Trek to Paradise – Kashmir Great lakes Trek

Gar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,

Hameen ast-o, hameen ast-o, hameen ast

This is a Farsi couplet about Kashmir by the famous poet Amir Khusro and it translates to – If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.

I have just returned from Kashmir. Cradled in the lap of the majestic mountains of the Himalayas, Kashmir is indeed the most beautiful place on earth, worthy of being called a paradise. I got to see the “real” Kashmir as I saw it on foot as part of the Kashmir Great lakes trek.

 

 Highlight of the trek

To me the highlight of this trek was trekking on snow! I have never before trekked on snow and this was my first time trekking with spikes on, to get a better grip on the snow. There was snow as far as the eyes could see. Marching along while the snow goes crunch, crunch was thrilling & exhilarating! We trekked through hills and valleys, alongside rivers and horses. At times where the snow was soft, my leg would go deep into the snow till the knee and sometimes my walking stick would go in. I even fell down a few times where the snow was slippery. At one point where there was a steep downward slope, all of us got the thrill of sliding down the snow for about 200/300 meters! This was so cool. Literally and figuratively! We were all screaming with excitement like little children as we slid down with our voices going hoarse, adrenaline pumping furiously and a tinge of fear in case we don’t stop when we had to! But we all ended safely and had huge dollops of fun. And of course where there is snow there HAD to be some snow fighting and snow going down people’s backs!

Best day

Snow and snow-capped peaks are beautiful and I do enjoy them. But green mountains and valleys with flowing rivers and streams is what stirs and lifts my soul. So my best day of the trek was the day before the last day where we camped on the table top. As soon as I reached there, I became quiet. When I am amidst extreme beauty, I have to be by myself, in my zone, absorbing and soaking in everything around me. I didn’t want to talk to anyone or do anything. After lunch, I took my camera, a notebook and pen and started on my own journey. We were camped on the table top mountain and there was a stream down below in the valley. On the other side, the hill was green with several tall birches, rocks and grass everywhere. I lied down for a short nap on the base of a tree trunk and kept drifting in and out of sleep. When I partly opened my eyes, I could see the slanting trees and birds and butterflies and there was unspeakable beauty around me. I didn’t want this to end. I wish I could get this view every time I woke up from my slumber. If wishes were horses….

As I was lying on a rock looking up at the sky, I could see two clouds closing in towards each other. They looked like two faces, one of a man and one of a woman. As they came closer, they stole a furtive kiss, hoping no one looked. But I did! They remained lip-locked for a few minutes, only to part with a longing, a goodbye and a promise to meet again tomorrow same time same place. Only I will not be there tomorrow to enjoy their romance.

It was such an idyllic scene with a mother and daughter playing outside their hut in the distance, cows mooing, horses neighing, a soft breeze sweeping the entire mountain top in a gentle caress. And just when I started to feel cold, the sun came out of its hiding and warmed me up from inside out. Now and then you could hear the laughter of a kid. There were little flowers all around and butterflies flitting about. Big huge mushrooms on dead tree trunks and big & small rocks strewn around here and there added character to the place. No words or camera can do justice to this enchanting Friday afternoon scene. Maybe a poetry could come close. But Alas, I am no poet. Hopefully a poet would come here someday and make the scene eternal with her poem.

Trek mates

I usually go for treks only with friends / known people. This time though, I had decided to do this on short notice and none of my friends could join. So I went solo but there were 22 other people in the group and I must say I had the time of my life! Almost everyone helped me at some point, walking along with me when I slowed down, gave me a hand when the path was difficult or slippery and in general motivated me and gave my company. I went alone but came back with 22 friends! There were 6 people from Malaysia, 4 of whom were doctors. I always thought doctors were serious (not you Amee, you are awesome!) and boring but these doctors were all adventurous! There were 3 IT folks from Goa, one from Indore and the rest were all from Bangalore. I must say, most people in the group were from the IT industry. It was a fun and motley group of people with very contrasting personalities.

Siddharth was my most favorite person. He is so down to earth, fun, genuine and a good human being. On one of the days when I was walking alone on the snow, he kept waiting for me when I was slow. Did not bother me or ask me to come along but always looked out for me, gave me a hand when I needed, and ensured I was OK and waited if the gap increased. Thank you so much my friend. If I can ever help you in any way, you just have to ask.  

Hisham, the doctor from Malaysia was my savior on Day 2 which was really the first day of trekking. The sun was harsh and I was totally sapped of energy. The last kilometer was extremely difficult and every step was a struggle. Hisham and I were the last ones and he kept motivating me. We finally reached our destination and heaved a sigh of relief. The next day too Hisham was with me for the most time. Paritosh and Utkarsh from Goa kindly walked along with me on the return one evening and Kiran did the honors another evening. Some of the Malaysians spoke Tamil so I enjoyed conversing with Mohan, Ugesh and Hamid. Prem Preet is a Panjabi and a wonderful person. Goh is a Chinese Malay and the fittest of the lot. He was almost always the first to reach the destination and a very friendly person. I had a good time with all of them. They plan to climb Kilimanjaro next year and I hope to go with them!

