Gadsar Lake

Gadsar Lake (Urdu:ﮔﺎﮈﺳﺮ ﺟﮭﻴﻞ ), Kashmiri:ﻏﺎﮌ ﺳﺁﺭ ) also called as “the valley of flowers“ is a picturesque lake in Ganderbal^[1] district of Kashmir valley at an elevation of 3600 metres. It has a max. length of 0.85 kilometres and max. width of 0.76 kilometres.

Gadsar' in Kashmiri means “the lake of fishes“ . The lake is the natural habitat of trout. The lake freezes in the month of November to April and is mostly covered by snow during these months. It is surrounded by alpine flowers, therefore the lake is sometimes called as “the valley of flowers“.^[2] The lake is mainly fed by melting of glaciers and it drains out by a small stream which flows north westwards which later joins Neelum River.

Access

Gadsar Lake is situated 108 kilometres Northeast from Srinagar city and 28 kilometres Northwest from Sonamarg.^[3] It can be accessed from Srinagar 80 kilometres by road NH 1D. Ponies can be hired from NH 1D at village Shitkadi to cover a mountaneous trek of 28 kilometres which leads to Gadsar Lake. There are two more lakes enroute the trek, Vaishnosar lake and Krishansar lake.^[4] It can also be accessed by another trek via Gangabal Lake. The best time to visit is from the month of June to September.

Lake Monster controversy

The shepherds grazing their folks in the outskirts of Gadsar lake during summers believes that, there lives a Lake Monster, a freshwater Octopus which drags the creatures from shores by its tentackles into the water and eats them. There is an uncertainty in the minds of visitors, a kind of threat which prevents them going near the shores. The shepherds also chose otherwise grazing their folks at the shores of the lake. There has never been any attempt made by anyone to find the reality. The fishes are being caught outside the lake in a stream from which it drains out.

References