Are you looking for a place, where you can just get lost in peace, far away from the city? Do you love nature & admire the beauty of Hill Stations? And most importantly, do you have no problem to challenge yourself a bit & can do some easy to moderate trekking? If your answer is Yes, then Kareri lake is the answer for you. I had heard about this place from many people & when finally got a chance to visit the place, it was worth all the efforts we made.
Overview:
Kareri lake is situated in the laps of Dhauladhar Mountains & it covers distance of 26km. This trek is a mix of steep and gradual ascent. The trek is not very difficult but the final summit is tricky and requires climbing. But trust me it is worth all the efforts.
Complete trek itinerary to Kareri Lake
We as usual left Delhi around 4:00 in the morning by our own car and reached kareri around 3:30 PM. We had a plan to stay in Kareri village & to do the trek in the morning next day, so we booked Forest Rest House https://himachalecotourism.org/service/frh-kareri/ for overnight stay.
We woke up early and got ready for the trek. later we had light breakfast and left for trek. Initially the trek is moderate and gets tougher as you proceed. Trek is as beautiful as it could be.Lush green meadows, smell of pine trees, constant sound of water and a lot more. We found many trekkers who were climbing down and we kept asking for distance left to kareri lake to boost our morale, But all in vain as everyone kept saying " abhi to kaafi baki hai".
After few hours of walking up the steep stairs covering the narrow path, we realized that we may not reach Kareri Lake at this pace. At one point, I didn’t want to walk anymore. My exhaustion was not letting me embrace the beauty around me. I was losing focus. I told Rahul (my husband) that i seriously need some rest when suddenly we heard voice of sheep from somewhere close. We stood and walked towards the sound.And luckily we saw a bridge and on the other side of it was local shop where we took a nap.After taking a nap i got all my energy & excitement back.
The weather here is unpredictable suddenly you will see bright shining sun and suddenly you can see sun disappeared and the whole forest hid in the dense fog. And finally after hiking for 6 hours we reached Kareri lake. The Kareri Lake is beautiful in its own way. The best view you will get at sunset when the golden sun covered mountains reflect in the lake right in front of you.
There are 2 available shops from where you can have dinner. They can prepare you delicious rice and dal and they also offer home made pickle which is very tasety. If you want to eat Non Veg either you've to bring it on your own or you've to tell them before so that they can bring it from Kareri village (Base village of this trek).
Next morning, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise and as soon as I got the first glimpse of lake, I forgot all the pain from trek. After all it was all worth it. I wanted to be just staring at the view forever. Water was shining like diamonds.It was a perfect view for photography. I took my phone out and shot a few photos but even camera could not capture what my eyes were witnessing. Everything was so serene and still. I could stay there for hours but we had to get back. We had our breakfast (tea & maggi).
we descended back to kareri village. On our way back down we enjoyed the beauty of Kareri Trail.
Mountains are sensitive. Keep them clean and beautiful. Carry your litter back with you. Keep mountain as they are meant to be "Clean and Beautiful"
Happy Travelling :)