• Top Story
  • Weekly
  • Latest
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Interview
  • Feature
  • Sports
  • News
  • J&K
  • World
  • Education
  • Health
  • Economy
  • Culture
  • Literature
  • Lifestyle
  • Books
What's Hot

Belt and Road Initiative: How Real is ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’?

January 8, 2025

Why Pegasus Report Must be Made Public

December 25, 2024

America’s Waning Global Position

November 4, 2024
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Trending
  • Belt and Road Initiative: How Real is ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’?
  • Why Pegasus Report Must be Made Public
  • America’s Waning Global Position
  • Book Review—Shawls and Shawlbafs of Kashmir
  • Hundreds of Sheep Face Starvation as Forest Officials Bar Grazing
  • Photo Essay: Fire Fighting Service In Dal Lake
  • Pheran—How Kashmir’s Traditional Attire Evolved Through Centuries
  • Pheran—How Kashmir’s Traditional Attire Evolved Through Centuries
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
 Kashmir Newsline – Expression Unleashed Kashmir Newsline – Expression Unleashed
  • Weekly

    Weekly Dec 25 – Dec 31, 2022

    December 25, 2022

    Weekly Dec 05 – 11 Dec,2022

    December 7, 2022

    Weekly Nov 28 – Dec 04, 2022

    November 30, 2022

    Weekly November 21-27

    November 22, 2022

    Weekly November 14-20

    November 16, 2022
  • News
    1. India
    2. South Aisa
    3. World
    Featured
    Recent

    Belt and Road Initiative: How Real is ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’?

    January 8, 2025

    Why Pegasus Report Must be Made Public

    December 25, 2024

    America’s Waning Global Position

    November 4, 2024
  • Feature
    1. Interview
    2. Literature
    3. Editorial
    4. Opinion
    5. Top Story
    6. Books
    7. View All

    Interview: ‘Travel, Observing and Tasting is the Best Way to Learn’

    October 2, 2023

    AS Dulat’s Kashmir Stories

    February 4, 2023

    Interview: ‘People are Deeply Pained by Mirwaiz’s Absence from Jamia Masjid’

    November 16, 2022

    ‘Abrogation of Article 370 has Made Kashmir More Dangerous than 1990s’

    October 18, 2022

    The Poet of Love—Daagh Dehlvi’s Poetry has Native Idiom and Sufi Undercurrent

    May 30, 2023

    The Breadth and Sweep of Sahir Ludhianvi’s Works

    March 8, 2023

    Memories of Gulmarg

    January 28, 2023

    ‘If This Language Lives On, Rahi Also Lives On’

    January 18, 2023

    Kashmir Needs Collective Fight against Glaring Drug Abuse

    December 27, 2022

    Healthcare Emergency

    December 7, 2022

    Traffic Mess: Who is to Blame? 

    November 30, 2022

    Give the Artists the Space They Need

    November 23, 2022

    Belt and Road Initiative: How Real is ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’?

    January 8, 2025

    Why Pegasus Report Must be Made Public

    December 25, 2024

    America’s Waning Global Position

    November 4, 2024

    Writer’s Block What!

    October 8, 2023

    Belt and Road Initiative: How Real is ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’?

    January 8, 2025

    Why Pegasus Report Must be Made Public

    December 25, 2024

    America’s Waning Global Position

    November 4, 2024

    Book Review—Shawls and Shawlbafs of Kashmir

    September 12, 2024

    Book Review—Shawls and Shawlbafs of Kashmir

    September 12, 2024

    Book Review: The Divine Dialect of Flowers

    October 5, 2023

    The Collision That Birthed Religion

    March 18, 2023

    Book Review: What is the Meter of the Dictionary?

    March 2, 2023

    Belt and Road Initiative: How Real is ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’?

    January 8, 2025

    Why Pegasus Report Must be Made Public

    December 25, 2024

    America’s Waning Global Position

    November 4, 2024

    Book Review—Shawls and Shawlbafs of Kashmir

    September 12, 2024
  • J&K

    Hundreds of Sheep Face Starvation as Forest Officials Bar Grazing

    March 14, 2024

    Photo Essay: Fire Fighting Service In Dal Lake

    March 8, 2024

    Tatakooti—Challenges of Owning a Towering Peak

    October 5, 2023

    Interview: ‘Travel, Observing and Tasting is the Best Way to Learn’

    October 2, 2023

    What is Ailing the Apple Farming?

