CrestlessWave
God Loves Bikers
Kareri Lake, a little less explored place by usual crop of tourists, is situated near Dharmashala, Himachal Pradesh. In order to reach Kareri Lake, Dharamshala would be the base, from here take a taxi/bus to Ghera Village and from here it's 21 kilometers of mostly uphill trek. You do have very limited option of taking taxi till Kareri Village which is about 7 kilometers from Ghera Village. Taxi must be booked from Dharamshala itself, public transport is very less and time investing effort.
From Kareri Village, you can find some time to rest in any of the houses. Just ask, and they will either point you to other house or serve you the food they have for their family.
Fill your tummy and refill water bottles, and move towards Forest Guest House, and take the road heading uphill.
After a while you will find a walking path leading towards Naoli village. Once you see a massive bridge, take the road down from it's right. Don't cross the bridge!
From here, keep moving ahead, and remember to not cross the path anytime and keep and eye on the river. It should remain on your left.
After some 8 kilometers, another massive bridge will bring you near Riyoti Camp site, you are halfway to lake. Look for Satpal's cafe on left, there would be a makeshift ladder like bridge over the shallow river stream. Cross it, and relax for a while at Satnam's place. If you are late and extremely, you can camp here as well and try to each Lake next day. After tea and food, you can start moving uphill. Trek turns little tough from here. Try not to climb the stone paved stairs, they are high and can put much pressure on knees. Instead take the sidewalk used by sheeps and goats (Hope you won't mind sheep litter by now).
You will find many spots where you can sit for a while, but finding shelter underneath any tree is rare. Therefore, I would suggest having little siting breaks every now and then instead of longer ones.
After a long time, you would find temple complex in sight and grand snowy mountain in front of you, that's the time you have to cross the river and move towards left side of the trek. It's a little tricky with heavy rucksack, so be careful. After crossing the river, move uphill, and you will see temple complex. There are two shops which provide tea and food. Don't be a jerk and humbly accept what they offer.
Find a nice and plain spot to camp, and set up your tent. Remember to keep it close.
Look around, enjoy the silence and relax.
You can either trek further or return next day from same route. Do collect any garbage you encounter enroute and dump it in garbage bins in Kareri VIllage.
____________________________
If you don't have a tent, you can contact Hans Raj at Kareri, he will provide Tent, Food and even porters to take you luggage up and down.
(Contact No: +918894820437, +918894240499)
You can tell him my name, or just ask for discount. His prices are anyway very low.
I met him on my way back, and learned a lot about him. Next time I can skip the heavy rucksack and just take essentials and contact him.
For Taxi service, you can contact Sanju Bhai:+919136689730, +918627874122
For Homestay in Kareri, you can contact Vinita: +919736821270, +919736986581
For Guide, you can contact Anurag: +917833888716
________________________________
Happy Travels
________________________________
Hiking/Camping Gear: Quechua Arpenaz 2 Tent, Forcalz15* Sleeping Bag, Forclaz m100 Sleepig mat, Arpenaz 50 Hiking boots, Arpenaz Poncho, Quechua 50L rain Cover, Kalenji Breathable T-Shirt, Quechua Hiking Trousers, And a Wood stick I cut from a fallen tree.
_______________________________
Photography Gear: Canon EOS700D, Honor 6x and Xiaomi MI3
_______________________________
From Kareri Village, you can find some time to rest in any of the houses. Just ask, and they will either point you to other house or serve you the food they have for their family.
Fill your tummy and refill water bottles, and move towards Forest Guest House, and take the road heading uphill.
After a while you will find a walking path leading towards Naoli village. Once you see a massive bridge, take the road down from it's right. Don't cross the bridge!
From here, keep moving ahead, and remember to not cross the path anytime and keep and eye on the river. It should remain on your left.
After some 8 kilometers, another massive bridge will bring you near Riyoti Camp site, you are halfway to lake. Look for Satpal's cafe on left, there would be a makeshift ladder like bridge over the shallow river stream. Cross it, and relax for a while at Satnam's place. If you are late and extremely, you can camp here as well and try to each Lake next day. After tea and food, you can start moving uphill. Trek turns little tough from here. Try not to climb the stone paved stairs, they are high and can put much pressure on knees. Instead take the sidewalk used by sheeps and goats (Hope you won't mind sheep litter by now).
You will find many spots where you can sit for a while, but finding shelter underneath any tree is rare. Therefore, I would suggest having little siting breaks every now and then instead of longer ones.
After a long time, you would find temple complex in sight and grand snowy mountain in front of you, that's the time you have to cross the river and move towards left side of the trek. It's a little tricky with heavy rucksack, so be careful. After crossing the river, move uphill, and you will see temple complex. There are two shops which provide tea and food. Don't be a jerk and humbly accept what they offer.
Find a nice and plain spot to camp, and set up your tent. Remember to keep it close.
Look around, enjoy the silence and relax.
You can either trek further or return next day from same route. Do collect any garbage you encounter enroute and dump it in garbage bins in Kareri VIllage.
____________________________
If you don't have a tent, you can contact Hans Raj at Kareri, he will provide Tent, Food and even porters to take you luggage up and down.
(Contact No: +918894820437, +918894240499)
You can tell him my name, or just ask for discount. His prices are anyway very low.
I met him on my way back, and learned a lot about him. Next time I can skip the heavy rucksack and just take essentials and contact him.
For Taxi service, you can contact Sanju Bhai:+919136689730, +918627874122
For Homestay in Kareri, you can contact Vinita: +919736821270, +919736986581
For Guide, you can contact Anurag: +917833888716
________________________________
Happy Travels
________________________________
Hiking/Camping Gear: Quechua Arpenaz 2 Tent, Forcalz15* Sleeping Bag, Forclaz m100 Sleepig mat, Arpenaz 50 Hiking boots, Arpenaz Poncho, Quechua 50L rain Cover, Kalenji Breathable T-Shirt, Quechua Hiking Trousers, And a Wood stick I cut from a fallen tree.
_______________________________
Photography Gear: Canon EOS700D, Honor 6x and Xiaomi MI3
_______________________________
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