Mcleodganj in Himachal Pradesh has all that Himachal offers; scented air, blue skies, white peaks, tall trees but it is heavily touristy as well. To make off beat or to say customize it to our palate was not that difficult. We threw some ancient ruins and a high altitude Kareri Lake Trek in the itinerary.
His holiness Dalai Lama also calls it home and you get a heady cocktail of people. Everywhere.
The base was of course touristy Mcleodganj, which offers delightful people watching and tasteful food to make for its hopelessly crowded space.
Kareri Lake trek Height
The Kareri lake trek is usually done as a two-day trek, with first day halt at Kareri village, and next day at Kareri lake itself. The lake is situated at an altitude of approx 3000 metres in the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas, and we had to start trekking from Satobari village which sits at an altitude of 1700 mts.
Thus the total gain in altitude was 1300 mt which was not a mean feat as the youngest trekker for this trip was only seven-year old.
Kareri Lake Trek Local Guide
Mr Arvind Sharma was our local guide for the tour. I requested Mr Arvind Sharma, our tour enabler, to make it a three-day trek keeping in view that we were to do it with kids and we too did not want to just finish it; we wanted to know about the vegetation, do bird watching en route and of course play in the streams and Niyund river as and when, and as much as kids wanted.
Tour Itinerary for Kareri lake trek
Mr Arvind Sharma suggested the following plan:
Day 1. Trek from Satobri village(1700 mtr /5600 ft mtr) to Kareri village (2500 mtr/ 8000 ft); night in a home stay at Kareri Village.
Day 2. Kareri village to Liyoti Campsite along Niyund river; camping at Liyoti Campsite
Day 3. Liyoti Campsite to Kareri Lake (3000mtr/ 9600 ft); camping at Kareri Lake.
Day 4. Descend from Kareri lake to Kareri village
How to prepare Kids for a High altitude trek
Before a month from the proposed trek, kids were put in a routine to climb up and down seven floors every day, besides their usual playing routine. We also increased our on foot time in the park besides climbing up and down the stairs.
A week before the departure, every night, instead of the bed time stories, we talked about all the wonderful and new things we will do and for that we will have to walk a lot everyday.
Kids dreamed of snow and camping and were very positive before our departure.
I cleared all of my doubts about the difficulty of climb, food and shelter before finalizing the trek. Mr Arvind Sharma proposed to have an exclusive guide for younger one. This advise proved a great help during the trek, of which you will read in coming posts.
I will be detailing about the trek day wise in upcoming posts. While day one ended on an ominous note, day two brought unexpected adventure. Day three took us to our destination, while day four was when everything ended well. All enjoyed this trekking expedition so very much that kids have been demanding more such trekking trips.
How Difficult is Kareri trek
difficulty: Moderate. T2 on Swiss Alpine Club Scale (SAC)
Max Elevation: 3000 mts.
We did this trek with kids aged seven and thirteen years, so you can easily guess the difficulty level. It is fairly easy except a few moderately difficult stretches.
How is the weather for Kareri Lake trek
Weather: Fickle due to its being close to Dhauladhar Range.
Kareri Lake trek vs Triund Trek
Triund trek is just a short trek for a day, while Kareri Lake takes minimun of three days from Mcleodganj- Kareri Lake- Mcleodganj.
Triund is an easy to do trek if you have a general fitness. Kareri Lake trek needs more fitness and endurance as it climbs steeply and decends deeply at many places.
As far as views are considered, both are not comparable. Triund also gives good views of Dhauladhar, but Kareri Lake trek climbs upto the Glacier fed lake and Glacier. It passes through dense jungles and you get to see lot of birds and wild flowers. After that it climbs along the Nyund river.
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