Kashmir Great Lakes: From Vishansar to Dal and Wular

The Kashmir Great Lakes are the reason many hikers come to Kashmir at all. In about a week on foot from Sonamarg to Naranag you pass Vishansar, Kishansar, Gadsar, the Satsar chain, Gangabal and Nundkol: turquoise water, summer meadows and three high passes. But the great lakes of Kashmir don't stop at that one trek. There are more glacial lakes above Pahalgam and in the Pir Panjal, and lower down there's Dal, Nigeen, Wular and Manasbal on the valley floor.

This guide puts them all in one place. We've grouped 30 lakes by area: the classic Kashmir Great Lakes trek, the Pahalgam and Dachigam lakes, the Pir Panjal and Gulmarg, the valley lakes around Srinagar and a short Jammu section. For each one you get a rough altitude, whether you can drive there or have to walk, where people usually start and the usual season. Where a TrailX route actually reaches a lake, we link it so you can open the map and check the elevation profile before you go. The map above shows every lake we could place.

How to read this guide

A few ground rules before the tables.

• Altitudes are approximate. We use figures from Wikipedia articles and official sources, rounded. Some lakes have no reliable published figure. Trek operators and tourism pages quote very different numbers for lakes like Alpather, so we've left those as a dash rather than guess.
• Access is one of three things. "Drive-up" means a road reaches the shore or gets within about a kilometre. "Trek" means you can only get there on foot (or by pony). "Restricted" would mean permits or border rules limit ordinary access; none of the lakes here sit in a closed zone, but several trek routes have checkpoints and registration rules, which we flag in the text.
• Seasons are typical, not promises. The high lakes are usually reachable from about June to September. Snow can linger well into July on north-facing slopes, and early snowfall can close the passes in September.
• TrailX routes are matched by GPS. We only list a route against a lake if its recorded or planned track comes within 500 m of the lake's shoreline (or 700 m of its centre where we had no outline). A dash means we don't have a route there yet.

The Kashmir Great Lakes trek

The Kashmir Great Lakes trek is the best-known trek in Kashmir. It runs between Sonamarg in the Sind valley and Naranag near Kangan. It's usually done in six or seven days and is generally rated moderate to difficult. Most groups start from Sonamarg, which is considered the easier direction. The highest point is Gadsar Pass at about 4,190 m, and you also cross Nichnai Pass (about 4,080 m) and the Zaj Pass (about 4,041 m) above Gangabal. Our guide to the Himalayan passes of India covers Nichnai and the other Jammu & Kashmir passes.

Our Kashmir Great Lakes route runs from Sonamarg past Vishansar, Gadsar and Gangabal to Naranag. It's a planned hiking route of 147.3 km with 4,401 m of ascent, rated Extreme, and its track passes within 200 m of the shoreline of all six lakes in the table. That distance is longer than most published itineraries quote, so look at the line on the map before you use it to plan your days.

The route, day by day

Every operator splits the trek a little differently, and many add a spare day for weather. A typical itinerary from Sonamarg looks like this.

1. Sonamarg to the first camp. You're dropped off near Sonamarg (Shitkadi) and climb through forest and meadow to the first camp, at Shekdur (also written Shaukdari) or a little further on towards Nichnai. Shepherd families (Gujjar and Bakarwal) spend the summer up here.
2. Over Nichnai Pass to Vishansar. The first real climb takes you over Nichnai Pass (about 4,080 m) and down into a wide meadow at Vishansar Lake. Some people pick up a phone signal at the pass.
3. Vishansar and Kishansar. Many groups use this as a rest and acclimatisation day. Kishansar sits less than a kilometre beyond Vishansar and drains into it.
4. Gadsar Pass to Gadsar Lake. A steep climb behind Kishansar leads to Gadsar Pass (about 4,190 m), the high point of the trek, with a view down onto both lakes. The trail then drops to Gadsar Lake.
5. Gadsar to Satsar. A long day through high meadows to the Satsar lakes. There's an army post on this stretch, and trekkers usually have to show their ID.
6. Satsar over Zaj Pass to Gangabal. The trail climbs to the Zaj Pass (about 4,041 m), then drops to the twin lakes of Gangabal and Nundkol at the foot of Mount Harmukh.
7. Gangabal down to Naranag. A long, steep descent through forest ends at Naranag, with its ancient temple ruins,, where the road begins.

If you only have one or two days, the Naranag–Gangabal walk gets you to the biggest lake of the trek, Gangabal, without the passes. It's about 15 km each way, but the climb out of Naranag is steep.

