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Warwan valley is located in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, specifically in the Kishtwar district. When I first read its name and saw a few photos of its terrain posted by one of the trek leaders of IndiaHikes on Instagram, I was in awe! This place was somewhere deep inside the mountains, where humans are yet to place their feet and where locals ride horses, eat valley grown saag and drink pure milk.
In other words, this place was perceived as somewhere between dil and duniya and sahi aur galat ke uss paar :D
This was all back in 2021 and immediately I knew I had to witness this place and trek in this terrain. So, I booked the trek with Indiahikes in May 2022 for the 31st July 2022 batch. I was well aware of what was required of my mind and body to trek on such difficult terrain safely and without too much trouble and make memories for life!
Although I have a regular fitness schedule and train my body with weights, outdoor running and crossfit challenges, this prep demanded way more out of my body. I was used to running 5-6km, but the prerequisite to book the trek in the first place was a 10km run in 60 min or less. I was up for it and gave it my all. I completed the run after being dead almost half-way to at least get my spot booked with Indiahikes :P. The main prep started in June after my mini Manali trip. With roughly 7 weeks remaining for the trek, I gave it my heart and soul. It was a mix of weight training, loaded stair climb, mobility, biking, distance running and endurance events where we ran distances up to 10km with a series of bodyweight circuits after every 1-2km. Cutting short, here’s the summary of my “Rocky” style white board with the center image of the Bracken Glacier.
Warwan valley can be accessible on foot from the desert mountains of Ladakh. From there you need to crossover via the “Lomvilad pass” and reach towards the Kishtwar region and finally the green Warwan valley. This trek can be best witnessed in the months of July and August.
The trek starts from a village called Panikhar which is near the Kargil region of Ladakh and ends in the Warwan valley villages somewhere near Anantnag. I took a flight from Mumbai to Srinagar from where the pickup was arranged by IndiaHikes. Although the pickup was on 31st July morning, I reached Srinagar on 29th July to explore the place and just acclimate and get in the “travel mode” :D. I checked into Jannat guest house near Dal Lake in Khona Khan which had foot access to the pickup point and the entire market and restaurants. Resting well that evening, I ventured out on the next day with a Shikara ride for 1.5 hours without stopping anywhere and trying my hand at rowing the Shikara. It was one of the most beautiful experiences esp. early morning where there were not many other Shikaras around and I was mostly among the sound of the lake and chirping birds. It was indeed required for me to relax after a stressful trek prep and what was about to come.
We started off around 6am in the morning from a rainy Srinagar in a tempo traveler towards Kargil. We crossed the beautiful Sonmarg, saw the entire city of Amarnath camps and choppers taking off regularly taking pilgrims for darshan. It was a pleasant morning ride and enroute we also stopped at the Kargil was memorial. Such a beautiful and well-maintained memorial for the war heroes of ’99 Kargil war which was indeed one of the toughest in terms of terrain and altitude.
We had our lunch in Kargil and changed to a minibus towards Panikhar. The road was now rock laden and muddy, and it took us forever to reach Panikhar. We finally reached Mr.Ali’s cute little homestay and was welcomed by the Indiahikes team. After a cozy evening, chit chatting, intros and warm dinner, we dozed off on nice and cozy beds with thick blankets. On what was in store for us in the coming days was not even in my dream.
A cloudy morning welcomed us on day 1 of the trek. After a sumptuous breakfast, filling up our water bottles, packing up the lunch for the afternoon and suddenly my bag was as heavy as a rock, but that was ok because I prepared for it. Today was 14 km of “racing” :D because each one of the trekker was showcasing their preparation and it was indeed “who’s gonna reach the campsite first”! It started to rain in bits and pieces, and it was windy.
At around 1pm, we halted for lunch under the shade of a huge rock. Everyone was relaxed and in the zone, I was zoned out!! The past 7-8 weeks were very demanding of my physically and mentally and a long walk like this alongside the Chlong Nala in the pristine views of Ladakh mountains was something my brain couldn’t adjust all of a sudden. I was quiet and within myself the whole day.
