Kareri Lake Trek

The Kareri Lake trek is absolutely stunning despite its proximity to the town’s traffic jams in summer. The Kareri Lake trail goes through the Kareri village, which is close to Dharamshala and the pine forests that follow. Kareri lake is named after the village which is located at a distance of 9km away from the lake. An interesting fact about Kareri Lake is that it’s also known as Kumarwah Lake.

Once on the Kareri Lake trek, the forests get denser and you might be able to spot a Blue Magpie even. Kareri Village has a ‘Forest Rest House’ and a few more places that sell basic amenities. In fact, some of the houses may even offer the facility of a night’s stay. 

The itinerary of the Kareri Lake trek includes trekking to Rioti village from Kareri village. The Nyund River will accompany us on our trek here. This stream is the outflow of the snow melting from the Dhauladhar range. The melting snow is also the source of Kareri lake.

Speaking of the Dhauladhar range, the lake also serves as the base for further trekking to reach there. One can also go to Bharmour and Chamba via the Baleni Pass and Minkiani Pass. The locals have also laid a lot of steps for convenience. This has definitely helped Kareri Lake trekking as hospitality is shown.

Once at Kareri lake, you can also hike for another 30 minutes up to Gajj. Kareri Lake itself does not have any accommodation options. However, you can stay overnight at Rioti or set up a campsite by the lakeside. The Kareri lake even remains frozen from December to March.

Don’t forget to bring appropriate gear along with you for this, though. This option isn’t really recommended during winter because it gets way too cold at night for your comfort so it’s best to get back to the village. 

The history of Kareri Lake involves religious importance. A very popular attraction near Kareri Lake is a temple that’s dedicated to Lord Shiva and Shakti. This ancient temple overlooks the beautiful lake and is situated on a hilltop.

Near Kareri lake, you’ll also find a few gaddi kothis. These are grazing grounds used by the Gaddis for their cattle. This is an important aspect of the culture of the villagers from Kareri.

Out of all of these attractions, the most adventurous one is obviously the trek. There are plenty of things to do during the Kareri Lake Trek.

Trekkers can also take part in activities like Tyrolean Traversing and participate in local tours. What’s Tyrolean traversing, you ask? It’s a method of crossing between two high points through the free space between them. People do this without a hanging cart on a rope.

The Kareri Lake trek is less explored and offers great scenic views of valleys and mountain ranges. The difficulty level of this trek varies from easy to moderate and hence it is suitable for both beginners as well as experienced ones.