The beauty of Kashmir is simply bewitching and treks like Kashmir Great Lakes Trek and Tarsar Marsar Trek stand as great examples. While these two treks are immensely popular, there are many other trekking trails in Kashmir that are equally as beautiful and unfold in front of you the pristine and untouched beauty of Kashmir Valley. Nafran Valley is one such trek.
The trek to Nafran Valley starts from Aru village which is about 112 km away from Srinagar. Throughout the Nafran Valley Trek, you will cross varied sceneries from green meadows, and mystical jungles to an alpine lake – a complete bouquet for a trekking enthusiast. Aru Valley, Harnag Lake, and Nafran Valley altogether make this trek an interesting destination for trekking in Kashmir.
The meadows of Nafran Valley are inhabited by shepherds between June to October and stay in mud houses. During these months you will see a lot of cattle and horses grazing in the Nafran valley and in winter these shepherds descend down to lower altitudes when the Nafran Valley isn’t habitable anymore.
Nafran Valley Trek is a moderate to difficult grade trek. This means to embark on this trek, you need to have a good level of fitness and prior experiencewith a Himalayan Trek can be helpful. The trail is a blend of ascents and descents, and quite steeply so in some places. The trek takes you to an altitude of 14,127 ft and is a short trail with steep ascents, which can increase the difficulty level.
You can experience a series of unique landscapes on this trek. Apart from the lovely meadows, you will get to see jungles, glaciers, river streams, and even an alpine lake. The Nafran Valley Trek will surprise you with its sheer beauty. Between the months of June to October, you can see the Nafran meadows inhabited by shepherd troops, who then descend to lower altitudes as the weather gets colder. In the Nafran Valley, you will get to see the lifestyle of a shepherd who lives in the Nafran Valley feeding their livestock and earning a livelihood.
The best time to visit Nafran Valley is from the month of July to September when the entire valley is blooming with wildflowers and is verdant green. With the onset of July, the snow in the Nafran Valley begins to melt unveiling the green carpet of grass beneath and it also receives the most rainfall as compared to other months making the green even more striking. August is the blooming season, the valley is lush green with cattle grazing all over the valley. In September, the flowers begin to reduce but the valley is beautiful nonetheless and the skies are clear and beautiful. The temperature during these months stays between 12°C to 18°C in the daytime and 5°C to 10°C at night.
Trek Name: Nafran Valley Trek
Days: 7
Adventure Type: Trekking
Base Camp: Aru
Season:Monsoon |
Month:July | August | September |
Country: India
Altitude: 13800 Ft.
Grade: Moderate to Difficult
Rail Head: Jammu
Stay: Camping (Twin sharing) & Hotel/Guesthouse (Separate for male & Female)
Food: Meals while on trek & at Hotel/Guesthouse (Veg & Eggs)
Location: Kashmir
Distance: 56 Km.
Trail Type: One way trail | Camping in various locations, starting and ending at the different point.
AirPort: Srinagar (sheikh ul-alam international)
Distance: 100 kms Duration: 3-4 hours
Aru is a small village in the Lidder valley of Kasmir. It is a popular tourist spot known best as a skiing town and is also famous for its scenic meadows. Twelve kilometers from the town of Pahalgam, the entire drive between Srinagar and Aru is about 100 kms long with mesmerizing visuals of rural Kashmir with apple orchards and walnut and apricot trees lined up all throughout the way.
Once we reach Pahalgam, we only need to cross the Lidder river to get to Aru. There is enough to see in this small village upon arrival. The night is at a homestay.
Distance: 8 kms (drive) + 7.5 kms (trek)Duration: 30 mins + 7 hours
Right after breakfast, we start out for the trail head at Mondlan which is a short 8 km drive. From here, the trek starts with scattered patches of walnut trees alternating with wide open spaces. After about 2 hours of this, we enter the dense forests of Kashmir on a well-marked trail. The smells and sounds of the forest accompany us. We will get only one freshwater stream in this forest today, remember to fill up your bottles here. Golden rays of the sun drip through the tall trees of the forest.
A short while after, the forest gives way to grasslands which are covered in wild flowers of all colours imaginable. After the climb up on this meadow, we hit another patch of forest taking us further up in altitude. We have close to 650M of elevation to gain today which is quite a significant gain on the first day of a trek. So, remember to take it slow, there is no hurry.
The campsite for today is one of the most beautiful meadows in Kashmir and also a playground for wild horses and grazing cattle.
Distance: 8.5 kms Duration: 6.5 hours
With an elevation gain of less than 350M on the agenda, today’s distance is a bigger challenge than the terrain. We start out on gradual slope through the forest which leads us to a ridge walk that gives you magnificent views of meadows on both sides. On reaching Nafran Valley, the terrain turns uneven and rocky. Remember to exercise extra caution here. This is also where we get acquainted to Nafran river and a host of Gajjar (shepherd) huts. The last 300M is going to be the hardest, remember to watch your step on this challenging terrain.
We reach the campsite for today after a long day of trekking. The open land surrounded by high mountains on all sides is more than enough to put the thought of aching limbs in the background.
Distance: 8 kms trek + 100 kms drive Duration: 6 hours + 4 hours
The last day of the trek is still as beautiful as all the landscapes we crossed throughout this trek. The refreshing 8 km walk brings us back to Aru, our road head where we get our ride back to Srinagar. Expect to reach Srinagar by evening.
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