Harshika and Dipti are friends and are a cool bunch of kids, helpful and fun. Harshika is a total bindaas and a fab dancer. Dipti helped me when I suddenly freaked out on a narrow ledge high up on a mountain with a steep cliff down! Thanks my friend! Akshay was the dude from Goa who kept taking selfies, Sunil, Kiran and Sushruth were friends from Bangalore and each of them was so different from the other. Sushruth was in a pensive mood many a times, sitting by himself and introspecting. Sunil was the boisterous chap, always with a smile on his face and a positive attitude. Kiran was somewhere in between, neither as much of a loner nor as brash. Was so nice to see a couple come for the trek – Shilpa and Gautam and they happen to live very close to me. Gopika and Ravi were another couple who got along their cousins Koushik the youngest and Ravi Senior the oldest in our group. I was maha impressed with Ravi Senior who is an agriculturist. In his late 50s, he was always one of the first, very fit and strong. And last but not the least, Madhu (Maddy) who is also from Bangalore and with whom I connected with even before the trek started, but who was also very helpful even after the trek. So though I went alone, I came back with so many awesome friends!

 Kashmiriyat

The people of Kashmir are very warm, loving and kind. I know many of us think of terrorists when we think of Kashmiris, but that is far from reality. I had such wonderful experiences with so many of them. Our guides Aijaz and Naseer were always there to help us. Naseer was a cool dude sporting a smart haircut and blue aviators. Naseer was with me and Hisham on day 3 morning and kept making fun comments and helping us all along. Mushtaq was from another trekking group but helped me so many times. On the last day I wanted to give him some money for all the help, but he refused to take it. He said he didn’t help me for money and that it was his duty to help. Then a few children asked for pens which I didn’t have, so I gave him the money to buy pens and books for the kids. Aijaz invited me to his house when we returned to Sonmarg, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough time so I had to pass that.

At the table top mountain, there were a few huts of shepherds. I said “Salaam Walekum” in front of a hut and a voice came from inside – “Walekum assalaam”. I shamelessly asked if I can come in and I was invited in. I was given such a warm welcome, made to sit on their lovely carpet. They were having their evening tea and they offered me their namkeen (salty) tea along with a crisp roti that they call chot roti. It is similar to khakhra and they dip that in the tea and have it. I enjoyed both the chai-roti and their hospitality. Roshni was the lady of the house, Mushtaq her husband, Ghulam Rasool her father-in-law, her children Munira, Mudassar and her niece Mobina. They were very poor but their hearts were rich and warm.

The day I landed in Srinagar, I wanted to do some sight-seeing before I start my trek. I hired an auto-rickshaw to take me to Dal lake. Ishtiyak bhai was the auto driver and he was so warm and genuine that I decided to ditch Dal lake and ask him to take me around to places he thought I should see and keep Dal lake for the return (as I had done Dal lake and the Mughal gardens a few years ago). He carried my backpack everywhere and took me to Hazratbal dargah, a sufi dargah called Hazrat Mir Syed Ali which was decorated with exquisite carvings and mirror work and finally the Jama Masjid. He said he will take me around on my return and invited me to his house for lunch. I was not sure about going to his house so kept it open. But on my return to Srinagar after the trek and after having had a wonderful experience with the locals, I decided to take up his offer. On Sunday morning he came to my hotel just after 8 and first took me to Nishat bagh. He got me masla –  a Kashmiri sandwich as he called it – which was some local fastfood. Then we saw Shalimar bagh and then stopped for chai at a local café. Then he took me to his home. And I got so much love and affection there from his mother, father, wife, brother, sis-in-law, their pretty kids Ahmed and Zainaab, and uncle. They treated me like family, all the women hugged and kissed me and his mother even asked me to stay back with them for a couple of days. There was so much excitement in the house and they had cooked a lavish meal for me. There was Nadroo yakhni, kaddoo yakhni, saag, some tomato dish, pudina chatni and special basmati rice for me. Kheer with coconut was the dessert. The food was so yummy, I literally licked my fingers clean. I was served in real silverware and they brought a finger bowl for me to wash my hands. Felt like Noor Jehan!  This food was so much better than what I had on the first day. I guess because it had the special ingredient called love! His uncle’s son Fardeen was visually impaired. I promised to get him a job as soon as he finishes his studies. I am very passionate about inclusion and equal job opportunities for people with disabilities and have been able to place many. So getting Fardeen a job would be easy. The least I can do for all the love I got.