Vishansar and Kishansar

Vishansar (≈3,710 m), the "lake of Vishnu", is about a kilometre long and is the source of the Kishanganga river. It's sacred to Kashmiri Pandits and is home to brown trout. Kishansar (Krishansar) is named after Krishna. Wikipedia gives it the same 3,710 m, although it sits above Vishansar and drains into it. You'll camp here for one or two nights. The twin lakes seen from Gadsar Pass are the classic view of the whole trek.

Gadsar

Gadsar (≈3,600 m) means "lake of fishes" and is also known as Yemsar. It stays frozen roughly from November to April, and floating ice is common even in summer. It's about 108 km from Srinagar. Besides the main trek route, you can reach it on a 28 km trail from Naranag. The lake drains north towards the Kishanganga at Tulail.

Satsar

Satsar (≈3,610 m) means "seven lakes": a chain of small lakes in a narrow valley about 4 km long. In late summer two or three of them can dry up. The valley is also a natural crossing between the Tulail and Sind valleys.

Gangabal and Nundkol

Gangabal (≈3,576 m), also called Harmukh Ganga, is the largest lake on the trek. It's about 2.5 km long and sits right under Mount Harmukh. It's sacred to Hindus as an abode of Shiva, and the annual Harmukh Gangabal Yatra ends here. Nundkol (≈3,505 m), or Nandi Kund, lies about 1.5 km south of Gangabal and is fed by it. Most groups camp between the two. From here, Naranag is about 15 km away, mostly downhill.

Pahalgam, Lidder and Dachigam lakes

Above Pahalgam, the Lidder valley leads to a second set of high lakes: Tarsar and Marsar, the "twin sisters" on either side of a ridge of about 4,000 m, plus Sundarsar between them. Tulian is a long day out from Pahalgam, and Sheshnag lies on the Amarnath pilgrimage route. Our Jammu & Kashmir destination page collects the routes we have in the region.

Tarsar (≈3,795 m) is an almond-shaped lake with the Kolahoi massif about 20 km to the east. It holds floating ice even in summer. The usual approach is from Aru near Pahalgam via the meadows of Lidderwat, which makes the Tarsar Marsar trek the second classic lake trek in Kashmir. Marsar sits just across the ridge inside Dachigam National Park. It drains the other way, into the stream that eventually feeds Dal Lake. Sundarsar is a small lake on the usual route between the two. We couldn't find an official altitude for Marsar or Sundarsar, so they're shown without one.

Sheshnag (≈3,590 m) lies on the trail to the Amarnath cave, about 7 km beyond Chandanwari. During the Amarnath Yatra the route is managed for pilgrims and registration rules apply, so check the current arrangements if you plan to go then. Tulian (≈3,684 m) lies about 16 km southwest of Pahalgam, above Baisaran. It's surrounded on three sides by peaks over 4,800 m and often has chunks of ice floating in it.

Pir Panjal and Gulmarg lakes

The Pir Panjal range separates the Kashmir Valley from Poonch, Rajouri and the Jammu side. Its crest is dotted with small glacial lakes. Some are pilgrimage sites, others are only known to shepherds and a few trekking groups.

Kausar Nag (Konsarnag, ≈3,500 m) in Kulgam district is about 3 km long and is the source of the Veshaw river. In Hindu tradition it's linked to Vishnu, and a pilgrimage still reaches it from the Reasi side. Trekkers usually come from Aharbal, home of the well-known waterfall, on a trail of about 36 km.

Nandan Sar (≈3,500 m) is the largest lake in the Pir Panjal lakes group, which is known for its deep blue water. The Poonch district administration lists Nandan Sar together with Sukhsar, Neelsar, Bhagsar, Katorasar and Kaldachnisar as the alpine lakes of its side of the range. The official trekking route runs from Poonch via Behramgala and Girgen to Nandan Gali and the lake. We've mapped the ones we could identify in OpenStreetMap. Sukhsar isn't on the map because we couldn't pin down which lake it is.

Alpather lies below the Apharwat peaks above Gulmarg. Official tourism pages describe it as frozen from November to mid-June and reached by the Gulmarg gondola and a hike of about 1.5 km. Published altitudes for it range from about 3,800 m to 4,500 m, so we haven't picked one. Lower down, Nilnag (≈2,390 m) in Budgam is a small turquoise lake that you can drive to from Srinagar via Chadoora and Nagam.

Valley lakes: Dal, Nigeen, Wular and Manasbal

The Kashmir Valley floor sits at about 1,580 m, and its lakes are linked by the Jhelum and a web of channels. These are the lakes you can visit without hiking boots, and the best place to start a Kashmir trip.

Dal Lake (≈1,583 m) is Srinagar's lake: about 18 km² of open water inside a wider wetland, with roughly 15.5 km of shoreline lined by houseboats, hotels and the Mughal gardens of Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh. The floating gardens bloom with lotus in July and August, and in hard winters the lake can freeze. Nigeen, joined to Dal by a narrow strait near Hazratbal, is quieter and known for its houseboats. Brari Nambal, Khushal Sar, Gil Sar and Anchar are smaller lakes in the same chain of channels. All four are badly degraded by encroachment and pollution, although clean-up work has started on some of them.

