas is such that you
can’t resist keep visiting them periodically. The last time I trekked the
Himalayas was a year ago, in October 2023 to Gaumukh-Tapovan in Uttarakhand. I
prefer hiking during the Chinese national holidays as I can afford to be
offline for a week. I did a bit of search about the possible treks during these
dates and came out with a shortlist. Pratap, my friend who had done few treks
with me earlier, suggested Tarsar Marsar. As I had been to treks in
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Bengal, it made sense to trek in Kashmir.
I asked people in our local trek group and
most of them had different engagements. I was successful in pulling Giri, who
has been with me on most of these treks, and Sujith, for this second
high-altitude trek. I asked Tanmay, who had done Kashmir Great Lakes (KGL) trek
before. He agreed readily though this was going to be similar to KGL. I also
read an article on Bikat adventures website, comparing the two treks and why
the author felt Tarsar Marsar was better. You can read the article here. https://www.bikatadventures.com/home/blog/Tarsar-Marsar-Trek-Compared-to-Kashmir-Great-Lakes-Trek.
We decided to go with Bikat as the last
experience was largely great. The dates of the trek were from 28th
September to 4th October and we had to be at Srinagar dal lake by
noon on 28th. There were couple of direct flights from Bangalore and
I chose the Air India flight. Later that flight was changed to be via Delhi and
I much later cancelled it and booked Indigo flight. As per Giri’s suggestion, I
also booked couple of rooms on the house boat ‘Alaska’ near ghat 12 of Dal Lake.
Preparations were not great as I had a
hectic time in the month prior to the trek visiting several places for
festival, wedding, school reunion and pilgrimages. I did little bit of
shopping, got my medical checkup done and submitted the forms by mail. There
was a videocall with the group which I couldn’t get into.
Tarsar and Marsar are the two major high-altitude
lakes in Kashmir. The trails are beautiful with tall peaks, green meadows and meandering
rivers all along. The camp sites are wonderful with picture postcard like views
all around. Let us now go through our trek experience.
Day 0, 27th September 2024, Reaching
Srinagar: Our Indigo flight was at 13:45. I
left home at 11:00 by taxi and reached the airport in about 45 minutes. The
Indigo queue was long and the web check in didn’t help. Giri and Sujith were
ahead of me. After finishing the security, we went to the lounge and started
having lunch. Tanmay was delayed for some reason. I tried getting him into the
lounge, but none of my other cards worked, so he went ahead and started having
lunch at a different place. We were getting late for boarding and Tanmay was
unreachable! We went into the flight and everyone was looking at us. The air
hostess told me that they will close the flight door and asked me to call
Tanmay. Finally, he picked up Sujith’s call and rushed to the flight. After all
the fiasco, the flight still couldn’t take off for some time as there was
traffic jam for takeoff!
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| On board |
We reached Srinagar at 17:15 and took a
taxi to Dal Lake ghat 12. We contacted the house boat owner Ibrahim and they
picked us up in a shikara and dropped at the house boat. The house boat was
beautiful and the sight all around was stunning. We kept our luggage and asked
the Boatman to take us back to the ghat. We roamed around for some time and
then had dinner at Kareem’s based on Ibrahim’s recommendation. After dinner, we
found that all the boatmen had left. We contacted Ibrahim and he came to pick
us up.
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| Alaska |
Day 1, 28 September 2024, Reaching Aru
(8,038 ft)-103 km drive:
The morning was beautiful over Dal Lake. We
took shower and had breakfast. While we were resting in the house boats,
hawkers selling flower seeds, small handicrafts and Kahua approached us in
their shikaras, and we did some shopping. After that, we asked for Shikara
person Jaffer to take us to the ghat from where we took an autorickshaw to the
Shankaracharya Temple. I have been there in my previous visit to Kashmir, but
as Giri insisted, we also thought we will have a look. It is a Shiva temple,
known as Shankaracharya temple as Adishankara, the Advaita sage, philosopher
and theologist visited here in 8th century and did penance. It is
also said that he wrote one of his most famous literary works “Soundarya Lahari”
here. Other than a large Linga, there is also an idol of Adishankara here. The
place is well maintained by Archeological survey of India and has largely
escaped being destroyed by invaders. Situated at a height of 1000 feet above
the city, it offers a wonderful view of beautiful Srinagar.
