We fell in love with the beauty of Kashmir’s great lakes at first sight. Say ‘love at first sight’. Beauty lies in every part of the trek; valleys, mountains, lakes, and meadows will all leave us speechless. However, in reality, the trek is supposed to be quite challenging. You might think that this trek involves strolling around in grassy meadows, but wait! That’s not it! The pictures justify the trek’s beauty; but they do not depict its difficulty. As mentioned earlier, the trek involves steeper ascents and descents, high altitude mountain passes, longer walks and much more. Our trekkers consider it a moderately difficult trek, so one who wishes to opt for it must follow a good fitness regime. To complete the KGL trek without any hassle, one must keep working out to build the stamina at least four months before the trek.
Kashmir great lakes trek difficulty level:
What makes the trek most challenging? Well, multiple aspects make that trek difficult. We have listed a few of them below in detail with suitable practices to overcome those challenges.
Kashmir great lakes trek difficulty level: Increasing altitudes, steep ascents and descents
The KGL trek has many steep ascents and descents which tests your mental and physical strength. The difficulties at KGL keep on increasing with each passing day because of the increasing altitude. As you progress towards Gadsar Pass (4,200 m/13,800 ft) which is the highest point of the trek, the altitudes of the consecutive campsites keep increasing. (Sitkari- 2,800 m/9,186 ft | Nichnai- 3,505 m/11,500 ft | Vishansar- 3,710 m/12,172 ft)
The Gadsar pass has steeper sections that will test your physical endurance. This requires mental and physical toughness to cross those steep ascents and descents.
The trek to Nichanai is highly challenging because you will have to climb around 914 m briefly for 7 to 8 hours. While the Gadsar pass is challenging, the tough terrain towards Nichanai should also be taken into consideration.
The trek trail is pretty tough so we recommend you to carefully listen to the instructions given by your trek leader and follow them. Because of the high altitudes, you might also experience symptoms of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). You must be prepared both mentally and physically to cross such challenging trails. Your core body, legs and shoulders need to be strong. So, work on these areas while preparing for the trek.
Kashmir great lakes trek difficulty level: Crossing the high altitude mountain passes.
Yes, you read it right. This trek has three high-altitude mountain passes, which will be highly challenging. Most treks have either one or 2, which are very rare but at KGL, there are three mountain passes, the highest one being the Gadsar pass at a height of whopping Gadsar Pass 4,200 m (13,800 ft). The other 2 passes are Nichnai pass at 3,505 m (11,500 ft) and Zoji La at 3,528 m (11,574 ft). Gasdar pass and Nichnai pass come along the KGL trek trail. We will be visiting zero point and Zoji La pass for sight seeing on day 1.
The trek towards Nichnai and Gasdar is a challenging task. It requires lots of endurance and mental ability. The trail includes steep accent and thus, you need to be careful with each and every step you take. Prepare well physically this before the trek. You need strength and you must balance your body while walking on the steep inclinations. You need to work on your upper, lower and core body to strengthen them. A person with a solid and strong physique can easily cross such challenging trails. No matter how tough and challenging the trail could get, the key to crossing such trails is having good and mental and physical strength. So, prepare for the trek to soak in its beauty.
Long tiring walks
The trail is around 85 to 90 Km long, and you must cover it in 7 days. Thus, the trail will test your endurance with each passing day, and the difficulties will keep increasing. One has to walk around 10 to 15 Km a day to complete the 90 Km long trail. This could be a challenging number for everyone, and the trail has many steep ascents, descents, and boulder areas. Anyone who does not have the habit of walking long hours might find the trek extremely challenging and eventually give up before completing the trek. We don’t want to take hard calls and send you back; thus, we suggest you train your body well before the trek. Go on long walks. Start practising at least two months before the trek. Keep track of the distance you are covering in a day. As you have 60 days for practice, you can easily make it up to the mark. Keep on increasing the distance with each passing day. This might not be easy, but it eventually becomes a habit and will help you during the trek.
Boulder sections
As we head towards Gangbal lake from the Satsar campsite, we will enter a 40-minute-long section having huge boulders. Tired of walking? Try jumping and hopping (but very carefully), as this section requires no walking. Don’t take it easy, this section gets extraordinarily tricky, and you might give up if you have never crossed such boulder sections before. However, adventure seekers will enjoy crossing such boulders to the core.
How to prepare for the trek?
Our TrekNomads team believes in keeping our clients updated and well-informed about the treks they will plan. Thus, our team keeps working on providing essential information to our future trekkers with all the information related to the trek. We cover everything in the blogs, from the trek’s highlights to the preparation and packing. We do not want to see our enthusiasts give up at any point in their trekking journey. And that’s why we want all our trekkers to be well-prepared for the trek. Start your preparation at least two months before the trek. Go on walks, indulge in lunges, squats, calf raises, push-ups regularly. Working out five days a week is necessary; you can take two days off to recover. KGL is not an ordinary trek but worth every sweat that escapes your body. To embrace the beauty of KGL, one must have good fitness and a well-maintained physique. If you want more information on KGL, go through our blogs section, and if you still need help finding what you are looking for, please contact us. We will be happy to help.
More blogs related to KGL trek:
Kashmir Great Lakes Trek- A beautiful Trekcation in the Alpines
Kashmir Great Lakes Trek FAQs -All You Need to Know!
Kashmir Great Lakes Trek PhotoBlog- A Visual Journey of Paradise on Earth!
How to get fit for the himalayan trek