Reaching the first campsite Denora in 5.5 hours. More locally known as “Dunadoo” or “Do Nala” where two water streams run on either side, It is actually a river delta setting overlooked by beautiful peaks. The setting had lush green meadows, river delta, rocky mountains and snow peaks. The temperature wasn’t too low and we had sufficient time to spend on the campsite.
The best part about summer or monsoon treks is that the days are longer and you can spend a lot of time on the campsite yourself, exploring or just staring at peaks.
The next day (day 2) was a mini adventure where we had to cross three ice cold rivulets to get to the other side. Everyone was excited and we took off our shoes and got ready post breakfast. Few wore sandals, crocs or flip flops, few like me were bare footed. We slowly and carefully crossed the ice-cold refreshing water with boulders pinching into my feet, it was more of a massage with cold water bath :D.
Once we were done crossing 3 rivulets back-to-back, we ran for 5 min to warm our souls. The climb today was gradual among sheep and meadows and mere 3 km. We reached the campsite “Kalapari” very easily today. The afternoon was relaxing, it was sunny and most of us were lying down on the grass, sometimes in the tent passing time gazing at the unknown beautiful snowy mountain range. There was a small waterfall also visible from our campsite. In the evening we played Tug of war with the horsemen and kitchen staff and wound up the day.
It was an easier acclimatization day preparing ourselves to cross the pass and walk on God knows what sort of terrain for 20km the next day.
The Pass Crossing Day 3 – Highlight of this trek and highlight if my life :D.
As always with pass crossings and summit days, the day starts very early. We were asked to get up at 3am and get ready by 4am for breakfast because at 5am we leave. Right at 3am my alarm clock rang but it looked like no one was up. I could only listen to the sound of wooshing river nearby. I made it out of my tent with my little coffee bottle. It was coffee time. Can’t let a giant day in my life skip without starting off with piping hot coffee. I requested the kitchen staff who was up and running as always to prepare delicious meals for us, for hot water and they happily poured in my mug. The next half an hour was pure joy. I was alone in the dining tent enjoying hot coffee. I stretched for 15 odd min to loosen up and people were up by now. I was well prepared and ready at 5am and we started for what was going to be an epic day.
The first one hour was a relaxing struggle, I was deliberately slow and wasn’t pushing too hard as I wanted to witness the first rays of sun on that unknown snowy peak. Also, I wanted to spare energy for later in the day as I had heard too many stories about this pass crossing day and wanted to witness it with everything I got :). After a gradual climb up the rocks, we reached a beautiful glacial lake. This lake had icebergs and chunks of ice floating into. It was something I had never seen in my life and worth many clicks. We spent a good 15 min there.
The sun was coming up and the next phase was a walk on a huuuge glacier. It was almost like walking on a a giant ice gola that we slurp on in the cities :D. Each time I stepped my foot on the ice it sort of crushed the surface a bit and made a sound. On either side were giant mountains, some snowy, some barren rocky. We also witnessed a large ice fall along the way. Most of the walk on this glacier was level and we were all relaxed, but we were wary of crevasses which were regularly seen. I would peek into it and see the endless end. The end of the walk was a tricky climb through loose mud and large boulders onto a resting place which was also made of boulders. We relaxed for another half an hour here eating our chana and dried dates/chuara.
It was time for the pass crossing. We climbed up loose muddy trails and tricky overhangs to reach a ridge and finally another 10 odd steps and we saw a small hillock with cairns on it. That was the “Lomvilad Pass” or “Lomvilad Gali”. Another beautiful glacial lake in sight which was looking even more beautiful in the sun with floating blocks of ice and desert mountains around it. I was so over excited that I thought "This is it, the pass is here and it’s gonna be descent from here so won’t require much". All happy and cheerful, we clicked with the IH banner - “Done” Warwan Valley. In reality, we weren’t even one third done :D.