According to historians claim the temple
was originally constructed by King Sandhiman from the Gonanda Dynasty about
2500 years ago. Later it was renovated in seventh century by Lalitaditya
Muktapida. In 1925, Krishnaraja Wadiyar the 4th, Maharaja or Mysuru,
commissioned the electrical lights the premises. In 1961, the marble idol of
Adishankara was installed by Shankaracharya of Dwarakapeetham. We spend good
time visiting the temple and came down by the autorickshaw that was waiting for
us.
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| View from Shankaracharya temple |
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| Adi Shankaracharya |
The vehicle moved through winding roads
among stunning locales, rice fields, coniferous trees, and rivers, crossing
Pulwama, Bijbiara, Anantnag and Pahalgam. Around 14:00 we stopped for lunch at
a vegetarian restaurant, Evergreen resort. Four of us ordered thali. While the
food was delicious, it was too much in quantity. Upon continuing the journey
through the picturesque road, around 15:20 we arrived at a gate of the reserve
forest, Overa Aru wildlife sanctuary. The officer on duty, Mr. Mustaq said that
we need to pay per head Rs. 25/- per day as the entry fee. We were not sure if
this was covered by Bikat. DJ had mobile signal and could contact the trek
Leader Suresh, who confirmed that we need to pay the amount. We paid Rs. 1000/-
to the officer, and I am sure it all went to his pocket! While he didn’t give
any receipt, he said he is going be there when we return. The Overa Aru
wildlife sanctuary is named after the two villages and is known for its
contribution to the conservation of the critically endangered Hangul deer. A
notable bird species is the Himalayan Monal. The sanctuary is a catchment area
for the Lidder River, which is a tributary of the Jhelum River.
In the next 45 minutes, we reached Aru valley and arrived at our guest house, Aru Crown Homestay. At 19:00, Suresh conducted a briefing session where we all introduced ourselves. Suresh took our papers and explained the dos and don’ts. After dinner we went around the village for some time. We met another small group of about ten people who were also doing the trek. These people had registered for Kashmir Great Lakes trek through three different companies. But as the trek got cancelled, they were pooled together and were being taken to Trasar Marsar. We thought that we did a good thing by not choosing KGL for these dates. After coming back to the homestay, we slept in a large hall.
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| Briefing |
Day 2, 29 September 2024, Aru to
Lidderwat (9.022 ft, 2750 m)-9.6 kms:
Sleep was not easy to come by. I woke up
early and thought of having a hot shower as we had seen a geyser in the
bathroom. But the water was very cold. Having made up my mind to take bath, I
had a quick shower and got ready. The timing for the day were 7-8-9, wake up at
7:00, breakfast at 8:00 and leaving at 9:00. Breakfast of bread and sandwich
looked uninteresting, while the ones with egg coated were good.
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| Ready to go! |
After a short warm up, we left Aru at 9:30.
In few minutes, we moved away from the village and were on a gradual ascending
trail through pine trees. The weather was perfect, and the trail was very
beautiful. At 11:55, after about 2.5 hours, we arrived at a tea stall. Some of
us had Kahua while others had tea there. I small family was taking care of the
tea stall. After spending about half an hour, we continued further and stopped
by the river side to have our packed lunch. The vegetable roll tasted delicious.
We continued walking by the side of Lidder river and crossed a wooden bridge to
reach our campsite around 15:00. Based on the GPS, it was about 10 kms walk and
we had taken about 5.5 hours.
The night sky was very clear, and we could see the stars very well. We tried to do star photography. DJ had a program for this in his Google pixel. Sidd had come prepared with his 1.8F lens but was resting. Sujith and DJ went on for long time. I tried something with my iPhone.
Sujith and I were sharing the tent. Long
sleep was not easy, but we could get enough rest and were ready in the morning.
