Kathgodam Railway Station
Bodpathri Lakes Trek is the fantastic meadow and alpine lake trek of Kashmir. This trek is quite unique in its landscape and vast meadows which are unparallel. Even the meadows of the Kashmir Great Lakes trek fall short before the pristine and huge meadows of this trek. The trek falls in the Pir Panjal Range of Kashmir. It is the first Pir Panjal Range trek that we have been doing for a long now. The entire trail was under army surveillance and was quite a restricted area. However, the trail and the entire Pir Panjal Range is now thrown open to trekkers. The trek starts from the famous offbeat destination of Kashmir called Doodhpathri.
Bodpathri Lakes Trek is an easy to moderate trek which promises to mesmerize you with its utter breathtaking serenity and beauty. The trek is finished in 6 days and goes via lush carpets of grass, has an abundance of alpine lakes and the shade of forest cover. The trek gives you a wide view of the Pir Panjal range and you get to see the lofty peaks of this range from Sunset peak to Trattakoti peak. A trekker gets to see six alpine lakes on the trail of this trek and the two lakes of them are Bodsar and Pamsar lakes. Another lake called Damamsar lake is at par in beauty with other alpine lakes of Kashmir.
Bodpathri Lakes trek is a Himalayan traverse across the lush carpet of grass and along the fresh alpine lakes under the towering peaks of the Pir Panjal range. Imagine yourself in the middle of the meadow and they stretch as far as the eye goes and they seem to merge with the mountain range.
Another feature of the Bodpathri lakes trek is the serenity of this trek. This trek is still offbeat, and you will rarely see people around you. This makes this trek special in the time of crowded trails of Uttrakhand and other treks of Kashmir.
Bodpathri lakes trek is an easy to moderate trek. This is recommended for fit beginners. This trek is a mix of meadow walks, boulder patches, river crossings, ascents, and descents. This trek has some difficult days like the days when you will be exploring the alpine lakes and has to ascend the ridges. However, this trek does not require any mountaineering technical knowledge and practice. If you are fit and if you haven’t ever trekked, you will be able to finish this trek. One has to be cautious while crossing the boulder sections and river crossings. And the ascents and the descent on the last day are heavy on your legs.
July to September is the best time to do Bodpathri lakes trek. When the rest of the country is under the spell of monsoon, that is the best time to go for this trek. In summer, the best months are from July to September. In winter the Bodpathri lakes trek is closed because of the heavy snowfall.
In the months of autumn i.e from October onwards, the trek gets closed. This is because of the snowfall on the higher reaches of this trek. This trek is also not accessible in spring i.e from March to May as the snow is still in the upper reaches.
This is the first trekking day. The gradient of the day is easy. You will start from the Doodhpathri meadow and after crossing the dhoodhganga river you start ascending the forest cover. The ascend will take around 2 to 3 hours of mild-paced walking. The trail is definite and winds up until you reach above the tree line in the clearing called Diskal meadow. This is from where the meadows start and will be your company until the end of the trek. Here at Diskal meadow, you will be welcomed by a small settlement of Shepherd. The walk will then take you via some short ascends and descends until you find the mountain ridge. Start ascending this mountain ridge and once you reach the highest point of this ridge, you will see the vast Ashtaar valley in front of you spread in beauty and charm.
You will have to descend from the ridge towards your campsite. The descent is via boulder section and river crossing. You will be camping beside the river stream and in the vicinity of the shepherd huts.
The gradient of the day is again easy. You will be ascending around 300m today. The day will be of gradual ascents and will have some river crossings. The trek will start with a short ascend and then a descent. The descent will have boulder patches and then there is a short ascend and then a vast meadow opening on which you will walk. This flat meadow will last for around 2 km until you will have to ascend again. Shortly afterward you will have to cross the river stream and after which is your Gurwansar campsite.
The gradient of the day is moderate to difficult. This is the day you will see the Pamsar Lake – the vast lake tucked away in the middle of nature. This trekking day is long. It will take around 7 hours of moderate-paced trekking to reach the next campsite.
The day starts with an ascend on a ridge which is followed by a descent into the clearing. This day is the succession of valleys and ridges. After almost every ridge you will be seen a beautiful valley. After the descent, you will trek on a ledge for a few kilometers. Shortly afterward you will reach Pamsar Lake after ascending for around a kilometer. As the length of this lake is huge, you will have to explore it by walking along its banks to see it fully.
From the lake, there is again ascent and descent and some boulder section until you reach your campsite at Duriem.
Today is the toughest day of the trek. It is a long day of trekking where you will have to ascend many ridges to explore the different lakes of the trek.
Post breakfast, start early with the proper trekking gear. Fill your water bottles and start ascending for around 3km. From here you will go to explore Bodsar Lake. You will have to come back to the point where you started going towards Bodsar Lake. From the viewpoint where you see Bodsar Lake, you will also see another lake called Lokutsar Lake.
After this, you will come down to the same spot where you took a trail to Bodsar Lake. From here start ascending in the boulder patch and a steep ascend. Shortly you will get to see the lake.
After a few ascends and descends you will walk on the ridge. And from there you will see the gorgeous Damamsar Lake, Navkansar I, and Navkansar II. These are all glacier-fed lakes. The campsite is then a complete descent from this point. The campiste is at Gadtar.
This is the last day of the trek. The grade of the day is moderate. It has descents and river crossing. You will be losing altitude on this day. There is no ascent.
The day starts with the river crossing and then a continuous descent along the wavy landscape. Towards the end of your descent, you will be in the famous Tosamidan valley. This is unmatched in its beauty. Shortly afterward you will reach the road and the cab waiting there will take you to Srinagar.
