Trek Himachal

7. Kesar Yon Chap - the most pristine and beautiful of the 'watering holes', its a combination of 7 spring fed pools. Part of the Miyar Glacier Kang La trail and situated incredibly high at about 4000 metres in the middle of snow capped peaks, vast and beautiful campgrounds and an intimidating morraine on one side, the thing is not just a collection of water bodies, its heaven. If you do not believe me, read this. To trek to Kang La, click here.

8. Manimahesh Lake - perhaps the most popular 'watering hole', this lake hosts about 1 million pilgrims every year in a span of 15 jam packed days. At one time, it was a beautiful lake. Now, the traffic and traffic's plastic and litter is taking a heavy toll. As a result, its more of a puddle now. Nevertheless, that does not dampen the enthusiasm of the pilgrim who shouts 'Bam Bam Bhole' and dips naked into the freezing lake. If only we could care a little more Shiva's abode. To help with that, click here or the facebook profile of Mountain Cleaners. To trek there by an unconventional route, click here.

9. Chaurasi ka Dal - boasts of being talked about only on this site. I saw this first on a map and pretty much went about discovering this. Read more here. Situated in deep Pir Panjals in the Churah region of District Chamba, it is a moderate sized lake easily accessible from Churah. Fed by about 7 snow melts from all the peaks around, it is also a minor religious site and also a wonderful place for wild life sighting. Amongst the animals sighted here, the brown and black bears are the most terrifying and Ibex the most majestic. For trekking to here over Mumbardhar, click here.

10. Shingo La Lake - situated on the very popular Darcha Lamayuru route on the Himachal side of Shingo La pass, this is a beautiful emerald green coloured water body. There are snow covered peaks as far as the eye can see and colourful Budhhist prayer flags at the pass. As you cross the pass from Darcha into Zanskar and get tired of jumping over boulders and rocks, this is the perfect welcome to the serene territory that is Zanskar. To trek to this lake, click here.