Where is Tulian Lake?
Tulian Lake is one among the most beautiful places in Kashmir. It is situated at a distance of 16 kms from Pahalgam and is at a height of 3,684 meters above sea level (for comparison the Everest Base Camp is 5364 meters high and you can read all about trekking there from our detailed blog post here). One will find tall pine trees, wild butterflies, birds, fruits and camping nomads enroute to this majestic destination.
How to reach Tulian Lake from Pahalgam?
One can reach Tulian Lake by foot (difficult) or by horse/pony (moderate difficulty). If going by horses, they take you till Tulian Marg (about 75% of distance) and one needs to continue on foot from there. In total, It could take about 12 hours to complete the trek if going by this option.
By foot, the whole trek could take about 2 days to complete for novice trekkers. As it involves overnight camping, a guide is a must. Starting early is super important either way.
A couple of important tips when hiring a horse ride:
- Ensure the horse is strong and healthy and has done this trek multiple times earlier.
- Ensure you are given a horseman for every horse you hire. Often they try to map 1 horseman for 2 horses which is risky due to the steep climbs and falls throughout the trek.
- When you find a good horse, try not to negotiate too much with the pony riders as they often end up replacing horses at the last minute (as good horses are given a premium elsewhere).
What is the best time to visit Tulian Lake?
It usually snows in Pahalgam between December and February. This trek’s difficulty increases with such weather. If it’s snowing, then doing this one will be most difficult. We did this trek in May and the snow was receding then but still prominent at higher altitudes near the lake. We would definitely suggest mid week of April to May as the best month to go to Tulian Lake. But always you need to have first handed information from the locals regarding the last snowfall at the peak of tulian lake before you go for the trek.
How long is Tulian Lake trek?
Tulian lake is situated 16 kilometers from Pahalgam. It takes 12 hours if you hire horses/ponies and 2 days, in case one wishes to do this trek totally by foot.
From Pahalgam, in about 12 kilometers one will arrive at Tulian Marg (or base camp). This is where one can stop and relax. Ponies/horses cannot go beyond this point as the route is too steep and has patches of soft to hard snow.
It will take about 2 hours to reach Tulian marg on the pony. From here, it will take another 2 to 3 hours for a novice trekker to climb up to Tulian lake. This stretch is the most difficult one with steep paths laden with rocks of all sizes and shapes stacking up steeply followed by large patches of soft to thick snow. This is a sight to be seen!
How much will the Tulian Lake trek cost?
The pony ride will cost about 4k to 5k per pony and depends on the season. May being peak travel season, the rates are usually high.
Our journey from Pahalgam to Tulian Marg (base camp)
We started our journey at 7:30 am in the morning. We negotiated horses (ghoda wala) a day before at our hotel. We were staying at the Paradise guest house in Pahalgam. They arranged for a pony ride for 3 of us (me, my wife Anusha and our 11 year old daughter Diya).
On the day of trek, we were let down as the pony guy got someone else to accompany us instead of him. He also got 2 folks accompanying 3 horses and one of the two was hardly 13 year old kid! We should have backed out at that time, but we didn’t as we didn’t want to lose the day. We had our share of surprises later. Keep reading to know what ;-).
We started climbing up taking the circuit road, which is picturesque full of grand cottages built by the JnK Tourism departments. These cottages do not show up on the usual booking sites, they are exclusively available on the JnK tourism booking site. These cottages are amazing, big and with some great views. Next time we will surely book here.
Within 45 minutes, we hit the kachha road, which was nothing but a trek trail. This full trail is natural terrain, which passes through streams of flowing water that the horses manage to easily trod through (and stop by to drink water!).
We spotted shepherds with their hundreds of sheeps, resting and camping. Their lifestyle seems so thrilling. They don’t have a home, they make their own home wherever they want to and camp there.
As we started moving further, the terrain started becoming steeper. The tall pine trees, the trunks of which were so big that even if 3 people circle them, they cannot get their arms around it!. The trees are believed to be 150 to 200 years old. They block the sunlight and at times let it slip through. Some great pictures on the way.
Another 1 hour goes by and then finally comes the steepest of the climbs so far. The horsemen advised us to get down and do this 30 minutes of trek on foot while they helped the horses maneuver the steep climb. We took more than 30 minutes to do this stretch as we were exhausted for every 4 steps. Once we managed to clear this stretch, we reached a mini peak of sorts from where we could see the whole valley!