Day 3, 30 September 2024, Lidderwat to
Sekhwas (11,154 ft, 3400 m)-6 kms:
The days start was 6-7-8, Black tea at
6:00, breakfast at 7:00 and leaving at 8:00. Suresh conducted enjoyable “fire
in the mountain” game as a warmup exercise. We left the camp at 8:20 and
started climbing the hill behind the camp site. The first hour was steep accent
leaving the tree line behind and then a level trail in grassland with a beautiful
view ahead of us comprising mount Kolahoi, the highest mountain in Kashmir and
the stream flowing besides us. We took a break after about 2 and a half hours
and proceeded further crossing small streams on the way. Around 11:00, we
crossed a wooden bridge across the river. It was 12:30 by the time we reached the
Sekhwas campsite, and the ascent was about 530 meters. There was fresh cooked
lunch served after some time. Sekhwas campsite was also in a stunning location
offering all-round great views. Sujith, Giri and I had quick bath in the
chilling water of the Lidder river flowing nearby. After lunch we did some photography and played
frisbee. Tanmay sprained his leg while taking a difficult catch on the uneven ground
and was given treatment in the evening. Shashwat also sprained his leg, but
possibly his recovery was faster due to his younger age. Next morning Tanmay
was doubtful of continuing, but with the team’s and the leader’s encouragement
continued the trek.
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| Energy, PC: DJ |
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| PC: DJ |
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| Mount Kolahoi |
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| PC: Sidd |
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| PC: Sidd |
Day 4, 01 October 2024, Sekhwas to
Tarsar Lake (12,467 ft, 3945 m)- 4.5 kms:
After warmup we left the camp at 9:15 and started climbing the grassy hill with the river flowing by our side. The small yellow flowers on the grassland made a great view and the sight all around was magnificent. We took breaks on the way and reached the Trasar lake at 12:30. Based on GPS, the levation gain was 438 meters and we had about 1.5 h moving time for about 4.5 kms. The camp was very close to the lake. The lake with deep blue color was breathtaking. The wind created waves in the lake that made it even more beautiful. The colors looked different depending on the angle from which one looks at the lake. I spent long time at the lake before joining others for freshly prepared lunch. After lunch some of us wanted to see if we could walk all around the lake. We walked to about half the distance and returned back. There were big bones of either cattle or horses found on the trail around the lake.
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| Freshly cooked lunch |
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| Tarsar lake |
Day 5, 02 October 2024, Tarsar to Zachmargi
via Sundersar and Marsar Lakes -11 kms
We could witness beautiful sunrise at 5:45 from behind the mountains and the scene kept changing with time. We left the campsite early at 7:30 and started climbing a steep ridge that had grassland as well as rocky path. On the way as we climbed up, the view of the lake got better and we stopped for photography around 8:30. We all posed for photograph at the top of the ridge with Bikat adventures banner showing the altitude to be 4024 meters. Further walk downhill led to Sundersar where we reached around 10:00. Sundersar, as the name indicates is a beautiful smaller lake surrounded by hills. This is also locally known as Chandrasar due to its crescent moon shape. A stream flows out from here that goes downwards. We spent about half an hour here, and started walking around the lake, and climbed a steep rocky trail that looked tough in the beginning, but was OK as we proceeded. We saw few marmosets going away from us. After about an hour’s climb, around 11:30 we could see the Marsar lake from a distance.
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| Marmosets |
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| Sundersar |
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| Marsar |
Marsar lake looked bigger than the Tarsar
lake and the color of the water had a deeper blue shade that changed to green
depending on the angle. It is normally cloud covered, but the day we visited we
had largely clear sky. Tarsar and Marsar lakes together are called "twin
sisters". The stream flowing out of Marsar lake travels through the
Dachigam valley reaches Srinagar at Harwan garden where it fills the Sarband
reservoir. The names Tarsar and Marsar have come from Kashmiri language meaning
Life (Tar) and Mar (death) based on folklore.
We took lot of photos here, both solo and
in groups. I also tried a time lapse and misplaced my gorilla tripod somewhere
after the shoot! Around 15:00 we left the place and moved downward towards Zachmargi
(Zazmarg). The trail was beautiful grassland and we crossed some very scenic streams.
