Vasuki Tal is situated 12kms above the valley of Kedarnath. Situated in the “Great Himalayan Range”, this glacier lake is surrounded by mountains from all side and is of great mythological importance! It is believed that Lord Vishnu took a bath in this pristine lake on the occasion of Rakshabandhan, a festival celebrated in India to mark the bond between a brother and sister.
We got the opportunity to give this lake a visit on October 2022 and with my two little brothers I embarked on the journey to climb through some of the deadliest patches and mountains to reach this holy lake.
How to reach this pristine lake?
To reach Vasuki Tal you have to climb your way up to Kedarnath which lies in the state of Uttarakhand in India. The place where Shiva himself resides in the form of a “Shivlinga” ! Visiting Kedarnath is on the bucket list of each and every people in India, not only because of the Shiva’s temple but the other-worldly beauty of that place. This lake is situated 12 kms above the Kedarnath Temple, and believe me when I say this that it’s not at all an easy trek! To give you an idea, almost 10,000 – 15,000 people visit Kedarnath on a daily basis but only 2 or 3 people dare to go for this trek.
To do this trek, it takes 12 hours of continous ascent and descent to a trip and back! We don’t recommend that you do this trek if you have any physical problems like asthama, high blood pressure, heart problems and other respiratory issues. Even being completely fit, I almost lost my senses on this trek and for a moment I thought that I won’t be able to make it out alive! We started our trek at around 5 am in the morning and were back to Kedarnath by 5pm in the evening.
(All the pictures in this post are clicked by us on our journey to Vasuki Tal)
Now, to start this trek we recommend that you get up early in the morning at around 4:30 am and start making the preparations to go on this trek. We also recommend that you hire a guide or a porter for this trek as doing this trek alone or just with your friends can prove to be an extremely dangerous move especially if you plan to do this trek during winter months (october-november).
Pack some protein bars and dry fruits for this trek and a bottle for water as there are no facilities available on this trek. You will barely find any other person on the mountains! The guide charges 1500-2000 rs per person for this trek. We ended up paying 6000/- for 3 people and one couldn’t make it and had to return backwards to Kedarnath.
What is the best time to do this trek?
The best time to do this trek can be summers (April-June) for most people as snow is not there and it is relatively very easy to do the trek, or you can also do the trek in monsoons(August-september) to find the mountains covered with lush green grasses and flowers! You can also witness the flower of “Brahmakamal” here.
However for hardcore trekkers the best time to do this trek would be winters(October-November) as you can witness the peaks in it’s full glory! The whole valley is covered with snow from all sides and visiting this lake in winters will be a treat to your eyes, as you can witness the complete Himalayan range on this trek. We did this trek on 17th October 2022 and as you can see from the pics attached, the whole valley is covered with fresh white snow! If there is a way to heaven, it must be through this path!
Things to carry on this trek-
To embark on this trek, you need to be fully prepared with all the necessary food items and gears to complete the journey safely. Here is a list of things that you must carry if you are planning to do this trek-
- Protein Bars and Dry fruits- Make sure that you carry some dry fruits and a protein bar when you embark on this trek as it will give you the required energy for the trek. Don’t overeat before going on this trek.
- Trekking Stick- Carry a trekking stick with you as the grounds can be slippery, especially in winters and monsoons. You can also go for local sticks available in Kedarnath for the trek.
- Raincoat- If you plan to do the trek in monsoons, make sure that you carry a raincoat with you as bad weather can ruin your trip.
- Sunglasses or Goggles- Not taking sunglasses or goggles to the trek was easily our biggest mistake as we got “Snow Blindness” for some time when the sun was shining bright and the snow was reflecting all the light, it was like everything seemed white and we couldn’t continue our trek for a moment.
- Water bottle- I don’t need to explain this one XD
Make sure that you keep your bag as light as possible if you are carrying one as even a single gram of additional weight feels like a ton up above!
I hope this blog has helped you in getting a fair insight on how you can plan your trip to the Great Himalayas and have a safe trip!
