Chitta Katha Lake, Kashmir, Pakistan (Part 1)

The Journey begins:

“We are going to Chitta Katha Lake tonight” Abdul Sattar called me at 5 pm and said.

He asked me what other places he could visit in his four days trip to Kashmir, as I had visited Kashmir twice. I gave him some suggestions, after consulting my “Travel Expert Friend”, Haseeb. While telling Sattar about other places, I was dying to go there with them as I had never been to the amazing Chitta Katha Lake. I came back home and after seeking permission from my gracious wife (As all obedient husbands do), called Sattar and asked him, “Is there one seat available for me?”

“Yes why not” he said.

I was in the van with them, at 11 pm, ready for one of the most amazing journeys of my life.

On the way we discussed going to Ratti Gali Lake and Arang Kel but then decided to leave the option of visiting Ratti Gali as time was too short. During this discussion with Sattar I came to know that none of us had been to Chitta katha before, apparently I was the only one with most information about the route (Thanks to my friend Haseeb). Most surprisingly there were many “First Timers” in that van who had never been to the northern part of Pakistan and had no experience of tracking or climbing mountains.

“Do they even have a clue where they are going, its Chitta Katha Lake not a picnic spot in Murree” I thought in my mind. It was late at night and we had a long journey ahead so I slept (or tried to sleep).

The River Neelam joining River Jehlam at Muzafarabad (P.C. Shahid)

 

We stopped at Muzafarabad for breakfast then started our journey towards Kel. Travelling along the river Neelam, with Pakistan on one side and India on other, we really enjoyed Butt Sb’s, previous experiences of this route.

He explained how mysteriously he went very near to the Indian border when last time he came to this route. By the way when he was sharing his previous trip experiences with us it was revealed to me that he had tried the Chitta Katha track but failed to reach the Lake.

 

River Neelam alongside keran to Sharda road (P.C. Basit)

 

Our next stop was Sharda. It was my second time there and the weather was killing me this time as well. Clouds were floating in the air like small islands in heaven; I was lost in absorbing the atmosphere when our driver broke a bad news in which he stated he is not going to Kel (The actual town where we were planning to stay at night).

“The road is dangerous and muddy and it’s raining”, He said.

While Sattar was busy convincing the driver, I took some of the group members to the famous bridge of Sharda and those who missed the amazing scenery still curse me for that. It took us an hour and lots of argument to convince the driver but finally we were on our way to Kel.

 

This is me standing at Sharda Bridge while beautiful river Neelam is following silently under it.

 

 

Another view of river Neelam form Sharda Bridge towards Taobat.

 

 

Famous bridge of Sharda

 

 

Sharda Buddhist University; a temple once centre point of Buddhist culture now standing silently alongside with Pakistani flag (Sharda is named after Sharda Devi)

 

It was night when we reached Kel and town was already sleeping. After searching and bargaining in few hotels we checked in to a small one. Everyone was tired and sleepy. I went to the room where all young first timers were about to sleep and I asked them, “Have you ever hiked?”

The answer was “NO”. I gave them some tips and got acquaintance with them.

 

Young adventurers (from left: Basit, Qadeer and Shahid) ready to sleep in their hotel room at Kel

 

Next day I woke up early in the morning as always, to see the sun rise. It was quiet in the town; I walked to the end of a small bazaar of Kel and saw a small village with beautiful hut like homes. Clouds were floating like they were swimming in the deep blue sky, river Neelam was flowing sidewise and whole picture was surrounded by lush green trees.

A rare glimpse of Dr. Naveed standing near jeep at bus stand Kel bazaar

 

 

A beautiful village at the beginning of jeep track alongside a larger stream coming form Domail

 

 

A beautiful village at the end of main bazaar of kel along side river Neelam coming form Taobat

 

I stood there for a while enjoying my surroundings and then came back as we had to arrange a jeep for our next destination “Domail”. Domail was a small town five hours away from Kel; it was the last town on the road joining Kashmir to Gilgit Bultistan. When I went back to the hotel everyone was having breakfast. On my way back I saw some jeeps waiting for passengers for Domail.