    September 16, 2023
  • Lifestyle

    Eating Together Binds Families

    November 22, 2022

    How Smartphones are Harming Children

    October 25, 2022

    Raising a Champion

    October 11, 2022

    The Reluctant ‘Urban Poor’

    August 28, 2022

    The Reluctant ‘Urban Poor’

    August 21, 2022
  • Economy

    Explained: What is a Credit Score and Why is it Important?

    December 27, 2022

    Rights of Special Bank Customers

    November 30, 2022

    How to be a Socially Responsible Investor

    November 23, 2022

    Stock Exchange Crimes

    November 16, 2022

    Avoid Debt Trap

    November 8, 2022
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Sports

    Tatakooti—Challenges of Owning a Towering Peak

    October 5, 2023

    When Salim was in the Mood

    July 12, 2023

    Why Does Team India Fail Consistently?

    December 27, 2022

    Hail Ben Stokes and Co.

    December 7, 2022

    England Tour of Pakistan

    November 30, 2022
 Kashmir Newsline – Expression Unleashed Kashmir Newsline – Expression Unleashed
Home»J&K»A Trek to South Kashmir’s Alpine Lakes
J&K

A Trek to South Kashmir’s Alpine Lakes

Kashmir NewslineBy Kashmir NewslineJuly 14, 2022No Comments6 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

One wrong step led to some trials and travails but, at the end of the day, it was more than worth it.

Shahnawaz Khanday

I was embarking on the trek to Alpine lakes located high up in the foothills of Bramsakli for the third time in as many years. I, along with some friends, left at the crack of dawn, immediately after the morning prayers. The eight of us, including some professionals and experienced alpinists, drove straight to Halan hamlet in Kulgam which is the starting point to what are now widely known as trekking routes of Chiranbal meadow, Bramsar and Chirsar alpine lakes.

We divided ourselves into two groups – the one headed by me chose to trek up the Halan gully to reach Kadlabal, a meadow with a log bridge over the ZajinarNullah connecting Hakwas and Zajimarg to the South West with the hills of Manzgam and D.H. Pora.

My group trekked somewhat frolicsomely all the way to Kadlabal passing through dense fir and pine woods and lush green meadows to reach Kadlabal above Chiranbal meadow in 2 hours or so. There, we waited for the other group which had Inayatullah and Rouf, two ace trekkers, leading it. We waited for some 40 minutes but found no trace of our trekking mates for miles. Presuming that Inayat’s group might have gone ahead of us and that it would be possible to locate them from a distance in the vastness of the Hakwas meadow, we again got up and marched on. We walked and waited, walked and waited but there was no trace of the group. Finally we decided to cross the right shoulder of the upper Hakwas and to cross over to Chitti Nadinullah so as to trek to Chirsar and Shahsar. We crossed into a ridge overlooking Chitti Nadinullah and meadow to the west, walked into gullies with scree and  snow avalanches having made their way to the lower reaches, walked some two kms of terrain with huge rocks which made it considerably difficult to move on without exposing ourselves to the danger of falling off the ridge.  After 30 to 40 minutes of careful trudge, we were on a high rocky patch that gave us first glimpse of the tranquil, turquoise waters of Chirsar. I could see Bilal and Aadil, my fellow trekkers, in distance slogging their way towards me. In a few minutes they joined me. In seconds we were at the shores of the lake, soaking in and trying to absorb the divinity of Chirsar and the allure of mighty Bramsakli peaks up above. The fresh snow fall had added to the mystical beauty of the place. Chirsar is a mid size alpine lake located at an altitude of 3520 mtrs approximately with milky blue water that flows into it from the glaciers of Bramsakli peaks. Chittinadi meanders its way out of Chirsar and joins Zajinar Nullah only to merge with waters of Vishow Nullah at Sangam some 6 Kms above Aharbal. We unpacked our backpacks, took out lunch boxes and helped ourselves with whatever we found inside them. Post lunch, Bilal served hot cups of tea and after an hour or so we were on our feet again.

