If you want to travel with us, we may organise a taxi from Srinagar for the whole group, or you are welcome to make your own way to Aru Valley. Depending on traffic, the 103 kilometre voyage to Aru village takes around 3 hours. Saffron, a precious product growing in Jammu and Kashmir, is famously produced in Pampore, which is on the route. Afternoon arrival in Aru village, where we will set up camp. Take a stroll around Aru village and take in the stunning scenery.

We go as soon as we can after breakfast since the day is very lengthy. We'll bring a lunch with us for the trip. We will pass through Aru village, so if you need to make any last-minute purchases, now is your opportunity to do so. In the beginning of the walk, there is a steep ascent, and if it has just rained, the trail turns muddy and treacherous. This first climb will take around an hour to accomplish. The gradient becomes considerably more pleasant and simpler to walk on after the first section as we reach the deodar and pine forest. After many hours of walking in the shadow of the trees, the valley widens into a great expanse of open grassland with the Lidder river running next to it. The woodland extends on the other bank of the river. The landscape continues until we have to cross a river to get to Lidderwat. We'll take a stop for lunch right next to the river, where there are a few dhabas selling hot, delectable maggie and tea. We'll continue on in the direction of our campground after our break. The trip to the campground takes a little over an hour from here.

For energy throughout the journey, our morning will start with some yoga and breathing exercises. We will leave on our path to Sekhwas after breakfast. Right from the campground, the first portion of our walk begins with a sharp elevation. We pass through more deodar woodlands as the route slopes down to wide meadows with dense undergrowth. Even prickly blooms and many tiny berries will be present on these shrubby clumps. A tiny wooden bridge without railings will soon be used to cross a mountain creek that we will eventually follow. On the way, there will be some upward climbs, but the final descent to our campground is completely on a boulder section.

We will go for Tarsar, our first lake of the hike, today, making it a thrilling day. We begin slowly, taking in the breathtaking valley where we tented. Our route climbs steadily today without putting too much strain on you, but be cautious when you first start since the region is covered with nettle leaves (Bichoo Patta), which sting and itch and temporarily cause rashes. We go to the boulder portion after leaving the Tree line behind. Even though our trip leader will take, you should exercise extreme caution while navigating this stretch since after you go over it, everything becomes much easier. The last portion of today's hike takes you across a huge meadow where hundreds of sheep and goats are grazing, and gorgeous snow-capped mountains are visible in the distance. When we finally arrive to Tarsar Lake, we are astounded by the breathtaking beauty of the enormous emerald-blue lake that delights the eyes. To wake up to the breathtaking view once again, we spend the night camped just next to the lake.

Since the day is lengthy and there is a lot of walking to be done, we will get up early and attempt to depart as soon as we can. We'll depart from our campground and begin the ascent to Tarsar Pass. We zigzag along the high grade of the ascent to get onto the pass. The climb up the pass takes a little more than an hour. As we ascend to the pass's summit, the vista is truly breathtaking. We have a panoramic view of Tarsar Lake on one side and a lovely green valley with a mountain stream running through it on the other. After negotiating the hazardous ascent to the pass and having a rest, we begin our steep descent. The descent is fairly challenging since the slope is quite steep and the loose pebbles make it much harder to get down. After descending the steep fall, we will traverse the lovely, verdant valley that we could see from the top of the peak before beginning the ascent to Sundersar. Sundersar Lake will be directly in front of us after an arduous hour-long hike over rocks. Here, we'll set up camp for the night.

Wake up early because we have a long day ahead of us and a lot of work to do, but it will be well worth it. We go over to the other side of Sundersar Lake after an early breakfast and begin ascending the boulder portion. After navigating the stones, there is a little incline that we must climb to come to a saddle-like structure from which we can see Marsar from above. We do not descend to the lake since the people believe it to be a pit and severely warn against disobeying their beliefs. After taking pictures, we return the same route to our campground, where we pick up our lunch packs and begin the ascent to return. The majority of the way back is the same, except we bypass Tarsar Pass in favour of the path we used to get to Tarsar in the first place. We descend along the same path we had followed to get to Homwas, passing over our former campground at Sekhwas. We spend the night camped out here before making the last trek back to Aru village.

Early in the morning, we begin our descent, and two hours later, we are in Lidderwat, where we begin to recall the first few days of the walk. We might make a pit stop at the same Dhaba to bid Chachaji farewell and gather more pleasant memories of our journey. We descend to the settlement of Aru, where our taxis are waiting to return us to Srinagar. We bid our Trek Leader and Support crew farewell and depart for the trip back home with a sad heart and a wealth of memories.