We reached Zachmargi campsite at 17:30. We had walked about 11 kms with about 4
hours moving time and 700 meters elevation. Some of the path got overlapped as
we walked to Marsar lake and back. The campsite was next to a small lake with
still water that created great reflection of the surrounding mountains. The sunset
created a golden hue on the mountains transforming the place into heaven.
Day 6, 03 October 2024, Zachmargi to Lidderwat
-14 kms
Next morning the timings were 6-7-8, and it
was 8:30 by the time we left the campsite. Before we started, Sujith got us to
warm up with different actions that mimicked fixing bulbs, screwing and
unscrewing bolts and so on. It was good fun. After an initial climb, it was
mostly downhill journey. The group stopped at some points and danced to the
tune of Bollywood music. Having done Tarsar Marsar, the team was in great spirit
and energy and niggles had disappeared.
The trail was picturesque with the river
flowing by the side most of the time. We took a break for lunch around 13:30
and continued further. It was 15:45 by the we reached the camp. This Lidderwat
campsite was slightly away from the one that we had stayed on the first day. This
was certainly the most beautiful campsite with free flowing Lidder river just
next to the camp and birds flying and resting on the rocks in the river. I borrowed Sidd's tripod to record a time lapse video.
Day 7, 04 October 2024, Lidderwat to Aru
-7.5 kms
This was our last day. Morning after the
breakfast, Suresh Chandra introduced the team. They were seven. Suresh, the
trek leader, Ashraf the guide, Pritam the main chef with another chef and three
Kashmiri horsemen. We thanked them for their help during the trek and handed
over money we had pooled as a token of our gratitude. After warmup, we started
moving at 9:00 and proceeded in good pace through mostly downward trail. Close
to Aru I had tea sold by a sold by an old lady. At 11:30 we reached our
homestay where our luggage was kept. Two
seven-seater vehicles took us to Srinagar. They stopped on the way at an apple
garden where they sold varieties of apples, jams and pickles. We bought some of
the specialties. Next the cars stopped at a famous saffron shop that also sold
dry fruits and nuts.
On the way Sujith booked a hotel “Heritage Rose” on Agoda. The car dropped everyone near Ghat 2 of Dal Lake. We requested the driver to drop us to our hotel at an extra cost. The hotel seemed to be very old and a historic building, while not maintained well. There was also a difference in pricing that was seen on Agoda site and what the hotel was demanding. While Sujith had booked for double occupancy, the hotel person said the price paid was for single occupancy. After spending sometime arguing, we paid extra cost and checked in. Tanmay wanted to go to moonlight bakery at Hazratbal to buy walnut cakes. We hired an auto rikshaw to take us there. The drive gave a great experience of going around the Dal Lake. After buying the cakes we took the same rikshaw to Lal chowk.
Lal Chowk is a much-changed place in recent
times. It was almost inaccessible when I had visited last time, but now is a
happening place bustling with activities. We clicked photos in front of the famous
monument and enjoyed shopping. Tanmay and I then walked to Ahdoos, a famous
restaurant in Srinagar for dinner. Sujith joined a little later and Giri came
much later. We had ordered for food. Giri decided to eat at Nathu’s a vegetarian
restaurant in front of Ahdoos. When we finished our dinner other teammates came
there for dinner. We bid them goodbye and went to Nathu’s where all four of us
enjoyed delicious freshly prepared jilebis. After that we took an auto to our
hotel.
We had booked a taxi with the guy who took
us to Moonlight bakery. Our flight was at 8:50, but keeping in mind the
security, we went to the airport early. We had breakfast in the lounge using
our cards. The Indigo flight was on time and we reached Bangalore at 13:00. I
took an Uber and reached home filled with fond memories of Tarsar Marsar
hiking.
Bikat was very good in organizing the trek.
Suresh Chandra Bhat is a great trek leader with lot of experience and very down
to earth attitude. The support staff was very nice and the food was excellent
considering the terrain. Every day there used to be snack in the evening and
dessert at the dinner. The co-trekkers were very friendly and made the whole experience
special. I look forward to going to Himalayas again with Bikat adventures.
