Tarsar and Marsar Exploring Nature 

In summers, we all eager to visit

such kind of places, which are beautiful and charming in nature. To enjoy the beautification of health resorts, we usually prefer not to visit any crowding or messy place, but to visit such a place where there is no internet connection, no electricity and only interaction with nature at all. I also tried to find such place in my own area’s natural beauty of upper regions which is proudly being called as “The Nagbaren”, where the two famous lakes namely Tarsar and Marsar are situated. In my pervious article namely “Narastan Exploring Nature”, which was published in a leading daily newspaper, I have explained very briefly all about the places which are famous

from my home village Narastan to Peer Panchal Top .But in this article I will discuss about the Peer Panchal onwards to Tarsar and Marsar lakes.

After crossing the forest of Rayildreed, one reaches a small tourist spot which is called “Bakerwal Pather”.From Bakerwal Pather the road is diverged.There are two ways to reach Peer Panchal Top,  on the left side, this way passes through the valley of Howil Pather and the Hill of Kodihatt and on the right side ,this way passes through Srai Bunn and Aanganbal meadows.

As already discussed the left side way in my mentioned above article,now I will explain right side way to reach Per Panchal Top. Below are  the places from Bakerwal Pather to Peer Panchal Top  as follows

SAKI NAAD : It got its name because it is full of numerous big and small rocks and stones. If we will translate this name in english then it means “a ravine of sand and stones”. Passing throgh this ravine it takes almost one hour to reach the famous meadow of our area that is called Srai Bunn.

SRAI BUNN: It is a very charming , pleasant and verdant meadow one can enjoy the view of Lole Kaen(the stone of love) from here . After reaching Srai Bunn I felt like I was in a wondering land and there were the cattles grazing and the atmosphere was pleasing . After crossing this place now I was on the way to Aanganbal meadow it almost takes one hour from Srai Bunn  to reach Aanganbal meadow.

AANGANBAL MEADOW:  When one reaches Anganbal one feels that one has landed on the moon and whole universe is beneath it. One can enjoy the panaromic view of whole Tral and adjacent areas from the top of Anganbal. My heart doesn’t allowed me to move from this place and I have planned to spend a night there . In the evening when the sun was about to set, the view was magical . The evening breeze was refreshing the body and soul. During the whole night the sky was full of stars and there were no clouds and the moon was standing in the sky like diamond crystal.  In the morning I woke up early to enjoy the morning scene and the pleasant sound of birds. The meadow was full of dew and I liked to walk bare feet on dew. After some moments I decided to go Peer Panchal Top ,it took almost one and half hour to reach Peer Panchal Top from here . After taking a rest for a while then I planned to vist the Tarsar and Marsar lakes. From Peer Pachal Top to Nagbaren there comes so many famous places mentioned below;

GEAW QUYAN MEADOW: From Peer Panchal onwards there is a plain area and one has to walk horizontally to reach Geaw Quyan . It is a first place from Peer Panchal on the way to Tarsar and Marsar. After reaching Geaw Quyan one feels lost in the meadows and walking and talking with nature. There are numerous meadows with full of greenry having pleasant atmosphere .It takes almost one hour from Peer Panchal to reach this meadow. After having a rest for while once again I started to walk towards Tarsar Lake.

TARSAR MARSAR LAKES…..”twin sisters”

The 16th-century Kashmiri ruler Yusuf Shah Chak mentioned the twin lakes in his poetry, writing to his beloved, “When I remember the two tresses of the comely beloved, Tears begin to flow from my eyes like streams from Tarsar and Marsar.”

They are also known as “twin sisters”.There is distance of almost 4 kms between the two lakes

It takes almost one hour to reach the bottom of this lake because this lake is in the lap of mountains. On the bottom of Tarsar lake there is a big stone which is locally called as  ” Wanen Hund Pal” which means the “stone of merchants”. “It is said that in the old times there used to be a merchant in this spot who was selling the bangles particularly and other essential commodities to the tribal people during their meadow tenure “. said by my grandfather. From this there is a big mountain peak namely” Ram Dach” one has to cross this to reach Tarsar lake . It is almost two kilometers uphill which takes one hour to reach the top of Tarsar Lake.

The Tarsar Lake is an almond-shaped, oligotrophic alpine lake situated in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, India .It is 2 km in length and 0.8 km in breadth. It is separated by a mountain with a minimum peak elevation of 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) from another lake of the same nature known as Marsar.One can have a panoramic view of Marsar lake  from the bank of Tarsar .The Tarsar Lake is drained by an outlet stream which falls into the Lidder River at Lidderwat, 15 km to the east.Once I saw towards the Tarsar Lake I can’t explain the feeling in words .The basin of the lake is surrounded by a sheet of alpine flowers. Interesting thing about this lake is that its water changes colour with the change in sunlight ,from turquoise to blue to green and grey, these colours are visible in brighter sunshine and in one of the corner of the lake there looks like a human heart made of water which looks like green in color from the top of mountain.On its west side lies Dachigam National Park, and on its south side lies Tral. The best time to visit this lake is between July and mid-September.During the winter, the treks are closed because of the heavy snowfall.

 From Tarsar Lake it takes one hour to reach Marsar Lake .Marsar Lake is locally called a killer lake. It is also situated in the lap of beautiful mountains.It is a mysterious lake and plays hide and seek being hidden for most times while it is visible for less.Locals advise against staying for too long at this lake. There are a lot of myths regarding this lake.The Marsar Lake is an oligotrophic alpine lake located in Tral valley of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is famous for its scenic beauty. It also falls in the close vicinity of Aru valley in Pahalgam.The lake is separated by a mountain with a minimum peak elevation of 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) from another lake of the same nature known as Tarsar Lake.

 When I looked towards the lake I became speechless after watching its style and beauty. It is a vast lake covering about five kilometre area all around. one can guess by coming through this statement ” it is said by the locals that  if we sow  the mustard seeds in Marsar Lake it can manage two quintals of mustard”. A stream emerges from this lake that travels through the Dachigam valley and enters Srinagar near Harwan garden where it fills the Sarband reservoir. This stream (Dagwan Nallah) is joined by another stream which flows from Mount Mahadeo near the Telbal village and from thereon it is called the Telbal nallah that is the primary source of the Dal Lake.There is a strange sound of the water coming from the lake which is being generated due to the pressure of water and is very frightening. it looks like water hits itself and produces the sound. Due to the sunlight falling on the lake one can see the stars raising from the water.

At last I can say that nature is the most precious and valuable gift to us from Almighty Allah.It is a  source of inspiration and learning, and a testament to the delicate balance of life. As we journey through life, let us remember to appreciate and safeguard this precious gift.This trip of Twin sisters will be remembered ever.!