A group of us decided to hike to Kareri lake on our own. Yet again, no guides or porters. I have tried explaining the entire route in case you plan to do the same. But if you have even the slightest doubt on yourself, I’d strongly suggest you take a guide. If you have any questions and would like to contact me, please feel free to message me on my Instagram: @mountain.affair
For a complete set of pictures from my trek to Kareri Lake in June 2014, please visit: Kareri Lake Trek Pics
While most tourists in Dharamshala / McLeodganj flock to Triund for a short hike, Kareri Lake is a charming  destination relatively unknown to most of them which can easily be wrapped up in less than 3 days. Within last one year, I had tried reaching Kareri Lake twice, but both times had to turn back from halfway without getting a glimpse of the lake. The first failure was due to my lack of preparedness for heavy unseasonal downpour which continued for days. The second time, while we spent a night at Kareri village in April, it rained heavily at the village and snowed for over 12 hours at the higher reaches. The locals strongly advised us not to venture in deep snow without a guide and we dejectedly turned back from the village.
The first week of June provided me an opportunity where I could take Friday off from work and attempt Kareri Lake again. So few of my friends including couple of first time trekkers and I planned to do the trek independently and be back in Delhi by Monday early morning.
DAY 1: DELHI – DHARAMSHALA – KARERI VILLAGE – CAMP SITE
All About My Walkabouts! 
Good one Karan
Thank you Vinay 🙂
Many thanks for a great travelogue and beautifully capturing the details of the trek in your album. The critical info about night stay, finding potable water, bus timings, amenities at the village, trail to pick wherever it branches, important landmarks of the trek, etc. are very well captured.
Thanks Ashish for going through the blog! I’m glad you found it helpful. Cheers!
hey karan a funny but imp ques- how do u ensure u will not enconter a leopard or tiger?
there are so many news these days of leopard attacking villagers of uttarakhand nd himachal…
Hi Sandeep, thanks for writing me! I think there is no way to ensure that no wild animals are encountered during a trek. But at the same time, one can take certain precautions to lower the chances of such a thing happening, like making loud noises while hiking (thumping the walking stick loudly while walking or blowing a whistle). They say that if you make your presence clear to animals while hiking, they will stay away from you. Secondly, while camping, I always make sure I don’t store any food inside my tent. I would usually hang it high above the ground on a tree branch. Even I have read some reports where villagers have been attacked by Leopards or Bears but I guess while hiking, its a risk one has to take. 🙂
Hi Karan ! Wonderfully described 🙂
Please share if Kareri Lake is accessible in winters (mid Feb) . If not…will Kareri village be a good place to visit in Alone too ?
Hi Abhishek, Thanks for writing in. Unfortunately, Kareri Lake won’t be accessible in February. Only last week someone had to return from mid way due to excess snow.
Kareri village is a small village and nothing much to do there. You can try the hike from Kareri village to Guna Devi temple and then to Triund. Or if you really want to do Kareri, then you will have to wait till end of March or even the beginning of April when the trail starts clearing of snow.
Do drop in a comment if you have more questions. Cheers!
Hey! I’m planning a trek to Kareri Lake this June. Is it possible to complete it in a day’s time if I start the trek early in the morning by around 7am? I’m having a halt at mcleod ganj a day prior. Also, is a guide necessary? If possible, can you share any local contacts who could help me with this.
Hey Vinay, if you start early in the morning from Kareri village, you might be able to reach the lake by late afternoon (a total distance of 13 kms). But you definitely won’t be able to come back to Kareri village the same day. If you do not have much experience in hiking in the Himalayas, I would suggest take a guide with you. There are a couple of points in the trail where you might get confused. You can message on the Facebook page of ‘Pure Explore‘ if you want to arrange your trek with a local guide from Kareri village. He has a small shop at Kareri village and also acts as a guide.
Let me know if you have any more questions. Cheers!
See the following replies to this query: http://www.indiamike.com/india/trekking-and-mountaineering-in-india-f89/seeking-advice-for-kareri-lake-trek-from-dharamshala-t226190/4/#post1862884
Feel free to ask follow up questions (t)here 🙂
Hi Ashish,
Can you provide me contact details of Madanlal at Kareri Village. I plan to go there in November. Thanks. Appreciate it.
will be great if i can stand and see the gorgeous views by my own eyes
Can you please share the route of the same. actually i am planning for the same this friday.
Hi Deep. I’ve tried to explain the route in my blog. If you have any specific questions do let me know. Cheers!
Hi,
I came across your blog while searching for Indian travelers, and I hope you don’t mind answering some questions that I have. I’m planning a trek for the very first time, and I just wanted to know, how do you resolve the food situation? What kid of food do you usually carry along, and how?
Thanks and regards,
Saakshi.
Hey Saakshi, thank you so much for your message. As for your question, I prefer to do treks on my own without guides or porter. So I end up carrying everything on my back including food, tent, sleeping bag, fuel, utensils, stove, clothes etc. For food, I generally carry Maggi, Chocolates, ready to cook (ones which you simply immerse in boiling water), dry fruits, granola bars, egg yolks and whites in a bottle (better than carrying them whole), etc. If this is going to be your first trek, I wouldn’t recommend doing it without a guide and porter. Carrying all this can get quite exhausting for beginners. Also, please note that there are no shops villages on the way once you leave Kareri village.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to leave a message. Cheers!
Hi, I need some information regarding the Kareri trek when in Mcleodganj in September/October.
Is the trek doable without a guide for 2 people?
If a guide is required, can you help with one?
How much do they charge?
Do we get tents and sleeping bags on rent?
Are there places where we can keep our other luggage and the go for treks?
TIA!
Hi Mrunal, the trek is doable without a guide but only if you have prior experience in hiking. You will need tents, food, sleeping bag etc which a guide will arrange for you. There is no place to eat or sleep once you leave the village. I’m not sure about the charges, but for just 2 people, it will be slightly expensive. You can leave your luggage at the guide’s house when you go for the trek. You can find a guide at Kareri village itself. Apologies but I do not have any guide’s number there. But if there are any more questions, please feel free to ask. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing such a amazing information with us it pleasure to read your blog it help to all trekking blogger I am searching such a great tips from longtime but I didn’t found such valuable info .thanks once again keep posting such a post in future.