Brahmatal trek is a moderate difficulty trek that takes you to a maximum altitude of 12,250 feet above sea level. What makes the Brahmatal trek is special is that it remains accessible even during the winter season, unlike other alpine lakes.
Being a moderate difficulty trek, it offers a great opportunity for beginners to experience snowfall on a trek and camp near this beautiful glacial lake.
Starting from Kathgodam, the Brahmatal Trek takes around 6 days to complete & from Lohajung to Lohajung it takes 4 days. Although this trek remains throughout the year generally, winters are the best time to embark upon this beautiful journey as it gives travellers a chance to view this lake at a time when it remains frozen.
Bekal Tal (believed to belong to Lord Brahma) is the first major attraction of this trek. Located at a distance of 6 Km from the Lohajung Campsite it also remains frozen for the most part of the winter season.
The trek is a beautiful walk through the alpine forests, towering mountains and beautiful campsites located in the clearings.
On the first day, we will be trekking to Bekal Tal via Mandoli Village which is located at a distance of 6 Km from basecamp at Lohajung and will take about 4 hours to complete. The trail will take you through the beautiful forest filled with Rhododendron & oak trees. Overnight stay will in tents alongside Bekal Tal.
After having breakfast in the morning, we will trek further towards Brahamatal, enchanting meadows & lush green forests. After trekking for 8 Km from Bekal Tal we will reach our destination at Brahmatal. Overnight stay in camps.
On the third day of the Brahmatal trek, we will start walking towards Daldum via the Brahmatal Peak, the peak will provide you with a mesmerizing 360 degrees panoramic view of the Himalayas. Mount Trishul & Nandahunti can be viewed clearly. 3 more hours of walk from the peak will take us to Daldum which will be our campsite for tonight.
On the final day of the trek, we will trek 3.5 km down to Lohajung from Daldum.
Although the trek remains open throughout summers winter is considered to be the best time to visit this trek. During winters (December - January), this area receives a good amount of snowfall dropping the temperatures to 8 to 12 degrees C during days & -7 to -8 degrees during the night. Sometimes the low temperature causes the Brahmatal lake to freeze which makes for an eye-catching view.
Brahamatal is easy to moderated difficulty trek. Its easier to cover this trail during the spring and summer seasons than in winters due to the snow that covers the trail. The trek starts from an altitude of 7,600 ft. at Lohajung & takes you to a high altitude of 12,250 ft. Even though the altitude gain isn’t much but the snowfall makes this trek a moderate difficulty trek.
The Brahamatal is a very safe trek with multiple exit points, a moderate altitude at the peak, well-marked trails & good camping spots. It gets a bit difficult near the summit but does not require any technical climbing skills or gear. The gradual ascent towards the peak reduces the chances of AMS (Altitude Mountain Sickness) as you get plenty of time to acclimatize to the weather.
This is a brief list of things that you should carry on the trek to make the experience more memorable and much more comfortable -
Network & Connectivity
Good network connectivity of all the major networks like Airtel, Jio, Idea, Bsnl are available till Lohajung but there is no connectivity available on the trail.
ATMs
The last ATM is available 25 Km before Lohajung at Dewal but mostly it remains devoid of cash so trekkers are advised to withdraw cash from Rishikesh or Kathgodam.