Sat Tal Trek, Uttarakhand Bloggers Bus

Sat Tal Trek

Uttarakhand Bloggers Bus

Also see: Uttarakhand Bloggers Bus FAM

Sat Tal, literally meaning seven lakes, is actually a cluster of small lakes, located in the Bhagariti Valley in Uttarakhand. The 5km long trek starts from Dharali on the Uttarkashi – Gongotri road.

Panoramic view of the mountains with the fourth lake, Sat Tal, Blogger’s Bus, Uttarakhand

Dharaili (2575 m) is located 20 km before Gangotri and is 3 km north of the popular hill station of Harsil. Contrary to the name the Sat Tal is actually an amalgamation of five small lakes, which remains dry except of the rainy season. In winter the entire area is covered under a mantle of white snow.

Namita, on the Sat Tal trek route, Blogger’s Bus, Uttarakhand

The Sat Tal Trek was part of the Blogger’s Bus, a concept of Uttarakhand Tourism, is a 5 day (15 May – 21 May 2018) bus trip of selected travel bloggers. The trip would take the bloggers across the state of Uttarakhand introducing them to the known and unknown tourist destinations of the state.

Village of Mukhba, as seen from the Sat Tal trek

I was lucky to be among the selected bloggers and the trip included Yamunotri and Gangotri, two of the four Chardhams of Uttarakhand.

On the 3rd day of the Uttarakhand Blogger Bus we did the Yamunotri trek. The trail was choked with pilgrims and it took us almost 6 hours instead of the scheduled 3 hours.

After the trek the journey back to Uttarkashi was marked with forest fires, landslides and road blocks it turned out to the most perilous journey of the Uttarakhand Blogger’s Bus Tour. The journey ended at 1 am (technically the 4th day) at Uttarkashi.

Amrita on the Sat Tal trek

The next day (4th day of Bloggers Bus), over breakfast, we decided to bring some changes in the itinerary.   So we decide to include the short trek on Sat Tal in our already packed itinerary.

After a lunch at Harsil TRH we took the blogger’s Bus to Dharali just 3 km away for the Sat Tal Trek. The Sat Tal Trek (trek of 7 lakes) is a 5 km, one way trek, starting at an altitude of 2575 meters and meanders up to an altitude of 2875 meters.

Initially the trek followed step stairways through the village of Dharali. On the opposite bank of Bhagarati is the village of Mukhba, the winter abode of Goddess Ganga. The white temple with three spires could distinctly be seen.

Amrita along the Sat Tal Trek route

Unlike the Yamunotri trek the trail was totally empty but like Yamunotri the pack again got segmented.

The advance group consisted of Upendra, Prakash (DTO) and the PRs Anurag and Sukanya. In the middle Amrita was with me and Anindya, Swati, Namita and Subhadip were at the end.

Soon we were out of the village and the route followed through a beautiful deodhar forest.

As it was getting late Amrita was worried about her Gangotri trip, but I urged her to move along. Almost after one and half hours we reached the first lake.

We spotted Upendra about a few hundred meters above the lake, he said the final lake is just half an hour away. Amrita and I waited at the first lake for the rest of the part to arrive.

The first of the five lakes, Sat Tal trek, Blogger’s Bus, Uttarakhand

Anindya arrived soon after and said that the others have abandoned the trek. After a short meeting Amrita and Anindya decided to head back for the Gongotri trip. I decided to continue.

A lone cow grazes in the meadows of Sat Tal trek

The trail was step and meandered through the thick deodhar forest but soon I was above the tree line and reached the alpine meadows. I trekked passed the dried second and third lake.

The fourth lake had some amount of water as I passed the fourth lake I could spot the advance part reaching the final lake just about 200 meters away. Soon I joined them at the banks of the almost dried fifth lake.

I informed Prakash, the DTO about Amrita and Anindya’s plan of visiting Gongotri and he immediately rushed back to make necessary arrangements. The rest of the party stayed back to enjoy the pristine beauty of the nature. The trek back to Dharali took little more than a hour.

The panoramic view of the fifth and last lake of Sat Tal, Blogger’s Bus, Uttarakhand

Sat Tal is said to offer great views of snow peaks like Shrikhand, Bandarpunch and Gongotri but during our visit everything was under a blanket of clouds. During winter the entire region is covered with snow.

Note: I was on the Blogger’s bus on the invitation of the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UKDB)

Special Thanks:

• Prakash Khetri, District Tourist Officer (DTO) Uttarakhand for making all the arrangements during the Bloggers Bus trip
• PR persons Sukanya and Anurag of Square Group for handling all the logistics
• My fellow bloggers Amrita (Travel Ideas of March), Subhadip (Indian Vagabond), Anindya (Pikturnama), Upendra (Vagabond Images), Swati (Buoyant Feet) and Namita (Radically Ever After)
• Our driver Hira ji whose extended overtime shifts along the mountains road help us to reach our destinations safely