• We’ll be following the Lidder River upstream today. The route enters a tangle of conifers after a 9-10 kilometre trek over gentle hills. Providing a panoramic view of the Aru valley to the left. We proceed under the forest shadow till we reach a clearing filled with Gujjar houses. This is the Nandekai settlement, which is home to seasonal, migratory shepherds. We won’t be travelling through the village centre, but will instead receive a valuable deep perspective of the gorgeous surroundings as we ascend higher. We’ve now reached a tumbling meadow grassland, and the fir tree thickets have totally faded. This is still a part of the Gujjar village ecology, and you will see horseback riders and cattle grazers.

  As we go, the route crosses a few of little valley streams. We soon come upon a shaky log bridge that spans the second stream. This is where we will replenish our water supplies and rest, as well as maybe eat the lunch we brought from the last camp. The Lidderwat location is still an hour’s drive away.

  The trail here curves into another wooded area of beautiful firs before emerging into the Lidderwat meadows, where the river flows clear watered. There are lovely tiny Gujjar villages that highlight the valley’s location. As a result of the current tourist influx, Pahalgam District Authority Huts and food establishments have been constructed for pleasant stays. Our camp would be in a calm area beside the creek. There should be enough time before dusk to wander about the quiet fir tree-shadowed Gujjar village and then relax on soft grass by the streamside in the failing light.

• Today, a 5-hour walk begins, heading right up from behind the PDA houses. Within half an hour, you will be within a pine forest, the Lidder River will be a faraway shadow, and the meadows will have ebbed away. The forests are not dense and occasionally open up into large clearings. Soon, the Lidderwat will breach to the opening of a larger expanse of merging valleys and snowy peaks rising directly from the valley rims. There will be several beautiful water streams cutting across our path where you may replenish your water bottles. You will be taken to Houmas, a small clearing occupied by another cluster of Gujjar houses on the opposite side of the now-re-emerging river that runs alongside our paths. We are led into a neighbourhood with a few residences and tea stores after crossing a wood bridge. You will always find warm welcome from these villages, and despite the weariness of travel, this brightens one’s day. We now enter a new green environment, hand in hand with the sparkling streams running by our paths. The meadows of Shekwas are as green as green can be, extending in soft folds for as far as the eye can see. Gujjar habitation and hospitality are also common in this area, with their low-roofed, leaf-thatched cottages dotting the verdant terrain here and there. Our path ascends beyond the cottages to a somewhat higher camping area. A beautiful, star-studded night descends over the fields.

Shekwas’ lush moors are best enjoyed barefoot. Try it today when you head to Tarsar Lake. For a while, the route goes through a silky lawn of nature before taking a lunge over a humpbacked hill and, after crossing through a few hills, opens up to a little glimpse of Tarrsar’s mesmerising blue waters. It takes 5 hours to go to Tarsar from Shekwas, and another 3 hours after the crest, with the view of the Lake expanding as we descend lesser peaks. You must cross the creek, leaping from rock to boulder, until finally gliding onto lush veldt around the lake, where we would spend the night. Sink your toes into the lush grass and see how the almond-shaped water reflects the changing colours of the sky throughout the day. In the presence of such beauty and stillness, time appears to come to a halt.

• Another 5 kilometre walk via the Tarsar Pass to the neighbouring Sundersar Valley begins today. We begin by exploring a connecting stretch that appears to connect the Shekwas and Sundersar Valley meadows. Trekking across the Tarsar Pass saves time but is more difficult than descending to Shekwas first and then continuing to Sundersar from there. After walking on modest undulations for many days, you may put your stamina to the test on this day’s trip. The route becomes harder on the rise to the Pass, but then flattens out to a gentler descent to Sundersar. The view of Tarsar Lake from the opposite side of the Pass is the highlight of this section. Following that, we descend to a valley bed and are met by the Bakkerwals, a nomadic shepherd clan encampment. We continue down a creek that collects at the base of snow-melting heights to form a lovely lake. The entire path is enveloped in a green drape of luminous tenderness. An otherworldly photo frame of sheep and horses bobbing around the green-scape as they graze leisurely along the shores of this nameless lake may be found. Our path leads us across a high pass exiting this grassland to the next valley, another large stretch of wide pampas sprinkled brightly with wildflowers. Later, a bouldered route across the stream leads us to the Sundersar Lake side, a flatland where we may camp at the conclusion of this extraordinary day.

   

• Today, we’ll climb higher through Marsar Ridge. We’ll be guided to a boulder-smitten route after kilting our way around Sundarsar’s beaches. Expect treacherous snow patches in these rock crevasses, similar to the partially white covered mountains at the valley’s end that we saw on our recent hike. The snow will melt by lunchtime, making for a difficult hike. We descend to a flatland cut through by intermittent stream flows after traversing a partially grass-covered, partly snow-sheeted rock route over on the Pass. The view from the top of the ridge displays the transparent blue Marsar Lake, which is located someplace down below. It has the same almond-shaped form as Tarsar and is nearly as large.

  Snow-shaded hills rise barely along one edge of the Lake, counteracting its blueness. The lake occurs to overflow on one side and pour down into a valley below in a sweeping glacial torrent. Snowmelt from the white cliffs feeds its waters on one side, while the Decigram woods begin on the other. We now make our way back to Sundersar camps and then to Homwas, practically in the same direction we came. The fall is tinged with melancholy. Homwas is reached, little weary,before nightfall.

• Starting early this morning, we descend from Homwas to Aru, passing through the same lovely meadow areas and the same Lidder River, which we will now follow downstream. We will stop at Lidderwat for a rest and lunch before continuing on to Aru, a distance of 10 kilometres from Lidderwat that will take us around 4 hours to complete. Vehicles going for Srinagar would be waiting for us at Aru. We should arrive at the station about 8 p.m.