We booked a jeep and took our luggage and all of us started walking towards the jeep stand, where I noticed Sattar’s shoes they seemed to be unique.

I asked, “These shoes look different”.

Then Sattar started telling me how he bought these 300 $ shoes from New Zealand especially for hiking, they were pretty expensive, but now when I started looking at them carefully their Sole was detached from them. At first I thought it may be some special design but then out of my curiosity I asked Sattar, is this style or what? Sattar looked at his shoes and noticed they were broken!

Sattar with his imported broken 300 $ shoes

 

We were about to go on a very long and technical hike and his shoes were totally broken. Thankfully these expensive shoes from New Zealand did not surprise us on the track otherwise that would have been a disaster. We searched a cobbler and we were lucky enough to find one, in that small town early in the morning.

While we were busy in fixing Sattar’s shoes, Butt sb, was flying in the air (P.C. Qadeer).

 

Jeep track

Now we all were in the jeep going toward Domail. It was a jeep track alongside a streak. Shepherds with their goats were also on their way to green lands around Chitta Katha Lake. Sometimes I wish to follow these shepherds and get lost in these heavenly paths on which these people are travelling for centuries.

These shepherds walk miles along with their goats, every summer from southern parts of Punjab to green Lands to Deosai through Kashmir (P.C. Qadeer).

 

I was enjoying the dangerous track as it was going high and high from the stream and becoming more rocky and muddy, suddenly our jeep stopped and the driver told us that there is something wrong with it. Well, we did not worry about the jeep and availed this small hick up to grab some pictures.

Basit taking selfie with jeep out of order

 

The jeep was on the road again and after almost four hours we reached to a camping spot almost five kilometers before Domail. We could see Domail from here but we were not going there as the track to Chitta katha starts from this point. We left the jeep and asked the locals about the way to Chitta katha lake they said its better to get a guide (my travel expert friend Haseeb also recommended me to get a guide) but Sattar our team leader rejected this option. This is where Sattar gave his own definition of tracking. He said, “There is a difference between tracking and hiking, in tracking we have to find our way ourselves”. Now we were on our way to Chitta katha track to find our own way to the lake!

The point where we left our jeep, We can see Domail village far away from this point

 

 

Zoomed picture of Domail village for campsite on jeep track.

 

We could see a stream cutting through the mountains and we were told to follow that stream. Well all of us were very energetic and excited as the weather was very pleasant and sun was shining. First we had to go down the hill where there was a large stream with a bridge on it and then after crossing that large stream we had to follow the small fresh water stream to the Chitta Katha Lake.

While I was crossing the bridge on the large stream, I stood at the middle of that bridge and looked at the large stream, water was flowing too fast and it made me dizzy. Yes some how I felt that I am going with that water, it was attaracting me with intense pull. I, for a moment felt like jumping into the stream. I shook my head and diverted my concentration toward the track and started walking and finally was successful in crossing the bridge. Please don’t look at running water while crossing bridges it makes you feel dizzy which could be dangerous.

View of the small stream along slide Chitta katha track from where we started to descent from jeep track.

 

 

Crossing the bridge on large stream (P.C. Shahid)

 

After crossing a larger stream there was a mud house, a Kashmiri family was living there; we filled our water bottles from a spring at their home and met with a beautiful little girl wearing traditional Kashmiri dress, looking at me as if I belonged to another planet with two of her brothers.

Met three angles, on our way to Chitta Katha Lake

 

An Innocent face with eyes trying to tell me many stories of her life

 

I tried to talk to them but they were too shy, but they allowed me to take some of their pictures. I can still see many questions in her eyes which I don’t have answers to!

 

Part 3: The Adventure begins

Now we were finally on the track to Chitta Katha Lake. Sattar led us from the front or should I say left us behind.

Sattar, looking back at us just before disappearing

 

In no time Sattar was gone, I tried to catch up with his pace but I couldn’t. I knew that everyone should track with his own pace and I was a slow hiker. So I did not move too fast and was moving slowly and steadily. All other group members were busy taking selfies and pictures behind. Butt sb and Professor sb crossed me in a hurry as they did not want to lose sight of Sattar or they were trying to be the first to reach to the lake.

