Captain Nero takes you on India’s Most Beautiful Trek: Tarsar Marsar (7 Nights, 8 Days) ‘Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit, is the answer to the mystery why we climb’ – Greg Child Trek & Tour Route: Srinagar – Pahalgam – Aru Valley – Lidderwat – Tarsar Lake – Lidderwat – Aru Valley – Pahalagam – Aharbal Falls – Srinagar Tour Duration: 7 nights, 8 days Estimated Travel Dates: July 30 – Aug 6 Group size: 18 pax TREK INFORMATION: Altitude: 13,201 ft Difficulty level: Moderate Duration: 5 days BRIEF ITINERARY: July 30: Srinagar Arrival. Transfer to Pahalgam. O/N Pahalgam. July 31: Trek from Aru Valley to Lidderwat. O/N Lidderwat. Aug 1: Lidderwat to Tarsar Lake.O/N Tarsar Lake. Aug 2: Tarsar Lake to Marsar Lake and back. O/N Tarsar Lake. Aug 3: Tarsar Lake to Lidderwat. O/N Lidderwat. Aug 4: Descend to Aru Valley. Drive back to Pahalgam. O/N Pahalgam. Aug 5: Day trip to Arhabal Falls. Transfer to Srinagar. O/N Srinagar Aug 6: Fly back to your respective cities from Srinagar. Disclaimer: All plans shared here are as per the prevailing guidelines and regulations in place in the wake of Covid-19. The places and activities specified in the plan are presently open and accessible. If the government implements any changes during the time of our trip dates, necessary changes will be made in accordance. Due to the uniqueness of this situation, we expect your cooperation and understanding not complaining in such an event and proceeding with the modified plan. This is a worst-case scenario and one that may not arise but on the off chance that it does, we shall all proceed accordingly, and we’ll do so with a pep in our step! Alright people, firstly you made the right decision by wanting to do the Tarsar Marsar Trek :) For there isn’t any trek that can match the stunning blend of majestic mountain scenery of Kashmir and the Himalayas. Think of the most beautiful scenery that you can imagine. Think of those drawings you made when you were kids, of a mountain, a stream flowing from it, some trees and a cottage. Think of a beautiful meadow with sheep and horses grazing. Close your eyes and imagine rushing water in a river. Imagine sitting under a million stars at night. Now put all these nice images together, and you have one of India’s most beautiful treks – Tarsar Marsar. The trek starts in the quaint valley of Aru where the sounds of the stream will follow you for long. From here, you walk from amidst pine trees. You will pass through dense forests and grasslands and will see a lot of wildflowers. Tarsar Marsar is a delight. This trek is for anyone in love with mountains, with green pastures and meadows, in love with high altitude treks, and being away from the world for a week! IMPORTANT INFORMATION Now, before we go to the itinerary, let’s get down immediately to the important part. This trip costs a little above Rs 22,000 if you do it with us. Now, there are other travel companies who sell it for costs as low as 13500/-, 14000/. That’s because those packages just include the trek. And let me tell you what all they haven’t included. 1. Two nights stay in Pahalgam. We are providing this for our group in a beautiful three star property. The other trekking companies’ prices are from Aru – Tarsar – Aru i.e only the trekking part. This itself is an additional 3-3.5k per person 2. Airport transfers. The packages of other trek companies for this trek doesn’t include that. 3. Transport from Srinagar to Pahalgam, and Pahalgam to Aru in the beginning of the trip, and the exact reverse in the end of the trip. They are charging Rs 1500- 2000 per person for the same. We are providing private transfers for all our trippers both ways, and it’s included in our trip package. 4. Porter/mules carrying bags for the entire duration of the trip. The other trek companies have this as optional inclusions and charge an approximate Rs 1500 extra cost per person for the same. We have included this cost also in our package. Our trippers won’t need to lug their rucksacks for 5-6 hours every day. 5. We are providing a day trip to a relatively unseen part of Kashmir a day after the trek ends. The absolutely stunning Aharbal falls which will be at its fullest and most beautiful in this season. It’s a 100 kms away from Pahalgam, and we will be taking the whole group in a private vehicle. This is being done exclusively by us and not other trek agencies. 