We headed towards the south East of Chirsar, negotiating the slippery snow and rocks that dot its eastern shores. In 15 minutes we were walking right through a beautiful and green carpeted water meadow with a number of streamlets making their way into Chirsar. A daunting task of hiking up a wall of rocks was staring at us. Bilal and I took up the challenge to trudge on. Adil followed. It took us some 30-40 minutes to reach a rocky plateau which was still buried under layers of snow, some of it fresh. We meandered our way bypassing boulders and patches of snow which we thought could cave in under our feat. What we saw at the far end of the plateau was something we had only imagined. A deep bowl surrounded on one side by the peaks and glacier snout of Bramsakli, which tower over everything and the plateau, and on the other Shahsar or what the tribals there call Konsar sar, a veritable jewel hidden away from the human gaze. Located at an altitude of 3700 meters, the lake is directly fed by Bramsakli glacial melt and is frozen for most part of the year. As we could see, several inches of deep fresh snowfall had occurred only a few days ago and the rocky shores of the lake were still under heaps of snow.

We clicked some pictures and shot some videos of the lake and decided to set off to ascend to the highest point on the left shoulder.

We might have walked some hundred odd metres when we noticed fresh pugmarks of some wild animals, most probably leopards. The foot prints were going all the way to the middle of the ridge we intended to reach. On further examination of the surroundings, we noticed more pug marks going up and down the plateau and disappearing in a gully in distance. We decided to halt and take stock of the situation. After a few minutes of discussion, we decided that any further movement could be fraught with danger so it was sensible to back off and descend from the plateau. It took us an hour to reach Chirsar and from there some 2 hours to reach Kadlabal. When we reached the top of Halan and Mainzpal forests, it was pitch dark and we had to switch on our solitary headlight to walk.

Things went uneventfully for long till we reached a point where we missed the track and instead of going left, went right only to find ourselves in a thick forest which took us further away from the trail head we were supposed to reach. It took us more than two hours in pitch dark and scary conditions to reach the shoulder of the hill wherefrom we could see lights emanating from the Halan Village household. Thanks to Strava and some Gujjars who volunteered to guide us on a moonless night for a kilometre or so, we could finally manage to get back on the trail and reach our vehicles safely at around 10:45 pm, braving all the trials and travails thrown up by one wrong step on the trek.

Meanwhile, Inayat’s group was still descending from the hill top above Halan and it would take them half an hour to reach us. They told us they had trekked to  Bramsar and Novsar, which is an offbeat tarn, a few hundred feet above Bramsar and  nestled in and fed by the glaciers of Bramsakli.

P.S: Shahsar and and Novsar were discovered by a group of trekkers, of which I was a member, in 2020. Since then, a couple of trekkers/ trekking groups have visited these rarely explored tarns.

Shahnawaz Khanday is a college teacher and an avid trekker who also loves to travel and read.

 

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Kashmir Newsline
  • Website

Related Posts

Hundreds of Sheep Face Starvation as Forest Officials Bar Grazing

March 14, 2024

Photo Essay: Fire Fighting Service In Dal Lake

March 8, 2024

Tatakooti—Challenges of Owning a Towering Peak

October 5, 2023

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Posts

Team India’s Next Big Thing

July 6, 202227,463 Views

Why This Alpine Lake Trek Stands Out

July 6, 202225,423 Views

India’s Majoritarian Politics and the Role of Media

July 6, 202224,120 Views

Fragile Media Economies and Lack of Opportunities in Kashmir

July 6, 202223,225 Views
Don't Miss
Top Story

Belt and Road Initiative: How Real is ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’?

By Kashmir NewslineJanuary 8, 20250

BRI’s transformative potential extends beyond economic development. It has the power to reshape global trade…

Why Pegasus Report Must be Made Public

December 25, 2024

America’s Waning Global Position

November 4, 2024

Book Review—Shawls and Shawlbafs of Kashmir

September 12, 2024
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from SmartMag about art & design.

Based out of Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and brought out in print as a weekly with online presence as well, Kashmir Newsline is solely committed to ethical, fearless journalism. We at Kashmir Newsline cover politics, geopolitics, international relations, social issues, health, sports and almost everything else as objectively as humanly possible. Kashmir Newsline carries detailed reports and in-depth analysis on multiple developments happening in Kashmir and around the world.

Facebook X (Twitter)
Our Picks

Belt and Road Initiative: How Real is ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’?

January 8, 2025

Why Pegasus Report Must be Made Public

December 25, 2024

America’s Waning Global Position

November 4, 2024
Most Popular

Team India’s Next Big Thing

July 6, 202227,463 Views

Why This Alpine Lake Trek Stands Out

July 6, 202225,423 Views

India’s Majoritarian Politics and the Role of Media

July 6, 202224,120 Views
Facebook X (Twitter)
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Politics
  • J&K
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us
© 2025 Kashmir Newsline. Designed by NexG IT Solutions.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Go to mobile version