After an exhiliarating, Sunday ride we left the city of houseboats, Srinagar and reached the beautiful Aru valley in Kashmir. It took us four hours to reach our base village for our Tarshar Marshar Lake trek. From Aru Valley, we began our trek to reach the twin lakes of Tarshar and Marshar. Our trek Mr Wani guide greeted us at our pickup point. He brisked us to our homestay and to our respective rooms. The breeze was piercingly cold outside, but the Sun above was shimmering and was spreading all its warmth.
After freshening up we went to the rooftop balcony of our homestay. Sipping away, Kahwa an exquisite local tea, we passed the rest of the day bantering. The soft rustling sound of the cedar tree’s leaves was sweet to our ears.
DAY – 1 : The Begin Of Our Tarshar Marshar Lake Trek
Brief Itinerary of the Tarshar Marshar Lake Trek
Day 1 – Aru Valley to Lidderwat camp(1620m)
Day 2 – Lidderwat camp to Tarshar Lake camp (3800m)
Day 3 – Tarsar Lake camp to Sundasar Lake Camp(4000m)
Day 4 – Sundarsar Camp to Sundersar Lake (4100m) and Marshar Lake(4000m)
Day 5 – Marshar Lake to Lidderwat Camp
Day 6 – Lidderwat to Aru Valley
Thanks to the cold nights and our comfortably warm beddings, we lazy codgers got a little late. It was at around 10am, after having a refreshing breakfast with tea we solemnly began our trek. As lazy as we could be, we began at a snail paced walk. And intermittently we were also taking heart full of breaks. Breathtaking scenic views , tall mountains and River Lidder gushing all along our way. Bantering all along, we clicked a lot of groupies, selfies and happily munching on our snacks.
Meadows of Aru Valley
The valley opened up to beautiful lush green meadows all around. Wild horses running around and far away the scattered mud houses were sooting smoke through their chimney. What a lovely sight for a perfect click. And just to capture the breathtaking granduer scnenery before me, I took a lot of pics, with my DSLR camera. Below is my favourite pics clicked at that very spot. Amazing !! We spent some more time clicking groupies, selfies and again happily munching on our snacks.
Common sight in the forested land
The meadows gave way to thick fir forests. The depth of the forest and the silence of the place was spellbounding. Few of the old fir trees would have been some 40 to 50 fts high,hiding the Sun above. We crossed few big log bridges. Those log bridges were created by felling few trees over a gap needing to be crossed and looked quite old.
Tumbling over few ledges, dragging our feets and prepiring we reached a small hut. The hut housed a small shop that provided us with a shade and a much needed break. Besides our halting place, River Lidder was flowing, soothingly with a roaring sound. We loosened our cloths and basked below the warm Sun.
Our Lunch boxes
After a while, of giving some rest to our tired legs and amply tanning ourselves, we had our packed lunch. Our humble lunchboxes contained sweet rice palao, pickle and sauted vegetables. With our hungry tummy finally stopped growling and soul revitalized, we resumed on our trek. Our aim was to reach the Lidderwat camp, which would take us some more 2 hours to reach.
Fantastic view all around
It was around 3 pm we finally reached our Lidderwat base camp. Lidderwat basically is the combination of two words i.e first word ‘Lidder’ and the second word ‘Wat’. ‘Lidder’ obviously referred to the River Lidder and ‘Wat’ is the local name for ‘Sangam’ or the confluence of two rivers.
Google Map of Lidderwat Base Camp
Our cook and his kitchen’s second in command were busy preparing us a hot tea. He soaked ourselves in the last remaining warmth of the setting sun. Bon fire was lit and we all gathered around to enjoy the hot tea and popcorn. An worderful day came to an end.
Evening Snacks at Lidderwat Base camp
Our first camp of Tarshar Marshar Lake trek-Lidderwat Base camp
Lidderwat River Valley
Today’s Stats of the Tarshar Marshar Lake Trek
Total Distance covered : Base village – ‘ARU’ to Lidderwat camp: 10 Kms
Difficulty Level of Tarshar Marshar Lake Trek : Easy-moderate.
Drinking Water availability : Throughout the trek
Altitude gain on Day 1 : 7,900 ft to 9,120 ft
Continued…………
