Pahalgam – Travel and local guide to Pahalgam, Kashmir

Aru is a small village, 11 kms upstream the Lidder River. The route is really picturesque with ample campsites. This village is the starting point for treks to the Kolahoi glacier, Lidderwat, etc.
This charming meadow can be reached by walking along a mountain path, though most people drive. The river Lidder disappears at Gur Khumb and reappears after 27 mts.
In order to go to Aru, you would need to cross over to the east side of the river, turning left before the Pahalgam Club, go along side the Golf Course Plateau, cross Hotel Heevan on left and keep going along for 10 kms or so. On the way, you would also cross a small zoo on the right.
You could take a taxi to Aru, or may even take a package (about Rs1000) which includes Betab Valley and Aru Valley in ECO car. The car will come to your hotel and pick you up and keep one day for these two points if you want to enjoy. When in Aru you can hike up a little hillock – can easily spend a couple of hours. Make sure you sort out how much time you would want to spend at each place before fixing the taxi rates. Also note that no ouside taxi other than from Pahalgam Taxi stand is allowed to these places.
If you want to hike or trek up and explore beyond, leave for Aru in the morning, and you can camp in Lidderwat, which is a a base camp for going to Tarsar/Marsar lakes and Kolohai glacier. You can visit the lakes the next day, or could trek to Kolohai. Negotiate with pony wallahs if you want to explore these areas in detail.

Related posts:

1. River Rafting in Pahalgam – 2010 Status Update

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.