Sunday 30th July 2017:
After spending one night at Heaven Breeze Houseboat in Nigeen Lake, Srinagar, this morning we set off with our backpacks, heading to Sonamarg to start our Great Lakes Trekking expedition. Away from the noise of cars honking in Srinagar. No wifi. No mobile data.
After spending one night at Heaven Breeze Houseboat in Nigeen Lake, Srinagar, this morning we set off with our backpacks, heading to Sonamarg to start our Great Lakes Trekking expedition. Away from the noise of cars honking in Srinagar. No wifi. No mobile data.
Kashmir is so beautiful, we went ooohh... and aaahh... and wow... before even reaching Sonamarg.
Upon reaching the starting point, our horses and the horsemen were ready waiting for us.
In no time, we were already on our way up to start our expedition.
For most of us, that was our first time riding horses. But with the help of the horsemen, who assisted throughout the journey by guiding us and the horses, we got the hang of it in no time. We all had to get down from our horses upon reaching the security check-point, had our passports checked and photos taken before we were allowed to continue our journey. But let me tell you, even from the security check-point, the view was already so beautiful. Since it was already 12.40 pm by the time we reached the check-point, we had lunch while waiting, and took the opportunity to take more photos, even with the security officers!!
Upon clearance, we headed on, passing through hills and valleys, and even stopped for a short break at the homes of one of the gypsy families (during winter the families would have to move elsewhere as the place is not livable in winter). The children seemed excited to see us, and even asked, of all things, for pens. Too bad we didn't know what to expect earlier, otherwise maybe we could have brought along some pencil colours and some other stationeries.
After the short stop, we proceeded with our journey, this time passing through rivers and we started seeing glaciers.
We finally made it to our campsite around 5.30 pm. While waiting for the horsemen to set up our tents, we took wuduk at the river and did our jamak ta'khir on the grass beside the river. There was a special tent for our meals... we called the tent our "dining hall".
The river water was cold, night time was even colder, so for the most of us (for me at least) cleaning up at the first campsite was by using the wet wipes that we brought along. Oh, for those who may want to know about toilet facility, the toilet was basically set up by digging a hole and popping up a tent on it. The view surrounding our campsite was indeed beautiful.
Monday 31st July 2017:
After packing up our stuff and all tents etc were dismantled, we headed on to our next campsite.
After packing up our stuff and all tents etc were dismantled, we headed on to our next campsite.
Along the way, we came across even more beautiful sights.
The higher the elevation, the more beautiful the view, but at the same time, the more we started feeling altitude sickness, sometimes feeling short of breath just by walking just a short distance. Walking uphill would be even worse.We finally reached our next campsite slightly after 2 pm.We were to stay at this campsite for 3 consecutive nights with day trips planned for the next 2 days.
Despite the very cold water, some of us decided to have a bath in the river. I even washed my hair while wearing the hijab! Shivered I did, but it was satisfying to finally have a bath!
Tuesday 1st August 2017:
It was a bright sunny morning (but still cold nonetheless), and what a sight it was seeing rainbow trouts jumping in the river just beside our camp.
Today's activity was to go up to the glaciers. Again, with the help of our trusted horses and horsemen, we trekked across rivers, hills and valleys.
Upon reaching the glacier at around 10.30 am, our photo shoots began. Hey, we were stepping on snow.... in summer!!! While many in my group took photos with the good looking Kashmiri horsemen, I took the opportunity to take a photo with 2 Kashmiri ladies who were observing us nearby.
By the time we made it back to our campsite, it was lunch time. This time, instead of having our lunch inside the dining tent, we had lunch under the sky.
Initially we wanted to go to the lake around 3pm, some planning to wear baju kurung for the next photoshoot, but it was drizzling and so we decided to just stay at our campsite. In the end we had our photoshoot at the river near our campsite. Some with baju kurungs, some with batik sarongs.
Wednesday 2nd August 2017:
The plan was to visit the 2 lakes. It was another cold and rainy day. But we weren't about to be sitting around at the campsite doing nothing, so we proceeded with the plan to visit the 2 lakes. However, it was dangerous to ride horses at certain parts of the terrain, and so we had to get down and walk uphill. Tiring, but worth all the effort once you see the wonderful landscape.
Going down the hill to get back to our campsite at certain parts was again dangerous if we were to ride our horses. It was wet and slippery and we wouldn't want to fall off our horses in such condition. So yes, the only option was to walk down, which still was not so easy given the slippery condition.
Thursday 3rd August 2017:
It was time to start descending and head on to our final campsite. Thank goodness, it was a bright and sunny day.
