Gangabal Lake

The Gangbal Lake also called Gangbal Lake, is a lake situated at the foothills of Mount Haramukh (the second highest mountain peak in the vicinity of Kashmir valley) in Ganderbal district, north of Srinagar city in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an alpine high altitude oligotrophic lake, home to many species of fish, including the brown trout.
The lake has a maximum length of two and a half kilometers and maximum width of one kilometre. It is fed by precipitation, glaciers and springs. The lake water outflows to a nearby Nundkol Lake and then via Wangath nallah to Sind River.

Access

The Gangbal lake is approached from Srinagar 45 kilometers by road via Ganderbal up to Naranag and then a trek of 15 kilometers upslopes leads to the lake, which can be covered by a horse ride or by foot. The gujjar shepherds can be seen during the trek with their flocks of sheep and goats. Another trek (25 kilometers long) leads to the lake site from Sonamarg via the Vishansar Lake crossing three mountain passes Nichnai pass, Gadsar pass and Zajibal pass of an average elevation of 4100 meters. It can also be accessed through a trek from Bandipore via Arin. The trek to the lake Gangabal takes place in an alpine environment, (cut crossing) with meadows, (cut from) and huts of Gujjars with their herds crossing through two passes over 4,000 m to get to the lake Gangabal

Posted by : Vipul koul