6. That same night, we are staying in a beautiful 3 star property in Srinagar. Again, that’s not part of any other trek company package. 7. Our package cost includes all taxes. Most trek companies charge taxes separately. If you add all these costs, you will see that its easily an extra Rs 10,000. Their hidden charges (airport transfers + cabs to and from Aru to Srinagar + stay for at least one extra night post the trek + porter/mule charges itself amount to Rs 6000 or so, even if you don’t include the two nights in a hotel in Pahalgam and the day trip to Aharbal falls). Hence, our price is Rs 22,000 as opposed to Rs 14,000 – Rs 16000 for basic trek packages for Tarsar Marsar. If they included all their hidden costs, their prices would mostly be higher than ours. All you have to do is book a flight to and fro Srinagar and rest all we will take care of for you. Also, we have an expert local adventure team that will be taking the whole team up this beautiful mountain. There will be 2 expert guides, porters, mules and delicious food for each batch throughout the trekking days. They will be trekking with the team with one in the front, one in the middle and one at the back to take care of the whole group, to determine if anyone has any fatigue or altitude sickness, to tell you the best way to trek and more. And with them will be our very own Captain Nero (Neeraj Narayanan) who has trekked a lot, loves nature and adventure, and will share a lot of mountain stories with you. More importantly, he will push you when you need it, motivate and guide you, and will never ever give up on you. ‘If you want to know a person, travel with them. And if you want to really know a person, climb a tough mountain with them’ – Captain Nero You need a reassuring person to be there, when you are trekking for five six days. And these our super trekking team we have collaborated with will ensure that this is the best trekking trip you could have chosen. DETAILED ITINERARY: DAY 1: Srinagar Arrival. Transfer to Pahalgam. O/N Pahalgam ‘Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountains and the seas are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than what we could learn from books’ - John Lubbock Fly into Srinagar in the morning and land latest by 11 am. The moment you step out of the plane, the pleasant weather greets you and you can see the mountains everywhere in the background. Upon your arrival at the airport, a cab will transfer the group to our hotel in Pahalgam. It’s a three- four hour from Srinagar airport. A lot of chinar trees and woolly dogs later, we shall see the first of the saffron fields just before Pampore village. Pampore is a bats’ village. As the name suggests, the entire village is engaged in making cricket bats, and we shall stop at a small bat factory enroute. We then continue our journey through the mountains, meadows on both sides, and soon the Lidder river will join us, running parallel bristling and ice cold all the way to Pahalgam. We shall check into the hotel by late afternoon. Later, we will head out into this beautiful town. There will be lots of woods to explore with bristling cold streams hiding from us, and teasing us to find them. Day 2: Aru Valley to Lidderwat. O/N Lidderwat • Altitude: 7,950 to 9,150ft • Trek: 10 kms, 6 hours ‘Stop staring at mountains. Climb them instead. Yes, its a hard process, but it will lead you to a better view.’ In the morning, after breakfast, we leave for Aru Valley, which is just 12 kms away from the main town. A large green meadow during summers, Aru has been a location for the shooting of many Bollywood movies. In winters, it looks like a mountain meadow in Switzerland – a mix of white and green, with towering imposing snowy white cliffs in the background. From here, begins out trek and we will be surrounded by mountains for the next 5 days. This first day the trekking will involve gradual ascending. We shall follow the Lidder stream upwards and make our way through small mountain villages and fields. It’s a long climb covering a distance of 10 kms. A few minutes into the trek, and you can see the beautiful area of Aru behind you.Take a minute, strike a pose and get that picture that you’ll be dying to post! As you trek through the clusters of fir trees, the trail soon opens out to the Dalla clearing, near some huts.