After crossing the pass, we moved towards the next phase with gradual descend with some tricky sections along, but as other trekkers were pretty confident with their footing and running through any obstacle, I followed them without thinking too much and crossed easily. The descend started to get a little steeper and I was focusing on the trail, but boy, the moment I looked up it was a surreal Godlike sight of the most magnificent creation of nature - “The Bracken Glacier” or “Kaintal Glacier”. It was the biggest glacier I have ever witnessed! Shaped like a giant white ice-track with lines traced by God!
We rested and had our lunch at a beautiful meadow near the glacier. It was all sunny and we all were so tired that we dozed off for half an hour after eating.
The next phase was a bunch of tricky patches to reach Bracken Glacier. Due to consistent rains in the evening, the terrains change due to regular landslides and the trail that was supposedly used by the previous batch turned into a near vertical drop of around 30ft. Thanks to our trek lead Dawa and our skilled guides Vikas and Akhil we managed to tackle that descent which was immediately followed by maneuvering through the loose mud to reach the glacier.
What followed was hours and hours of boulder tackling and being nimble on our feet. These boulders were dancing on the glacier ice so the moment you place your feet on them, they move! Imagine walking for 4+ hours on these with gradual descend. But we were in some other world.
We would regularly hear the loud noise of landslides and avalanches nearby telling us the truth about the mountains and how nature can alter the entire place. There were thoughts about how long would this place hold and how lucky we were to witness this beauty.
After couple of hours, we had to cross an incline river which was quite a flow due to regular rains and of course it was almost evening. We took off our shoes and got ready to tackle this. Thanks to our guides we got through but we had to rush down asap due to the possibility of rockfall there. As soon as I crossed the river, I had a major abdomen cramp and I had to stretch long and hard to get rid of it. We literally ran from there and descended further through couple of other tricky patches. We could see the meadow which was supposedly the location of our campsite for the day.
My bag was wearing me down. It was indeed a very long day, and I was running out of water. I saw other trekkers moving steadily but I had to rest and breathe for couple of minutes to hold myself, take a sip or two and get back. I rested for 5 min, gathered my thoughts and was ready to take on the terrain again after 11 hours of trekking that day. Some more boulders and a last tricky patch before I was on the meadow next to the river. We were now walking on level ground hoping to find the campsite soon. We walked and walked and walked and walked and there was no sign of the campsite. After another hour and another river crossing, we found the camp – “Kaintal"! It was around 6pm and still quite bright. I went into some other zone after having our evening snacks offered by IH. I went into my tent and just sat and reflected upon what was one of the most challenging things I have gone through. It was a mixture of happiness, pain and past experience and preparation, all in one!
That night our lead, Dawa was lenient, and he knew it was quite an effort by the team and thankfully our next day’s timing was 8am wake up, 9am breakfast and 10am start trekking. Many of us were chit chatting in the dining tent at night about various topics on fitness, astro physics, movies and books. My body was broken down and that night was one of the soundest sleeps that I ever had in the mountains.
Now officially in the green Kishtwar side of the trek, the next day (day 4) was a level walk on the meadows with shepherd huts along the way and shepherd dogs barking and chasing us but no one got hurt. It was indeed unusual for dogs to see people other than the community in that terrain. We saw young women riding horses and climbing hills, few local families requesting for basic medicines and little Kishtwari girls wanting chocolates.
It was quite the simplicity but also the harsh reality of the lack of facilities in this part of India. We reached our next campsite “Humpet” which was another 14 odd kilometers but didn’t feel so esp. with the grand valley opening up and the level walking. Humpet was beautiful and I spent the rest of the day just leisure walking along the river frequently throwing stones in it.
Next day (day 5) was longer and a bit trickier. Today we would officially enter into the Warwan valley. We started early at 7am but the views started to become even more beautiful. With a gentle could cover on the birch laden green mountains, it was a beauty which I had never seen and that was the reason why Warwan valley trek was being compared with the grand views of Kashmir Great Lakes. Amazed at the colors and the pure wilderness somehow the so called long day wasn’t feeling so long.
Marmots frequently chirped at us and ducked under while we tried to click them. We slowly descended down and came across a confluence of two rivers finally turning into the Marwah river and we were now into the Warwan valley.
