Trek Himachal

Kareri Lake

The day began at 4:30 AM. Woke up, got dressed, no bath, ready for a 7 hour drive on a cold November morning. The destination was Kareri Lake, close to Dharamshala. Chances are you have never heard of it if you have never been to Dharamshala. And if you have been to Dharamshala, chances are you have still not heard of it. Well, I had not heard of it till a couple of months ago but I anyway wanted to have a look. Unusually for me, this time I was not trekking alone. I had my brother for company.

Part 1: Ghera at 1306 metres – Kareri at 1746 metres, 2 and ½ hours, total altitude gained 440 metres

So, the day began at 4:30 AM, we shared the drive through fog, mountains and a beautiful sunrise. As we approached Dharamshala, the majestic Dhauladhars were overlooking a sunny Kangra valley. At Dharamshala, we were to collect a permit for staying at the Forest Rest House in Kareri village. And this was a chore. It was a Sunday and we struggled a bit to get the permit. Finally, permit in hand, we left Dharamshala, driving towards Shahpur. On the way, us kind souls gave a lift to a local man, more out of our selfish concern for figuring out the way than concern for him. A query here, a query there and we branched off to the un-metalled road to Ghera, the starting point of the trek. The road was narrow and sometimes a pain to drive on. It took us more than half an hour to drive the 9 km to Ghera from the main road. On the way, we passed a couple of goat herds. I tried making conversation with one of the Gaddis in an attempt to get some local information but almost got rebuked. Never mind, I got enough information about the route at Ghera, where we parked the car on the road, loaded our ruck sacks on our backs and were off. A ramshackle hanging bridge; the likes of which you only need to see to believe and a couple of stream crossings later, we had a little bit to eat. Perhaps it was the early morning start or our laziness in general, quite when we slumbered off beside a stream, we had no clue. We woke up to find we had slept half an hour.

The walk upto Kareri village was uneventful after this, except that there were some really nice views of the Dhauladhars and a village on the mountain opposite. Now, don't confuse Kareri village with Kareri lake, the two are almost a 5 hour walk apart. The walk to Kareri had taken only 2 and a half hours, including the slumber and our slack pace. That left us quite a bit of time to see the village. Set on the top of a ridge, amidst green wheat fields, stacks of drying hay all around, the village was beautiful. Part of the evening went in inquiring the route for the next day, part in being the centre of attraction for a couple of spoiled village brats. Interestingly, my brother was threatened with a 'throat choke' if he did not shell out some money, by a 6 year old girl. Talk about guts!! They abound in the mountains. Half a bottle of rum and 1 chicken down, the sleep was peaceful.

Part 2: Kareri at 1746 metres – Kareri Dal at 2934 metres, 4 and a ½ hours, total altitude gained 1188 metres.

Next morning was early again. We were visiting not exactly in the right season. Camping was not an option. So, it had to be a go-to and come-back, however much I hated it. At 6, we were off again. And at 6:05, we were lost. It was too dark and even with a torch, the forest was not lending itself to easy navigation. Having postponed the walk for sometime while my enterprising brother figured the way, we witnessed what has to called a stunning sunrise. Sun up, path lit and we were well and truly off. We kept a good pace and somewhere, we branched off into a not so optimal path. Fortunately though, we kept our heads and navigated using a stream. The fact that there was a fairly well laid out path, helped. Lest I forget to mention it, on the way, we also saw the clearest water we had ever seen. 'See through' is the only expression that can do justice. The depth did not matter, you could just see the bottom every single time. This was in all the streams all the way up.

If someone had asked me what I had expected from this lake when I started in the morning, as I actually did ask myself, the answer would have been a small lake in the middle of a depression, right on the top of a ridge. And how sometimes life has a strange way of bestowing things on you when you expect them the least. Instead of a lake in a depression of a ridge, we reached a Dhauladhar mountain called Mankiani, full of fresh snow, right in our face, trickling melting snow into a shallow lake surrounded by lesser hills, full of browning grass. Around 400 metres in length and 100 metres at its widest, the lake surface was frozen at noon and it took fairly large pebbles thrown with quite some force to break the ice. The water and in turn the resultant ice was so clear that the entire lake acted as a mirror to the surroundings. For the non believers, here is a photo. If it was not for the slight layer of ice which gives away the truth, I could have produced an upside down version of the photo here and you would be none the wiser.

If the same someone had asked me after seeing the lake what more could I ask for from life, the answer would have been 'nothing'. Kareri Lake is by far the single most beautiful thing I have seen in my Himalayan trips in the last 4 months. It is where nature brings together the beauty of snow capped mountains, of crystal clear water, of sloping grasslands, of blue skies. Stunning and serene at the same time!! I always thought what Himachal lacked in beauty was lakes. And how I was proven wrong. Yes, they may be remote, they may be small, but lakes with mountains don't come any more beautiful than this.

Kareri lake also has a small Shiva temple, much revered by the villagers around. There are overnight prayers held during Janmashtami and villagers take a dip into the holy lake. Having satisfied ourselves with the views of the lake, we cooked some maggi with chicken pieces on a fire which made difficult lighting owing to wet wood. The way back was marked by a 'getting lost' in search of the actual trail, which we had missed earlier. While we did not find the trail, what we did discover was how desperate situations make desperate people take desperate measures, like crossing a stream and climbing a vertical mountain face strewn with wet oak leaves in search of the familiarity of a already walked trail. It did not turn out to be that tough in the end but it was a little concerning while it lasted. After the beautiful sunrise in the morning, Kareri village treated us to an equally beautiful sunset in the evening. If you are a nature lover, the sunrise and sunset are enough to make a trip to Kareri worth your effort and time. The lake is a bonus and what a bonus at that!

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