KGL 6: Gangbal to Naranag
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 5.23 mi
- Elevation gain
- 771 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 4,072 ft
- Max elevation
- 10,913 ft
- TrailRank
- 54
- Min elevation
- 10,913 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Moving time
- 2 hours 50 minutes
- Time
- 5 hours 35 minutes
- Coordinates
- 1530
- Uploaded
- September 30, 2022
- Recorded
- September 2022
near Trunkhal, Jammu and Kashmīr (India)
Viewed 163 times, downloaded 8 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
The day's trek is a killer on your toes and knees, it is a gradual descent followed by a steep descent. From the Gangabal camp site head down along the stream towards the tree line.
Don’t walk beside the stream but walk along the ridge on the right. 30 minutes into the trail, your Aircel phone could catch network, just enough to inform home that you are alive! The ridge ends and you descend to a green and a flat meadow on the right.
The Harmukh peak looks impressive when you look back. The green meadow has little yellow flowers growing all over and you start walking gingerly to avoid stepping over them.
An hour out of the camp site, you hit the fringes of the tree line. Pine trees line the meadows and you also see traces of civilization with the presence of a log hut. Do not walk into the forest directly but stick to its fringes and walk towards the right.
As a trademark of this trek, you don’t lose altitude now but start to climb up a bit. You drop to 10,800 feet at the tree line but climb again to 11,000 feet. For about 6 km you never really lose altitude and you are forever around the 10,800 feet mark, making your way in and out of the Pine forest and finally entering it fully.
Only after walking for 2/3 of the distance does the true descent begin. The descent is now really steep. The trail is a well-trodden, muddy one through the thick of the pines.
The last 4 km see you dropping more than 3,000 ft. It is not rare to spot a lot of people trekking up here from Naranag, headed to Gangabal. Naranag slowly comes in sight at around 8,500 ft but there is quite a bit more to go.
The last stretch of the last day does become an endurance test but soon the stone-paved village track comes up and in no time you enter the main road of Naranag. Drive to Srinagar and reach by 6.30 pm. Stay overnight at Srinagar.
Don’t walk beside the stream but walk along the ridge on the right. 30 minutes into the trail, your Aircel phone could catch network, just enough to inform home that you are alive! The ridge ends and you descend to a green and a flat meadow on the right.
The Harmukh peak looks impressive when you look back. The green meadow has little yellow flowers growing all over and you start walking gingerly to avoid stepping over them.
An hour out of the camp site, you hit the fringes of the tree line. Pine trees line the meadows and you also see traces of civilization with the presence of a log hut. Do not walk into the forest directly but stick to its fringes and walk towards the right.
As a trademark of this trek, you don’t lose altitude now but start to climb up a bit. You drop to 10,800 feet at the tree line but climb again to 11,000 feet. For about 6 km you never really lose altitude and you are forever around the 10,800 feet mark, making your way in and out of the Pine forest and finally entering it fully.
Only after walking for 2/3 of the distance does the true descent begin. The descent is now really steep. The trail is a well-trodden, muddy one through the thick of the pines.
The last 4 km see you dropping more than 3,000 ft. It is not rare to spot a lot of people trekking up here from Naranag, headed to Gangabal. Naranag slowly comes in sight at around 8,500 ft but there is quite a bit more to go.
The last stretch of the last day does become an endurance test but soon the stone-paved village track comes up and in no time you enter the main road of Naranag. Drive to Srinagar and reach by 6.30 pm. Stay overnight at Srinagar.
Waypoints
Intersection
10,687 ft
Photo
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