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A place where water kisses the Earth gently and the greenish streak of the glittering water brings variety on the faces of visitors and their eyes shine of the same colour, their faces become a playground for the water waves and their reflection. Where the wind hugs you with all its allure. Where eyes collide with the sunshine majestically and the distanced ice covered mountain tops send a friendly wave welcoming people in their land with a silver lining around them. The sun is sending its light to the boundaries of these mountains from behind the clouds which make them glitter and shimmer with pride and purity. This place is called the Rama Lake located in Astore valley in Gilgit Baltistan situated at the elevation of 11500 above sea level, this lake is a rainbow dream. But How did we get here? Let’s dig a little deep before we dive into the waters of this lake.
Bon Voyage
In the words of Bob Marley, “Though the road’s been rocky it sure feels good to me,” we, the friends of adventure, started our journey from Chillas to Astore at 6.30 in the morning. Our ride for rest of the trip was Prado accompanied by the local driver Bilal bhai from Chillas (A very nice person who knew all the routes like a pianist who comfortable knows all chords). We booked it for three days; first day for going to Rama Meadow, second for Minimarg & Rainbow Lake, Domel and third day for reaching till Allah Wali lake from Astore. The four wheeler is a per-requisite for traveling to Minimarg (My next blog will cover the details for that). One person who must get a mention here is Mr. Usman Mirza who facilitated and helped us in all ways possible. He belongs to ‘adventurer treks and tours.’ We have done almost 7-8 trips with this travel company. He arranged this ride and other important details of this trip for us.
Cherries on Top of my Head
The distance from Chillas to Astore is approximately of 2 hours and 40 minutes. We reached Astore around 9;30 am but before checking in Kamran Hotel in Astore, we headed to Gorikot via Astor Valley Road which is 31 minutes and 12.1 km away from Astore for breakfast at Wazeer Mahal Gorikot. Under the shade of comforting trees we sat in a natural environment in the vast lawn of this hotel. There were literally cherries on the top of my head 😉 I plucked a few and made myself believe that I am in a mountainous region where I can satisfy my need of plucking fresh fruits from trees. Heading back to Astore’s Kamran hotel for checking in so that we can start our journey towards Rama Meadow and lake after a quick break.
The World Where Nature Lavishly Laughs!
Around 1 pm, our car started its journey towards Rama Meadow. Rama Meadows is located at the distance of 13 km from Rama Village in Astore district, Gilgit-Baltistan. The way from Astore to Rama Meadows is a heavenly abode. There are small houses on both sides of the road accompanied by tall green trees. The entire way seems a scene from a fairy tale where people live peacefully. There is no chaos and competition and nature lavishly laughs here in its true sense and the inhabitants laugh back. The more we move ahead, the way becomes more scenic. Although the road is narrow but evenly paved. Rama Meadows are lush green fields intersected by the road situated at an altitude of 10800 feet above sea level. The journey towards the lake continues but Prado and jeeps can only go till a certain point and after that one has to hike towards the lake.
To Hike or to Take the Horse?
We were very much determined for the hike but there were horses available too and people who got back from the lake advised us to take the horses instead of going on foot. We were already fatigued as the entire day was spent in travelling so we took horses. Four girls and four horses; felt like the ancient times. The lake was five glaciers away from us. The world from a horse’s saddle seems a different place; the first few minutes both you and the horse are struggling to adjust each other. The first half passes like this and the second half starts to become interesting because now you both have familiarized yourselves with each other. The trick is to push all the body weight backwards when the horse in descending down so that it doesn’t feel much pressure and when the horse is in ascending motion, shift the weight towards the horse. You both will become friends if you follow this trick.
From the Ashes We will Rise
We sat in an awe of the green, turquoise and blue waters of this lake. We ate, chatted, shimmered and became of gold. In the distance we saw the horses appearing to take us back, took the trash and started our journey towards the hotel. The rest of the story is a little melancholic. The stay at the Kamran Hotel, Astore was nightmarish and planned for two nights. They weather was hot and they only had a slow running fan installed along with its ceiling and the funny thing is this they offered us thick layered blankets with that meager fan which was an awful thing. We flung those blankets as much away as possible to the very end of the room. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and one worker of the hotel asked Madam aur kambal chahye (Madam do you need more blankets)? This was literally the icing on the cake of our frustration. One simple no at that time later made us burst in laughter for a long time. And I thought in my mind from the ashes we will rise; the next day and the next night. With this I wished good bye to my friends and to the hotel the very next morning.
Guidelines on “How to Plan Your Trip!”
This is aimed at giving you an overview of the fare and fuel of the hired car. It’s better to hire the local vehicle and the driver. Hiring the Prado costs 10K per day; fuel exclusive. For three days, the cost was around 30k for us. We got the car with full tank. Then the fuel was on us and when we returned the car back, we were responsible for getting the tank filled to full again. So approximately for three days, the cost including the fare of the car and fuel was 45k. The horses which we took for going till the lake cost 1k per person. Although they start the rate from 1200 and you have to bargain a little.
From the woods... 