Kareri Lake sits at 2,934 m on a southern spur of the Dhauladhar range, about 9 km north-west of Dharamshala. It is shallow and fed by melting snow, and the outflow is the Niyund stream, which drains in time into the Maharana Pratap Sagar. Because the lake is shallow and the water clear, you can see the bed in most places.
Photos: Tanvi.sharmaaa (CC BY 4.0) · Lotia57755 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Tanvi.sharmaaa (CC BY 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
The lake takes its name from Kareri, the Gaddi village about 9 km south-east of it. A temple to Shiva and Shakti stands on a hilltop above the water, and a few Gaddi kothis sit on the far side, where the Gaddis graze their flocks. Kareri is one of seven sacred lakes in the Dhauladhar dedicated to Shiva.
The Kareri Lake trek is about 13 km, rated moderate to tough by Wikipedia. The first 5 km goes through forest of pine and broadleaf trees. The second half is grassland with pine and deodar, on a trail cut into granite. We have no walking times for it; ask in Dharamshala or McLeod Ganj how long it takes for your group, and when the path is open.
Kareri also serves as the base for the Seven Lake trek, a 5 to 7 day walk of moderate to difficult grade. It crosses high passes, among them Indrahar Pass at 4,342 m, Mankiani Pass at 4,250 m and Gaj Pass at 4,140 m, and visits the high glacial lakes of the range: Nag Dal, Kali Kund, Nag Chhatri, Chandrakup and Dam Ghodi Tal. More than 22 high lakes lie in the Dhauladhar, and these are the popular ones. From Kareri it is also possible to go on over the range to Chamba and Bharmour.
The lake freezes from early December until March or April. Our Dharamshala guide gives the town's seasons, and the Triund and Indrahar pages show the same range from the other side. The treks of Himachal by length and month puts it beside the others.
Triund trek guide, and the Indrahar Pass guide.
Wikipedia gives 2,934 m. It is a shallow lake on a southern spur of the Dhauladhar, about 9 km north-west of Dharamshala as the crow flies, fed by melting snow. The water is so clear that the lake bed can be seen in most places.
The trek is about 13 km, and Wikipedia calls it moderate to tough. The first 5 km runs through mixed pine and broadleaf forest, and the second half is grassland with pine and deodar. It starts at Kareri, a Gaddi village 9 km from the lake. We give no walking time.
From early December until March or April, according to Wikipedia. Outside those months the trek is a walk through forest and meadow to the lake and its temple to Shiva and Shakti. Snow on the path can make the walk harder well before the lake is fully frozen.
