Kareri Lake is a hidden treasure of Himachal Pradesh. It is famous for not only mesmerizing river view trek but also for the adorable lake. Kareri lake freezes in the winter.
Its surface is 2,934 m (9,626 ft) above sea level. The Kareri lake trek distance is approx 26 km(round trip). Kareri lake is a high altitude lake south of the Dhauladhar range.
Like every time, I did my research a few days back but hadn’t expected such emotional rewards.
We started our journey from Delhi to Kareri lake at approx 9 pm. It took us approx 13 hours to reach Kareri Village, Himachal Pradesh. It’s a small village of district Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, and full of sweet and helpful people. We stayed at Maan Singh homestay.
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How to reach Kareri lake?
There is no direct bus service from Delhi to Kareri lake. You need to reach Dharamshala first, and then you have below options to reach Kareri lake.
- Take a bus/shared Jeep to Ghera village(approx 18 km). Get a shared taxi from Ghera to Kareri village will cost you Rs. ~40/person only
- Reach Ghera village and you can start your trek
- Just follow google map, book a tempo traveller if you are a group of people
We reached Kareri Village after a long journey. We decided to take some rest and lunch at homestay. Generally, people take the kitchen and cook with them because there is no facility for proper food/stay on the trek.
If you are not comfortable for carrying a mini kitchen and tent setup; you can just hire someone to take care of these essentials.
Kareri lake trek starts from Kareri village, and Reoti village is the base camp of this trek. You may get some tents/meals there but I’m not 100% sure. Reoti is approx 9 km from Kareri village.
We came to know that Reoti campsite has become crowded. And, we decided to pitch our camps before 2 km of Reoti.
Now, this question may have come to your mind.
Best time to visit Kareri lake?
The best time to visit Kareri lake is from May to July. And, Feb to March is the best time for snow trekking lovers. We visited there in mid of April to avoid the crowd and snow. The trek was not only crowded but also the lake was frozen.
This doesn’t mean September to November is not the best time. At this time you get to see greenery, and the weather becomes stable for trekking.
Kareri lake trek is easy to moderate. You will not only have to climb stony stairs but also cross the waterfall on the laid trees. Just a few km before Reoti you get to see a small shop and guess what? you can have maggie there.
We pitched our tent after 1 km of the river crossing, though the location was not very good. The place was even and better for a few tents and kitchen, obviously, how can we forget the kitchen.
Until now the trek was easy going. Next day, we had to start our trek early in the morning but we started late because as usual…oh man…Let’s not just discuss the reason. You already know what happens in a group, right?
It was a sunny day, a clear sky and beautiful nature around you. Same as I researched a few days back. We had told that the lake is frozen, and keep our gloves and warm jackets with us. Yes, it was mid of April, and after this news, I was super excited.
It seemed phenomenal because the weather was hot. And, I didn’t even see a single frozen Kereri lake picture while doing the research.
We had to trek for approx 6 km now. 2 km for Reoti and then approx 4 km to reach the Kareri lake. The trek is steep but once you cross Reoti you get to see a flat trek for a few km.
There are mesmerizing campsites at Reoti, amazing huge mountains and a river flow the white water in front of you. Perfect scenery to stay for a lifetime. I don’t know about my fellow trekker in the group but I definitely regretted myself for not pitching tents there.
This greenery and mesmerizing nature view remind me of the valley of flowers trek.
We trekked for a few more km with a couple of breaks. And, abruptly found ourselves in front of a huge mountain covered with white shiny snow. It was scenic like green trees have ripped a white sheet to come out. And, the sun was directly reflecting back to our eyes.
We didn’t expect a lot of snow on the trek. Also, a few group members were not ready for snow trek. But we had no other option than just to keep going.
Though it was a phenomenal view around us. Most of us were slipping around in the snow because of flat sports shoes. Somehow, we managed to trek forward. Our trek lead Shadaab(Trek Lead at JustWravel), and Mr Vinod(Trek guide), helped a lot to trek the forward.
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As we went forward, the temperature was decreasing and the sun was hiding somewhere behind the white fog. Everyone thrilled after experiencing this scenic landscape.
Last approx 1.5 km trek to the Kareri lake was indelible. Our surroundings had approx 5 foot snow. And, a tea stall had totally covered with snow, only the rooftop was visible.
Everyone charmed after witnessing the view. And, the other side it was scary. A wrong step on a thin layer of snow may take you inside the rocks. Or you may slip down to the freezing river.
Thank God! I had learnt from my mistakes, I had a bad experience at Nag Tibba trek. And, made me buy good trekking boots. What Happened To ME at Nag Tibba Summit?
I would highly recommend you to carry proper trekking boots and good sunglasses.
Finally, we reached the most adorable Kareri lake. The frozen lake, surrounded by the snow mountains, a little bit melted though.
There is a Shiva Shakti temple on a top. When I saw the view of the lake from the temple I couldn’t blink my eyes and witnessed heaven on the earth. Though I came back to reality after too much noise from people over there.
There was no proper way to go on the top of the frozen lake so we had to slip down in the snow.
Everyone was slipping down and shouting like a child. People were playing with the snow on the top of the frozen Kareri lake.
I couldn’t stop myself from going down though I trekked down carefully instead of directly slipping down. I had super excited and didn’t even realise that I am wearing only a dry fit half t-shirt and shorts. Though everyone else had packed by a jacket and woollen clothes.
We enjoyed for a few hours on the frozen Kareri lake and came back to the top. We had our lunch(sandwich) in front of the lake and trekked down after an hour.
It took us more than usual hours because of slippery snow but we managed to trek down approx 13 km directly to the Kareri Village before the Sunset.
Though I left behind heaven on earth. But I get to collect amazing memories, unexpected frozen Kareri lake experiences. And, last but not least, I got new friends.
I hope you will love my story and share it with the world. Let’s let them know there is really heaven on the earth.
BUT
I would request you to not use plastic(wrappers, poly bags, bottles) and don’t throw garbage anywhere during the trek and nearby lake. Just keep it with you and dump it once you come back.
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