Lidderwat Valley Trekking Traila, Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir India

The north-eastern corner of Kashmir Valley is formed by The Lidderwat Valley – a serene roll of quiet and lush green meadows alongside the gushing River Lidder and forest-covered slopes that overlook the snow-capped mountains. The Lidder River is one of the biggest tributaries of River Jhelum which originates from the Kolahoi Glacier and joins with the Kolahoi and Sheshnag Streams in Pahalgam and thus formed the Lidderwat Valley. Lidderwat Valley derives its name from River Lidder.

A very scenic trail and beautiful campsites in an extremely pleasant environment, the Lidderwat Valley is famous for family vacations and with honeymooners. Of late, camping in Pahalgam and Lidderwat has been chosen by corporate companies as an off-site for the employees in order to build ‘team-bonding’ and ‘team-work’ among teams. Specific budgets have been allocated for camping.

Lidderwat is the base for treks to the Kolahoi Glacier and to the twin mountain lakes – Tarsar and Marsar which are at an altitude of 12500 feet above sea level and lie on the northern slope of the Harmukh Mountain.

From Pahalgam, the route to Lidderwat is via Aru Valley and is at a distance of 24 kilometres in total from Pahalgam. The pathways from Pahalgam to Aru are well paved and comfortable to trek on for hours. This road may be traversed on foot, in a jeep or on a pony. But the best experience of trekking is obviously on foot. This trail is along the River Lidder up to the wide and open expanses of Aru Valley Meadows. Aru offers excellent sites for camping which are good for overnight stay. Few mid-size hotels are also available here.

The route from Aru Valley to Lidderwat Valley is an unstructured and irregular path which meanders through dense Conifer forests onto beautiful and scenic undulated meadows. A common visual here is that of local shepherds grazing their buffalos and sheep at Lidderwat. The Lidderwat Valley is uninhabited and therefore makes a quiet and peaceful holiday – far from maddening crowds and high decibel levels. Pitch a tent here for a couple of days and you will love this mountainous ambience and will sign up for a repeat trip!