Trekking in Kashmir: Wrap-Up

Gangbal Lake, Kashmir.

When I first traveled to Srinagar in July for our Trekking trip, I really had no idea what to expect. I had done all the ticket and hotel booking up to Srinagar and back. But what exactly would happen in Srinagar was a big mystery. My brother has friends in Kashmir, and he assured me that they would take care of the actual trek.

Ticket and hotel bookings were done using the online portal MakeMyTrip. A really excellent website for planning air travel and hotel bookings. Most of the air travel was done using IndiGo, but for some of the sectors, we used GoAir. Even though both the airlines are classified as "low-cost", they are both excellent and highly recommended.

Originally, our trekking party was 5 people (Myself, My son Shawn, My Brother Roy, and 2 of his friends). However, at the last minute, the friends had to drop out due to other commitments, which left just the 3 of us to do the trekking.

Roy's friends came through - and arranged for us a really fantastic 7 day trek, along with a great deal on the entire package. You can read about the details of the cost and track route here.

Here's the summary of the 7 days, as we traveled through the Himalayan mountain range starting from Naranag and ending at Sonamarg.

Day	Start Point	Destination	Distance	Difficulty	Blog Entry
1	Naranag	Trunkol	12k	Hard	Click to read
2	Trunkol	Gangbal	5k	Easy	Click to read
3	Gangbal	Gadsar	19k	Very Hard	Click to read
4	Gadsar	-	0k	-	Click to read
5	Gadsar	Vishnasar	16k	Very Hard	Click to read
6	Vishnasar	Shokhdari	19k	Hard	Click to read
7	Shokhdari	Sonamarg	5k	Easy	Click to read

As for the essential list of items to be carried for a trip such as this, my recommendations are as follows:

*Note: This assumes that you have booked a proper trekking tour, and the tent, sleeping bags, blankets and food will be taken care of by the tour operator*

1. TREKKING SHOES:
A good pair of trekking shoes is essential. The local Kashmiri people may be able to scale big mountains using simple plastic shoes, but we can't. We need all the help we can get - and a good pair of trekking shoes does exactly that. Protects you from slipping while ascending on descending on slippery trails.

"North Face" brand of trekking shoes.

I used the "North Face" trekking shoes. It does not really matter what brand you use - as long you find them comfortable, and they are specifically designed for trekking.

How do you know if the shoes are designed for trekking?. Well, they have special grooves on the soles to give proper grip while climbing or descending. Look at the sole of the shoe, and see if they have patterns as shown below.

Grooves on Trekking shoes.

As you can see, trekking shoes have special grooves. The grooves on the toes is the grip for climbing, and the grooves on the heels is the grip while descending.

2. WALKING STICKS:
Invest in a good pair of walking sticks. They are very useful to keep your balance on slippery trails.

Walking Sticks.

3. CAMERA:
This is a bit tricky. If you want the best pictures, you should obviously take the best camera you can afford. The only problem is the best cameras tend to be heavy - especially if you are are lugging a dSLR with different lenses.

Nikon D300

For example, I carried with me my Nikon D300 along with 2 very heavy lenses, plus batteries, filters, etc. The camera bag itself weighed around 8 Kg. This may not be a problem when trekking short distances, but when you are walking non-stop for 8 to 10 hours, those 8 Kilos end up being a heavy burden on your shoulders.

My suggestion is to carry something small - yet gives good pictures (because you will take lots of them). Perhaps one of those 4/3rd systems like the Panasonic GF3 or NEX-5 from Sony. Even a point and shoot camera will be fine because most of the pictures will be taken in daylight.

4. BACKPACK:
Since the backpack will be carried by the support team, the quality of the backpack is not that important. You should get a bag that is easy to organize your clothes, medicines, etc.

65-liter backpack (North Face)

I used a 65-liter backpack from North Face, which was just ideal to pack all the items required for the trek.

4. WHAT GOES IN THE BAG?
The following is a list of things I packed for our trek, based on the suggestion given to me by one of my experienced trekking friend. I found the list to be comprehensive.

CLOTHES	TOILETRY	MEDICINE	MISC
5 pair socks	Toilet Paper	Personal meds	Knee support
5 undies	Toothbrush + Paste	Painkillers (lots)	Sunscreen
4 t-shirts	Hair brush	Eye/Ear/Nose drops	Sun glasses
1 long-sleeved shirt	Shaving Kit	Plasters	Torch
1 jumper	Ear Buds	Tablets for Diarrhea	Washing Soap
1 jacket	Small Towel	Bandages	Pocket Knife
2 shorts	Soap	Antibiotics	Lighter
1 rain poncho	Lipstick (yes lipstick)	Electrolytes	Passport, Tickets
1 woolen cap		Vaseline	Water bottle
1 pair gloves			Chocolates
1 warm paint			Energy bars

That's about it. I encourage people to experience the beauty of Kashmir. You need to put in the effort of walking, because that's the only way you can reach these remote places. But the reward is a view of Heaven on Earth.