Kashmir Great Lakes Trek
Kashmir's classic 6-8 day alpine lake circuit between Sonamarg and Naranag
No reason has been recorded. Closures here are usually snow, a damaged crossing, or an order restricting access — check locally before you travel.
Closed · 6–8 days
- 6–8 days
- Duration
Season window
Not really a month range but a ten-week window: the trail opens in the first week of July with snow still lying on Nichnai Pass and towards Gadsar and some lakes part-frozen, and it closes hard after the second week of September, when Gadsar Pass can no longer be crossed.
Next in season from September.
Route & trail
No surveyed route yet.
This trek has not been digitised, so there is no map, no elevation profile and no checkpoint list for it. Everything else on this page is editor-checked information about the walk itself.
Safety & conditions
Permits
Trekking permission issued through the J&K Tourism Department (Tourist Officer, Sonamarg)
Accounts of what exactly is required differ, and no single official published form or fee schedule exists. The clearest official position is the Ganderbal district administration’s ruling that **all permissions for this trek are issued exclusively by the Tourism Department**, with the **Tourist Officer, Sonamarg** issuing them and sharing details with the Police and the Army. Other accounts describe permission being taken at the **local police station** (government photo ID plus a medical certificate, one to two working days) or through **forest department** authorities. Registered trekking agencies normally obtain forest, camping and trek permits as part of the package fee, so most trekkers never handle this directly. Carry a government photo ID with two or three photocopies for army checkpoints along the route. Foreign nationals should confirm requirements separately. **Status warning:** several operators and news reports state that Kashmir high-altitude trekking permits were frozen after April 2025 and that this trek was suspended for the 2026 season, while other operators continued to sell 2026 departures. Confirm with the Tourist Officer, Sonamarg before committing.
NOT OFFICIALLY VERIFIED — CONFIRM BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
Getting there
Gear checklist
0 / 25CLOTHING
GEAR
SAFETY
MEDICAL
The Kashmir Explorer app keeps the same checklist on your account and inside the offline Trek Pack.
About this trek
The Kashmir Great Lakes Trek links a chain of high-altitude alpine lakes across the central Kashmir Valley, usually walked over 6-8 days between Sonamarg in the east and Naranag in the west. The route climbs through pine forest to open meadows, crosses the Nichnai, Gadsar and Zaj passes, and visits Vishansar, Krishansar, Gadsar, Satsar, Gangabal and Nundkol lakes beneath peaks including Mount Harmukh. It is widely considered the most complete and scenic trek in Kashmir.
Photographs
No trekker reports yet.
Conditions on this route change week to week. If you walk it, a short report on pass snow and river levels genuinely helps the next group — reports are posted from the Kashmir Explorer app.
Where this data comes from
On the trail
The Kashmir Explorer app is where a trek stops being a page and starts being a walk.
- Offline Trek PackRoute, checkpoints, itinerary, safety, permits, gear and a corridor of map tiles, downloaded to your phone.
- Offline GPS navigationFollow the route with no signal, with your position on the line.
- Live trek sessionStart the trek, track progress checkpoint by checkpoint, and pick it up where you left off.
- Off-route alertsThe app watches your GPS against the route and warns you when you drift off it.
Prepare this trek on your phone before you leave signal. The trek, the route and the numbers are identical to this page — one catalogue, one Official Route.