So much warmth and love from complete strangers. I was bowled over both by Kashmir and the Kashmiris. The Kashmiris are very simple, loving and kind people. It is so very sad that because of a few terrorists, all the people of Kashmir are suffering from terrorism, curfews, fighting, and lack of jobs & development. I wish there was a magic wand and with one wave, I could make all hatred, bigotry, xenophobia and false beliefs disappear from the face of the earth. And World peace truly prevails on this otherwise beautiful planet. Insha Allah!

 Fan club

Oh yes, I have two newly minted fan clubs, minted at 13800 feet above sea level! Not even Shah Rukh Khan can claim that 😉 Most of the people on the treks were in their twenties and thirties. Even if there were 40+ people, they were mostly men. So when people saw a 40+ woman trekking high up in the mountains, they were all mighty impressed. I met Vani on the trek who had also crossed 40 but was younger than me. And when I told her about all my other adventures, she was in awe of me and shared this with her trek mates. So when I happened to meet her group, they all wished me, took my number and wanted to know more about my shenanigans.

 Then there was Anshul from another group who saw me walking non-stop, not taking any rest unlike everyone else. So he chatted up with me and me being me, I told him about all the other fun things I had done. And he instantly became a convert. So when I met his group next, another fan club was formed and they took my number and pictures with me with promises to keep in touch. I was very much in awe of Shaili a young kid from Delhi who carried her entire luggage of about 10 kgs. She is the only woman I saw in all my treks who carried her own luggage while the rest of us offload the luggage to be carried by mules. My salaam to you Shaili!

 Trek

 Day 1

There were 23 of us for the trek and I met 5 of them at the pickup point in Srinagar from where we were taken in a jeep to Sonmarg. It was a beautiful drive through mountains, rivers and tall trees. The view from the window was stunning and we reached the campsite where we will sleep for the night.

Soon other fellow trekkers reached in other jeeps and we met everyone and introduced each other. But soon it was as if we had all known each other for ages! We also met our crew. Aditya was our trek lead and Aijaz & Naseer were our trek guides. There were 2 per tent and since we were 23, I got a tent to myself which is a luxury! There was a dinner tent where we all had dinner together and then retired into our tents.

Day2

Our daily routine in the morning was 6-7-8. Tea at 6am, breakfast at 7am and start the trek at 8am. We wake up every day to hot ginger black tea. It felt so good to hold the hot steel glass and warm our cold hands with them! Breakfast was different everyday – bread and jam / Poha / Chole bhature / omelette / dalia etc.

Today we trekked from Sonmarg to Nichnai. We had stunning views of tall birch trees with white barks, snow-capped peaks in the distance and greenery all around. I felt like Alice in wonderland who had jumped into a hole and found herself surrounded by the most magnificent views and insanely beautiful mountains, valleys and the Sindhu river to keep company. We had maggi and Kahwa at a mountainside restaurant a couple of hours into the trek. It was such a welcome break. After a while, we stopped at a scenic place to have packed lunch of roti and sabji. Some days we would have rice. Today was a difficult climb as we reached an altitude of 11600 feet and I was extremely exhausted. But the campsite was so utterly beautiful that I forgot all my aches and pains and tiredness and I jumped around like a little girl in a candy store. We got chai and popcorn soon after we reached the campsite. And a little later we got hot soup and pakoda. Once the sun set, it started getting cold and we all sat in the dinner tent which could house all of us. We played the game mafia and since I have played it earlier, I did a good job of it.  Dinner consisted of roti, sabji, daal, rice and dessert. Every day the sabji, daal and dessert would be different. They kept us well fed and cook Bhupi who was from Himachal Pradesh was a great cook who deserved to be a Masterchef!

 Day 3

Today was mostly downhill so I was fast! And we trekked through snow! My dream come true. We wore spikes on our shoes and went crunch crunch on the snow using the walking pole for support and to get a grip on the snow. Must have trekked close to 4km on snow. We had already reached a height above treeline so there were no trees, only grass and small bushes. We had to cross over several boulders for almost half a kilometre and in some places it was difficult. But whenever I needed help, magically someone would come to my help and give me a hand. Once we crossed the snow, when I turned around a corner, suddenly a bunch of shiny wild sunflowers appeared out of nowhere, it was such a pleasant surprise. The petals were so shiny I actually bent down to feel them. I love sunflowers, they make me so happy and cheerful! And as we walked along, we saw patches of pink flowers and then purple flowers. Alice was truly in a wonderland that was getting prettier by the day. As we walked along, we saw a pond that had red water! No this was no Agatha Christie land with bloody water. There was red algae in the pond that made the water look blood red! A little ahead we saw snow had become ice on the surface but just below, water was flowing and making lovely patterns that we could see through the translucent ice. Nature never stops amazing me. The guide Naseer was walking along with me this morning. As we were walking along the snow, I saw a lot of plastic and candy wrappers on the snow. Like a good citizen and in support of Swachch Bharat, I picked up all the wrappers and plastic along the way and emptied my pockets at the maggi point. I had done my good deed for the day and was proud of myself.

