Detailed Day Wise Itinerary

Day 1 : Arrive at Srinagar. Depart Srinagar by 2 pm and drive to Aru base camp (4 hrs)- The first destination of the day 1 is Aru base camp. There is no proper gravel road to the Aru base camp from Srinagar. Hence, we would have to enroot via Pahalgam. Pahalgam is a notified tourist place of Anantnag. It is quite a famous sight for shooting bollywood films.

Day 2 : Aru to Lidderwat (9.5 km, 6 hours) Today, we would be covering a distance of 9 – 10 kms in approximately 5 – 6 hours. The trail on way is a pleasant one, with easy uphill ascent. We will have to follow the trail alongside the River Lidder initially, which directly connect to the village up hill. From the village, the road will follow the agricultural departmental fence offering us a sophisticated and clear view of Aru behind

Day 3 : Lidderwat to Shekiwas (9124 ft. To 10699 ft) - Today, we would cover a distance of 6 – 7 kms in approximately 5 hours. We would be doing a lot of ascending and then crossing a river in between and some connecting plain terrains. On day three, the trial starts from PDA huts in line with the river Lidder and takes us to a pine forest.

Day 4 : Shekiwas to Tarsar (10699 ft to 12398 ft.) -Today, we would be ascending a distance of 5 kms which would take to complete in 5 hours. The day starts from Shekhiwas Meadow and trails through snake like path in the grassland for quite some time before it reaches Sumbal leading we through a valley. Here, the path to Tarsar takes us on a ridge on top of the stream.

Day 5 : Tarsar to Sundaresar, Visit to Marsar (optional) (12398 ft. to 12998 ft.)-On day 5, we would be crossing the Tarsar pass elevated at 13, 497 ft. The distance we would cover today is 5 km and in 5 – 6 hours. The trail on day 5 will be steep ascent at the beginning, followed by a steady descent and then again an easy and gentle ascent.

Day 6 : Sundarsar to Marsar and back to Sonmasti (12, 800 ft to 13, 170 ft)- Distance and time taken to complete this lag of the trek is 7 to 8 km and 5 – 6 hours. Marsar Lake is at the height of 11, 000 ft. On day 6 the pathway would be a steady ascent till Marsar and from there the journey is just descending back to the base camp.

Day 7 : Sonmasti to Sumbal; Drive to Srinagar- This day will be the last leg of the trek. We would drop down to 6, 500 ft. First descent to Sumbal from Sonmasti and thence a drive to Srinagar so as to reach before dusk at around 5 pm! The descent to Sumbal is a lengthy one, therefore an early start will be much preferred. It would take around 5 hours to Sumbal.