Again, there were certain parts of the route where we were asked to get down from our horses and walk. As we were descending, I decided to join a few other friends to walk a little farther to enjoy the view and take photos (much easier to take photos while walking), until we reached a river crossing. Since we didn't want to get our feet wet (and in freezing cold water too!), we waited for our horses before continuing our journey.
We finally reached our 3rd and final campsite at a gypsy village slightly after 2 pm. In contrast to our 2 earlier campsites, this time there were no rivers around us. Instead there was just a small spring for our water source. There goes our hope of having a splash in the river we were hoping for! But, the view from the campsite was still beautiful nonetheless. Besides, that was to be our final night in the mountains and we could look forward to having a good bath at our houseboat the very next day.
Later that evening, we had a campfire, with the horsemen singing and dancing. They did pull in some members of our group to join in their dancing. I however had to retire early as I was down with flu and headache, and really needed to sleep early.
Friday 4th August 2017:
We woke up in the morning to more beautiful views.
It was our final day in the mountains and it was time to head back down. Again, our trusted horses and horsemen made sure our journey was smooth and safe.
We reached the security check-point in no time (where we had our photos taken again) and by the time we reached the start/end point, our mini-busses were already waiting to take us back to our houseboats. After 5 cold nights in the mountains, it was the end of our Great Lakes journey.
It was a tiring journey (especially for a makcik like me), but it was totally WORTH IT! I am so glad I made the trip to this heaven on earth...
Despite the very cold water, some of us decided to have a bath in the river. I even washed my hair while wearing the hijab! Shivered I did, but it was satisfying to finally have a bath!
Tuesday 1st August 2017:
It was a bright sunny morning (but still cold nonetheless), and what a sight it was seeing rainbow trouts jumping in the river just beside our camp.
Today's activity was to go up to the glaciers. Again, with the help of our trusted horses and horsemen, we trekked across rivers, hills and valleys.
Upon reaching the glacier at around 10.30 am, our photo shoots began. Hey, we were stepping on snow.... in summer!!! While many in my group took photos with the good looking Kashmiri horsemen, I took the opportunity to take a photo with 2 Kashmiri ladies who were observing us nearby.
By the time we made it back to our campsite, it was lunch time. This time, instead of having our lunch inside the dining tent, we had lunch under the sky.
Initially we wanted to go to the lake around 3pm, some planning to wear baju kurung for the next photoshoot, but it was drizzling and so we decided to just stay at our campsite. In the end we had our photoshoot at the river near our campsite. Some with baju kurungs, some with batik sarongs.
Wednesday 2nd August 2017:
The plan was to visit the 2 lakes. It was another cold and rainy day. But we weren't about to be sitting around at the campsite doing nothing, so we proceeded with the plan to visit the 2 lakes. However, it was dangerous to ride horses at certain parts of the terrain, and so we had to get down and walk uphill. Tiring, but worth all the effort once you see the wonderful landscape.
Going down the hill to get back to our campsite at certain parts was again dangerous if we were to ride our horses. It was wet and slippery and we wouldn't want to fall off our horses in such condition. So yes, the only option was to walk down, which still was not so easy given the slippery condition.
Thursday 3rd August 2017:
It was time to start descending and head on to our final campsite. Thank goodness, it was a bright and sunny day.
Again, there were certain parts of the route where we were asked to get down from our horses and walk. As we were descending, I decided to join a few other friends to walk a little farther to enjoy the view and take photos (much easier to take photos while walking), until we reached a river crossing. Since we didn't want to get our feet wet (and in freezing cold water too!), we waited for our horses before continuing our journey.
We finally reached our 3rd and final campsite at a gypsy village slightly after 2 pm. In contrast to our 2 earlier campsites, this time there were no rivers around us. Instead there was just a small spring for our water source. There goes our hope of having a splash in the river we were hoping for! But, the view from the campsite was still beautiful nonetheless. Besides, that was to be our final night in the mountains and we could look forward to having a good bath at our houseboat the very next day.
See the small tent beside the tree? That's our mobile toilet!
Later that evening, we had a campfire, with the horsemen singing and dancing. They did pull in some members of our group to join in their dancing. I however had to retire early as I was down with flu and headache, and really needed to sleep early.
Friday 4th August 2017:
We woke up in the morning to more beautiful views.
It was our final day in the mountains and it was time to head back down. Again, our trusted horses and horsemen made sure our journey was smooth and safe.
We reached the security check-point in no time (where we had our photos taken again) and by the time we reached the start/end point, our mini-busses were already waiting to take us back to our houseboats. After 5 cold nights in the mountains, it was the end of our Great Lakes journey.
It was a tiring journey (especially for a makcik like me), but it was totally WORTH IT! I am so glad I made the trip to this heaven on earth...
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