We then came back to our camp for the day and this time Hisham and Kiran gave me company. When we reached the camp, we saw several of the group were playing cricket with the guides and other locals. There were two other camps close by and I walked around and chatted up with a few folks from Oman. I proudly asked if they found my country beautiful and they all praised eloquent about the country and about Kashmir. It made me so proud!

Day 4

Today was the day we were waiting for, to visit the twin lakes of Vishansar and Kishansar and then go on to the highest point of the trek – Gadsar pass at 13800 feet. We had to climb about 2000 feet today and so was a difficult day.

Vishansar lake was close by and we quickly reached the destination at 12000+ feet above sea level. When something is so very beautiful, it is difficult to describe it in words. Let’s just say everyone was speechless when they reached the lake. Literally. Everyone just sat by the lake looking into the distance and was silent, taking in the serene tranquillity. It touched our souls. A little further and we saw Kishansar lake. Now was the difficult climb uphill to Gadsar pass. But by now I had found my rhythm and pace and walked about 50 steps, took a breath and then started again. In fact I was not even very tired. I soon reached the summit and got a standing ovation from the Omanis! The summit was so beautiful and we all clicked pictures. The Malaysians had got their flag and clicked pics with the flag. I must remember to carry a flag when I go for the Kilimanjaro trek.

Unfortunately there was way too much snow and so we could not go beyond the Gadsar pass as the path was steep and the mules carrying our luggage, tents, food could not cross. So we came back to the same camp and will go for other treks in the neighbourhood and cannot see the other lakes planned as part of the trek. A bit of a downer but just being in the mountains amidst unspeakable beauty was enough for me. On the way down, I met with a small accident as I stepped on my poncho (it was raining) and I tripped. The path was very slippery and I could not get back up. I shouted for help and Sid and a guide both came to help the damsel in distress and all was fine!

Day 5

Today we went on a trek to another nearby lake and had to cross a river and its tributaries at 6 places. We had to undo our shoes, and walk across the freezing cold water of the river. Just a couple of minutes in the icy cold water and the feet started to hurt. I thought my toes would just break off! At places the current was very strong and we needed help to cross. This was quite an experience! Once we crossed the river, we walked up to a lovely valley and climbed a hill. And all around, we could see rolling hills, very green with a carpet of flowers on the grass. If there was a Bollywood movie being shot here, am sure the hero and heroine would have rolled down these hills! As I mentioned this, our guide Aijaz said that he and Naseer had acted in the Bollywood movie “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” and not surprisingly Bhaijaan (Salman Khan) was their favourite actor.

Day 6

There was a lot of trekking on the snow today and like Maddy kept saying, I was in my zone and was mostly trekking alone. There was a 360 degree view of the majestic mountains of the Himalayas and I could not have asked for better company. Met a lot of interesting people and exchanged numbers. As I passed through splendid landscaped, I thought how wonderful it would be to own a mountain instead of a 3BHK. In fact, I even dared to ask a local how much a mountain would cost but alas, Indians cannot buy land in Kashmir. And my wish got trampled upon as soon as it was born 😦

Day 7

There was not much of a trek today, just a couple of hours of trek though the most enchanting woods! We ripped the bark off the birch tree and I had Mushtaq write Khusro’s couplet in Urdu on the bark. I was walking at a very leisurely pace and admiring every little flower, butterfly, bee, towering tree and lichen. Met up with Anshul’s group and walked along with them as they were walking at my pace. The whole group and the guides treated me as one of their own, offered me chai and food and then they started pitching their tents. I then went along to our campsite which was on a table top mountain, the awesomest campsite of the whole trek! There were two pretty kids Ulfat and Munavvar playing around leisurely. Time was moving at a very slow pace and I was loving it.

Day 8

This was the last day and we were headed back to Sonmarg. Again it was a short trek and I did it very leisurely. Met a lot of local kids all with pink cheeks and a lovely smile. On reaching Sonmarg we all congratulated each other. It was sad to say goodbye to all our guides and take the jeep back to Srinagar. I managed to convince the driver to drive the jeep for a while through the most picturesque landscapes of Sonmarg. As soon as I reached the hotel in Srinagar, I rushed to take a hot shower. I was stinking without a bath for 7 days and was never before so excited at the prospect of a shower!

Khuda Hafiz

I have come back with burnt lips, tanned face and blistered feet and I am proud of all of them! Wouldn’t trade them for anything, because along with them I also brought back a sack full of wonderful memories and experiences that will remain with me for a lifetime! Khuda Hafiz mere pyare Kashmiri doston. Aapse phir mulaqat ki tamanna rakhte hue, ijazat lete hain. Shabba Khair.