Here onwards it was a pretty flat and an easy ride on the ponies to reach our base camp, called the Tulian Marg. The ride to this place is super scenic as with every turn, a new vista opens up. A vast valley with two huge mountain ranges on both the sides, with a stream flowing right to your side. The sounds of the water gushing soothes your senses. We have never seen or experienced anything like this before.
This amazing view greets you midway.
Journey from Tulian Marg (base camp) to Tulian Lake
We stopped over at Tulian Marg to relax for a while before the steepest climb to Tulian Lake next. This is where the horses graze around. We brought some fruits and snacks along that served as breakfast for us. It was around 11:30 am, we took a 30 minute break and by 12 were ready for the big one.
We started climbing up towards the lake, within 15 minutes we were exhausted. From here onwards, we were stopping for every 10 steps to catch some breath. At some point, 1 hour into the trek, my daughter started feeling dizzy. This is where we got a little nervous. I read somewhere that when going up the mountains, air could get sparse. The lungs do not get as much air as they are used to for every breath. So going nice and easy, with long breaths is important.
I asked my daughter to sit and take some long breaths, and gave her some water. She started feeling better. Then onwards we were focusing on keeping the momentum on, but not speed. Small baby steps but keep going on.
We kept our slow climb on for 1 hour and that’s when we saw snow. The snow was soft and melting. This must be because of the season. It was deceptive, and we couldn’t understand if our next step would hold or sink 3 feet.
Luckily, just as we were struggling to cross the thick snowy/icy patch, we met Rizwan who is a professional trekking expert. He was accompanying his clients who unfortunately abandoned the trek midway due to health reasons. As they couldn’t finish the trek, he came to capture pictures of the lake for them using their phone. So there he was!
We requested him to accompany us as we were 3 and we had only 1 guide (who was more of a horse man and not an experienced trekker). Rizwan was kind enough to accept! Together 5 of us continued our climb for another 2 hours. Through round exposed rocks to plains of snow (with rocks underneath!).
Just 15 minutes before we could see the lake, I couldn’t take it anymore. I started acting loony… wasn’t able to control my thoughts, something wasn’t right. We stopped for a good 15 minutes there. It must have been the lightness in air, the constant sharp sun rays on the skin, which were silently dehydrating me. The cool breeze was not letting us feel the dehydration. So my tip to our readers is to:
- Apply a good sunscreen lotion!
- Carry at least 500 ml of water ( to be sipped every 30 mins).
- Have a hat that protects your face.
Finally, after that 15 minute stop – we continued our march further up this final cliff to see the grand lake below us…yes, the lake was below as we were on a peak, which now descended into a crater, i.e. the tulian lake.
We spent the next 1 hour at Tulian Lake just sitting and relaxing. It seemed like time stopped and all of us stopped speaking for at least 15 minutes. We were spell bound looking at the grandness that presented in front of us. Slowly, each one of us, went in different directions and started exploring on our own.
…while Anusha found a spot of her own in the ice cold water
Soon, the weather started getting cloudy, and the temperature was dropping. Our guides asked us to being our descent to the base camp now. Within 1 hour, we were back at the Tulian Marg (base camp), where our horses were waiting for us. We thanked Rizwan and bid him farewell there and got on to our horses for our descent towards Pahalgam.
It was 5pm already, the weather became cloudy with slight drizzle. We started our 12 kms descent back to Pahalgam. The return journey from the base camp took about 2 hours. Must admit going uphill on horses is much easier than going downhill. One needs to bend backwards when ever the horse is climbing down. This puts in extra strain on your back and at times, the horses could hesitate. Hence a good horseman is a must for every horse.
This is where we had some anxious moments as we just had 2 horsemen remember? The horses were hesitating due to the steep nature of the terrain and the 13 year old boy was getting restless and yelling at the poor creatures from behind. One of the horses almost slipped. Luckily, we all reached safely to Pahalgam by 7pm.
At the end, it was all worth every effort and it turned out to be a trek of a lifetime for us. This is an amazing experience and one should not miss doing this trek.
Why should you do this trek?
This trek takes you to an altitude that’s half of mount everest (…well almost 
) minus all the risk and fitness requirements that are needed for everest. With a little bit of planning and commitment, you will get to experience mother earth’s raw beauty.
What do I need to ensure for a smooth Tulian Lake trek experience?
Here are the top 5 things you need to ensure to have a smooth trekking experience.
- You should have decent fitness levels.
- Hire healthy horses (in case going for pony).
- Ensure every horse has a adult horseman who knows the horse.
- Hire a trek guide who knows the route and place.
- Trek gear (all weather boots, sticks, sun screen, water, snacks)
Tulian Lake Video:
See the entire trek summarised into 5 minute video here
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