The young adventurers were too much excited and were taking selfies and pictures at almost every second that was the reason why they always remained behind us. This reason was revealed to me, after reaching Lahore when they shared their pictures with me by the way most of those pictures were selfies. Finding yourself at those amazing places and capturing them is one of the extra benefit one gets. At these places one finds astonishing natural scenes every second capturing them would give us chance to store those scenes in our life forever (recommendation: don’t take selfies try to capture nature around you, not you.).

Butt sb and Professor sb just after crossing the house after large stream

 

After some time, I reached a point where I saw Professor sb sitting on the grass. I asked him what happened.

“My heart is beating too fast and I am really thirsty” he said.

I asked him, “Where is your bottle of water?”

“I gave it to someone behind as it was heavy”, Professor sb said.

I was surprised, how can someone track without water. I offered him my bottle of water and said, “Now walk with me and don’t walk too quickly, don’t get your breathe forth quickly.”

Now Professor sb and I were walking together. The track was beautiful with a fresh and cold water stream flowing alongside it. The water of stream was flowing like a canal of milk is flowing through the mountains of heaven.

A beautiful stream coming from deck 1 alongside Chitta Katha track (locate Prof. Sb in pic)

 

 

Shahid got ahead of me, when I saw him standing beside the violent stream, ready to conquer it.

 

 

Two titans standing together behind mystic clouds

 

There were two mountains surrounded by mystic clouds standing there like a castle in fairyland. I had visited to many mountainous areas but this landscape was unique as if this did not belong to the real world.

I was busy in absorbing the scenery and taking pictures when I saw Professor Sb standing on the track waiting for me.

“What happened?” I asked.

 

Professor sb. at dead end (at the bottom of bottle neck)

 

“There is no track ahead”, He replied.

I did not believe him as we were told that track goes to Chitta Katha lake, but when I reached to that point I saw it with my own eyes, this was a dead end.

Bottle Neck! Yes this point of the track is called as bottle neck. There was a gorge on one side and a mountain on the other. I was wondering, how Sattar is not standing here waiting for us as he was the only one ahead of us? We stood there for few minutes and then we remembered that five minutes ago a local family including an old man a girl and a child passed us and they were on the same track but now they were also gone.

 

Young adventurers crossing bottleneck, with few stepping stones to climb up (P.C. Qadeer)

 

Out of my curiosity I started looking around for another track but it was a dead end. Suddenly I looked up to my left side there seemed to be a way going up vertically.

I told Professor Sb, this might be a way.

“Impossible”, he replied.

How could that girl with a child go from this way. It was muddy, wet, water was creeping down from it and we had to go up, climb approximatly three stories high to the mountain.

“I shall try to go up from this way and shall tell you if there is a track up there”, I said.

If that girl with a child could go through this way we could also. I started climbing up it was dificult and while going up I was constantly thinking how would we come down on our way back for Chitta katha lake?

 

After crossing bottleneck a view of the scenery behind where one can see jeep track far away

 

After climbing almost one story high I was sure that this was the way so I asked Professor Sb to follow me. He hesitated first but then started his climb through bottle neck. We both were now at top of the bottle neck ready to follow the track again. This track was easy and soon we were at deck 1.

 

Deck 1:

The narrow path along the stream opens up in this beautiful vast field surrounded by mountains with the stream is now flowing through it, commonly known as deck 1. We could see Sattar standing near camp waving at us.

“How was your journey?” he asked.

We told him how mysteriously he and a local family disappeared and then how dangerously did we find our way through bottle neck. He just gave us his signature smile as if he was saying “Is tarah tou hota hai is tarah k kaamon main”.

 

A view of Deck 1 from pass between Deck 1 and Deck 2

 

When everyone successfully made it to Deck 1 then Sattar said to me, “let’s find a vantage point so that we can see the whole valley and figure out our next day plan.”

Here he again repeated his own definition of tracking, “Tracking means, finding your own way through wilderness, so let’s do this”, he said.

Now we had started to climb a mountain which we thought would lead us to the” vantage point”. There was no track, but we climbed up and up until we reached a point where there was no way to go further up.

