Tarsar Marsar : A Trekker’s Take

Like I overheard at the tail end of the trek- “There is so much on the internet about Tarsar Marsar.’ True, since it is easy on the eyes, to say the least, it is an ‘A’ Lister of treks, but most of what is written is from a trek company’s perspective. Natural beauty apart, it is peddled to be an easy-moderate trek. Assuming you are  moderately fit like me, how would it pan out for you? ..Easy or moderate? Take a rambling walk with me through each day and find out. The walk starts from Aru.

Day 1- Warming up from Aru to Lidderwat

So we start from the home stay, at around 8:30, bidding goodbye to our hosts like we are going to summit Mount Kolahoi itself. In full disclosure of ignorance I had not heard of it before. And it takes couple of days for the name to start rolling of my tongue. But I’m smitten! Such sharp features, what a towering personality! Oh better get moving with the trek… So we are huffing and puffing in the strong sun in 10 minutes, walking up a gentle slope with swaying grass growing behind the fence of the agriculture dept. on both sides. We summit the slope and flop down on a rolling meadow sandwiched between massive conifers groves. Rousing ourselves from our picture perfect setting we dive into the thick conifers ahead. And so it continues over a gentle up-slope walk through sloping meadows and thick trees for 10 odd kms. At one place it narrows out in the woods and the Lidder river can be heard roaring far below and in another we walk down almost to river level with a tea point where we have our packed lunch and say tentative hellos to the other group of fellow trekkers sprawled around.

Read about an emerald river in – Part One- On the Wild Side of Outstanding Orchha

At the last meadow before our camping ground, the path leading down to the river is like someone got into a snit and said just get down will you! Follow this stream of water down….Walk across the wooden bridge and voila!… Lidderwat!

 

Day 2: On the rocks from Lidderwat to Shekhwas

Its supposed to be 5.5 kms that day but it feels more like 7 and the early trekkers on the starting slope in the distance make it look easy. One can’t see the slatey path or the narrowness from the camp. But the minute we turn into the narrow valley with a stream far down, it eases off. After a short undulating walk we cross a trickle coming down and fill our bottles. We round another bend where a hawk hovers to reach the meadows of Homwas.

The sides of the valley are steep but the walk is gentle and we cross the stream and head towards the end of the tree line. It all narrows and we are walking on swirling root steps of a tree leaning into the stream below. Then we are between a rock or rather boulders ending in a hard place- the gushing stream. The alternate route will add another hour. I give baleful looks to Shahnawaz, our young guide. We dive onto the boulders and I hate it! I have no sense of balance and thank my stars I make it without twisting my ankle or wrecking my knee caps. All with help of the gallant young guide.

Our camp is a short walk up and ahead on a slope of the expansive bowl. Oh! no! As we start the climb up some madness takes over and a fellow trekker and I decide enough of trudging and race up the slope like the locals. No paths! It’s an exhilarating end!

Discover a place marooned in the mountains in – Disconnecting with the World on a Mountain Isle at Shaama

 

Day 3: Rolling uphill from Shekhwas to Tarsar

By now I have tapped into my inner pahadi. It also helps that’s it’s the easiest 5 km walk so far… A boulder strewn wide gentle slope is what we traverse most of the way. I am able to walk ahead, take pics, fall behind and catch up without losing my breath after a while. There is just one big stream to cross.

The flowering mountainside is ours to walk on and we crest and spy our tents beyond a dip. We have made it in time for lunch in about 4 hours and our tents are pegged on a slope before the lake. Super excited about making it to the first lake we take a short walk to see it. A jagged mountain hides Tarsar in its folds… Finally, the almond shaped lake with its water gently being pushed into a stream by the wind. The sun and wind battle it out in this high altitude. The colours of the lake shift playfully along.

Read about a lake like no other in – Pangong Tso : The Gems in the Crown

 

Day 4- Brace up for Tarsar to Sundarsar

The Tarsar pass looks deceptive. Sure the climb doesn’t look gentle but it seems short. It is but it is also two feet wide in most places. A tumble won’t kill but it’ll take you down more than a few feet and leave you in a heap of bruises.

The summit seems rocky and constrained. That it is but it expands to take in everyone posing with Tarsar and it’s surrounding craggy peaks providing a stunning backdrop before descending on a path way longer than the ascent. The path to Sundarsar is laid out in its entirety. It’s through a U-shaped valley with a loopy stream sandwiched between boulder crossings. Those feet killers! The one at the far end is big and ends at the mouth of Sundarsar.

A small placid lake, it is set in a niche off the wide valley at a height of about approx 12900 , mirroring its rocky cradle. After lunch we follow the goats across the lake as they disappear across the rubble strewn steep path over the pass (The highest point of the trek at about 13200 feet). It’s a bit of a scramble but its short and the other side is an undulating ramble for a bird’s eye view of the Marsar lake way, way down below. A more forbidding, darker mirror image of Tarsar. This is as close as we’ll get to it. I feel a bit like a Lammergeier sitting 800 feet above the lake on a craggy outcrop. Not ready to fly.

Explore the colours of another far off lake in –  Harlequin Holi at Todaraisingh

 

Day 5: Long walk back to Lidderwat

The night isn’t as cold as I expected camped next to Sundarsar but thats maybe because I am kind of surreptitiously given a fancy extra liner. A good sleep is needed because we are breaking camp at 7 for a long walk straight to Lidderwat instead of spending the night at Homwas, making it a 17 km march that day. I think the weather has a hand in it.

Much of it is retracing steps except initially we walk along the base of a valley being drained by the stream coming out from Sundarsar till Shekhwas.  Midway the choice is to cross a big boulder fall or cross the stream. Rock and a hard place again. This time the hard place is a springy, narrow bridge across the stream, 9 feet high. Just can’t do it! Finally holding a human mountain goat’s finger I fairly skip across (if I may say so) the boulders through the stream.

We found a deceptive stream in – Chushul – Chumathang : Hello Indus & Iridescent Colours!

The weather report is spot on. Within half an hour of reaching Lidderwat the heavens open up gently. Its been a long but fun 10 hours.

Day  6: Rambling back to Aru

I do the 10 kms back to the hamlet almost without a break. There have been arduous moments and moments of ruminating rambling. In the last forest patch with the steep slopes I’m virtually alone for a few minutes and it’s a bit unnerving but then isn’t this the ultimate ending?

Calling it just a trek would be selling it short. Coming up next- the adventure it was and the people I met along the way….we were all walking each other home.

 

Fact File–

1.Kashmir is an adventure. Period.

2. The hamlet of Aru which about 3 hours from Srinagar is the jumping off point for the trek. Everyone reaches the night before commencing the trek.

3.There are a few trekking groups which do Tarsar Marsar and they do organize pick up and drops from Srinagar. But do check where you are being put up at Aru. There are limited options.

4.Give cushion time for the return flight.

5.I went in first week of September and the sun was strong and the nights cold but not bitterly. Temperature range was 5-15 degree Celsius.

6.Its all about the shoes, shoes, shoes! I saw someone trying to break in a pair. What a bad idea!