More flowery trials, more green and more trees. Another 16km-ish distance to reach Sukhnai (Sukhnis) campsite. By now, we are all acclimatized to the longer distances and were feeling good, but the tiredness of the pass crossing day was still prevalent in the body. We regularly stretched our bodies and relaxed once we reached the campsite to ward off any aches and pains due to muscle tightness.
Day 6 : We had an extra “buffer” day which we wanted to make the most of and we were collectively deciding whether to utilize it in the next campsite or go back to Srinagar. Slowly and immersed in the beauty of the valley nearing civilization, we reached the “Rekenwas” village and there it was, a meadow on a small hill, the Rekenwas campsite. On what was the most beautiful campsite of the entire trek, it was the perfect setting of a mountain with green fields around it and a blue river flowing under it. We placed our tents in such a way that our flaps opened up to this view. It was still pretty early in the afternoon and few of us just sat there in nothingness looking at the amazing view and wondering what could be more beautiful.
We were treated with organic buttermilk and saag by the locals nearby and it was one of the most potent foods I had tasted in a while.
Time was slowing down and we decided to visit Rekenwas village. The locals were all eyes, and it was as if they were not used to seeing visitors there. It was quite an experience in that village. That evening we had our debriefing session and we shared our experiences of the trek. It was all a cheerful, happy and content feeling.
On what was supposedly the last day of trekking (day 7), we packed up quickly and almost like second nature and made a move to a village called Basmina. Almost a level trail under the sun we walked and walked soaking in the amazing beauty of the lush green grand valley of Kishtwar. We reached Basmina in around 3 hours.
There was a fresh flowing cold river which wasn’t too deep to take a dip and we didn’t wait. After 8 days of climbing, descending, falling, sweating, it was time for a bath 😀 and boy, wasn’t it refreshing. My soul came alive in that cold glacier water. It was almost like all the tiredness was gone in a flash and what an end to a toiling 8-day trek.
Our pickup was arranged till the next village named Goran where Dawa had plans for our “buffer day”. We happily sat and it took us to Goran via Margan top. On our way we had our lunch of delicious chicken and rice.
What a buffer day!! (day 8). The homestay we checked into was arranged by one of our horsemen who accompanied us after the pass crossing. It was a cute little Kashmiri house with children and a small family. There was a cozy room for us with a thick carpet layer which felt so soft after living outdoors for the last one week. I took a bath in the evening and just relaxed among the apple trees, green grass and cloudy mountain views. People were getting cellular network but I didn’t bother to switch my phone on. The whole idea of going back to civilization was haunting me and I wished each second got longer. That night we slept like babies after eating a sumptuous local dinner in the homestay.
Day 9 was the final goodbye to the Warwan valley. What an experience it had been. Such vivid terrain, glacier walking, tricky sections, Ladakh and Kashmir both in one trek. A big thank you to India Hikes for exploring this trek and bringing it to my notice and of course making it a success for all of us.
While on the return journey in the tempo traveler, I reflected upon how I felt, how was the trek overall, and where do I go from here.
It is almost like nothingness inside which you don't want to deal with and let it be. It felt good but there were a ton of questions, in fact as I write this, I still have a ton of questions, not in my head, but in my heart. I reflect upon the last few years, I reflect upon where I come from. But Warwan valley will always be one of those experiences which will remain in my heart forever. It is that special!
We reached Srinagar by 1ish pm and straight away headed towards Ahdoos restaurant for the best Kashmiri cuisine. That day few of the trekkers left for their respective cities, few left the day after. I had not booked my tickets because I didn’t know how I would feel once I was back from the trek. On most of such treks I take 3-4 days to be in nature and alone, but this time around there was too much agitation within that I had to book my tickets for the day after and left for Mumbai.
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I do share my thoughts and info on all my trips and treks on social media as well, you can give me a follow on Instagram: @outlaw_wander
I am also a Certified Strength and Nutrition Coach. For fitness related information and coaching you can follow and DM me on Instagram: @outlaw_lift
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Until next time!
Vidhu.
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