Now we were stuck, we could see the edge of the mountain but it was very difficult to climb through that way. Then I saw some trees far away parallel to us.

“We should try to reach those trees, I think there must be some way to climb up”, I said.

 

Deck 1 with two camps right in the middle of it

 

How dangerously we succeeded to reach those trees can’t be explained but to cut the story short we were able to reach to the top of the mountain. When we were at the top we came to know that the top was just a small edge of mountain and the real top was too high looking at us and smiling. Well we quitted our quest for vantage point and started searching our way back to the deck 1.

It was not top of the mountain but it served our purpose as we could see deck 1 on one side of it and deck 2 on other. I still remember the first glimpse of deck 2, surrounded by huge mountains, six waterfalls falling from different directions with a roof of clouds above. I sat there silently and felt the sanity and purity of nature around me.

“We should find our way back to deck 1, it is getting dark”, Sattar said.

This was plane area on an edge of the mountain and while we were searching our way back to deck 1 we found there was a house, a local family was living there.

 

Having a view of Deck 2 with all of its water falls from vantage point (P.C. Sattar)

 

 

“How can someone live so far away from last human settlement?” I thought. While I was reaching for any track I saw a little boy (Umer) standing near that house.

 

 

Umer and his sister guiding us towards Deck 1

 

“Can we go down from this side of the mountain?” I asked him.

Yes! “We all go down from this side”, he replied.

I stepped forward to see whether there was a way down and I was a straight wall of rock going down. “Are you sure can we go down from this side?” I again asked.

“Yes! Sure”, he smiled and replied again.

While I was wondering how that little boy can tell me to commit suicide, a little girl (I guess his elder sister) shouted, “No don’t go this way, you will fall down”.

“We can go down from this side not you”, she said.

“You should first get down toward deck 2 and then there is a track back to deck one along stream”, she explained. I have recorded this conversation on video and I still smile when I see that video how a little boy, innocently guided us to death.

 

A Murmet sneaking through a stone at Deck 2

 

We went down to deck 2 and followed the stream back to the deck 1. While we were descending we saw that animal (Murmet) which was mysteriously whistling for a long time in the valley. We were listening to these whistles in the valley but we thought it might be any shepherd calling his goats.

It was already dark and now after full day hike and adventure we were tired and hungry. We did not bring food with us so we asked a local shepherd if he can arrange something for dinner. “Split chickpeas (Chana daal) are all I can arrange right now”, shepherd replied. We smiled and said, “What else can we desire for? Bring it ASAP.”

 

Mobile light dinner with delicious Daal rooti (P.C. Qadeer).

 

It started raining outside and we all were sitting in camp discussing our adventures of the day. While everyone was busy in jokes and gossips, I was listening to the sound of rain drops. There was something in that sound which was unexplainable. It was random but sequential, it was noisy but melodious, and it was peaceful but dangerous. Yes! Dangerous as we would have to find our way to Chitta Katha Lake next day and rain could make it very dangerous.

“Dinner is here”, someone shouted.

I can never forget that dinner. That daal chapatti was the most delicious meal I had ever had in my life. I still remember the sound of rain, like nature was giving us back ground music for our candle light (mobile torch light) dinner.

After having dinner everyone got fresh and started to chit chat. I on the other hand, found this opportunity to slip through them and went outside camp. Rain had stopped and I could hear sound of water flowing near our camp but it was too dark to see the stream. I followed the sound of water and started walking toward stream as if it was attracting me like a magnet. Soon I was standing at the bank of stream; a very dim light coming from our camp was the only source of light in that valley. Our camp was glowing like a light bug (fire fly) in that wilderness. That light enabled me to see the beauty of the stream as the water was reflecting the light like a mirror. I can write many words but no word can picture the peace and silence of that moment.

I was back in camp where everybody was still awake.

“I think they have no plan to sleep, we should sleep now as we have to get up early in the morning to attempt Chitta katha Lake”, I said to Sattar.

“There is another small camp, we can sleep there”, Sattar replied. We went to another small camp and soon we all were asleep.