Two of our longer routes pass these lakes. The Hanges Boots Ladakh Circuit, a 2,445.1 km off-road loop with 23,313 m of ascent rated Hard, runs along the shore of Dal Lake and close to Khushal Sar, Gil Sar, Anchar and Brari Nambal on its way through Srinagar. The Mushkoh Valley via Kaubal Gali route (937.8 km off-road, 12,176 m of ascent, Hard) follows the shore road at Manasbal Lake. Manasbal is a deep lake about 30 km from Srinagar, ringed by lotus in July and August and overlooked by Nur Jahan's Jharokha Bagh. Its nickname is the "supreme gem of all Kashmir lakes".

Wular Lake (≈1,580 m) near Bandipora is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the Indian subcontinent. Fed by the Jhelum, it swells and shrinks with the seasons, from about 30 km² to 189 km², and has been a Ramsar wetland since 1990. Hokersar, 10 km northwest of Srinagar, is a protected wetland and the largest bird reserve in the valley. It's busiest in the colder months, when migratory ducks, geese and waders stop there.

Jammu division: Mansar and Surinsar

South of the Pir Panjal, the Jammu division has very different lakes: low, warm and wooded, an easy day trip from Jammu city.

Mansar and Surinsar are twin lakes about 9 km apart, designated together as a Ramsar site in 2005. Mansar has a shrine to Shesha on its eastern bank and is a pilgrimage spot as well as a picnic one. Surinsar has a small island in the middle.

Permits and access

The rules change more often than the trails do, so treat this as a checklist rather than a rulebook.

• Trek registration. The Kashmir Great Lakes, Tarsar Marsar and Gangabal treks have at times required registration with the local tourism, forest or police authorities. Organised groups usually handle this. If you go independently, ask in Sonamarg, Pahalgam or Ganderbal before setting out.
• Carry original ID. Army posts sit on several routes, including near the Satsar lakes on the Great Lakes trek. Foreign nationals should carry their passport and visa.
• National parks. Marsar lies inside Dachigam National Park, and entry to parts of the park needs permission from the wildlife department.
• Pilgrimage seasons. During the Amarnath Yatra, the Chandanwari to Sheshnag trail is run as a pilgrimage route with its own registration and timings. The Gangabal and Kausar Nag yatras also bring crowds on their dates.
• Check the security situation. Conditions in Kashmir can change quickly. Look at current advisories and local news before you travel, and follow local advice on the ground.

Staying safe at high lakes

All of the trek lakes here are at about 3,500 m or higher, and the passes between them go above 4,000 m. Our guide to crossing Himalayan mountain passes has the full list of do's and don'ts, but these are the essentials.

1. Acclimatise. Spend a night or two in Sonamarg, Pahalgam or Gulmarg before you go high, and keep the daily gain modest. A rest day at Vishansar is common for a reason.
2. Read the profile, not just the distance. A 12 km day with a 4,000 m pass in it is a very different day from 12 km of meadow. Check the elevation profile of the route before each day.
3. Respect cold water. These lakes are fed by snow and glaciers, and some hold ice all summer. Swimming is a real hypothermia risk, and stream crossings are highest in the afternoon melt.
4. Watch the weather. Rain and even snow can come through in any month up here. Start early, cross the passes before the afternoon clouds build, and be ready to turn back.
5. Take the map offline. There's little or no signal on most of these treks. Download the route and regional maps in the TrailX app before you leave town, and see how to download GPX files if you use another device.
6. Pack for cold nights. Even in July, nights at Gadsar or Gangabal can drop close to freezing. Our gear checklist and safety guidelines cover the basics.

You can also sketch your own lake route in the Route Composer. It shows the elevation profile and weather along the route, and you can compare two options side by side.

Sources

We checked every lake against published sources and left out anything we couldn't confirm.

• Wikipedia articles for individual lakes and treks, especially Great Lakes Trek, Gangabal Lake, Gadsar Lake, Tarsar Lake, Kausar Nag, Dal Lake and Wular Lake. Our full list of per-lake sources sits alongside this guide.
• Poonch district administration: trekking for the Pir Panjal lakes, and official tourism pages (Incredible India, JKTDC) for Alpather.
• OpenStreetMap for lake outlines and coordinates.
• TrailX GPS tracks, compared point by point against each lake's shoreline.

Where to next?

• Mountain passes in India: a guide to the Himalayan passes
• Jammu & Kashmir trails and routes
• Trails across India
• Crossing Himalayan mountain passes: do's and don'ts
• Get the TrailX app for offline maps