Dudipatsar Lake (), also known as Dudipat Lake, is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

encircled by snow-clad peaks in Lulusar-Dudipatsar National Park. The lake lies at the north end of the

Kaghan Valley The Kaghan Valley (Hindko, ) is an Alpine climate, alpine valley in Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The valley stretches across the northern Pakistan, rising from its lowest elevation of to its highest point at the Babusar P ...

, in the

Mansehra District Mansehra District (Urdu, ) is a district in the Hazara Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Pakistan. Mansehra city serves as the headquarters of the district. The district has a Hindkowan majority, with a significant Pashtun and Kohista ...

, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in northern

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Geography

The lake's water is a greenish blue hue and very cold, at an elevation of . The surrounding mountains, with snow patches in the shady dales, average around in elevation. Their natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is in the

Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows The Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of Nepal, India, and Tibet, which lies between the tree line and snow line in the western portion of the Himalaya Range. Setting The Western Himala ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

. Lulusar Lake, also in the park, is the primary

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

of the

Kunhar River The Kunhar River () or River Kunhar, is a long river, located primarily in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northern Pakistan. It is in the Indus River watershed basin. Origin and route Kunhar is the main river in the Naran Valley. It orig ...

Saiful Muluk National Park Saiful Muluk National Park () is situated in the Kaghan Valley within the Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The park was officially declared in 2003,

, with Saif ul Maluk Lake, is adjacent in the long Kaghan Valley region and the parks jointly protect .

Travel

Besal, or Besar, a town just before the Lulusar Lake, is fifteen kilometers from the lake. The trek is quite tough and not particularly suitable for unfit or new trekkers. Slopes can be steep and there are numerous water-crossings which require a lot of hard work and strength. It is preferable to make Mullah Ki Basti, a small town along the way, the basecamp for the lake. Due to security issues, it is recommended to spend the night at this camp and leave for the lake in the morning. A fit person can easily complete the track in 6–8 hours including breaks.

Wildlife

The lake and its

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s habitats are of significant ecological importance for resident fauna and migratory

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

. Some of the park's fauna includes the

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

Himalayan snowcock The Himalayan snowcock (''Tetraogallus himalayensis'') is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae found across the Himalayan ranges and parts of the adjoining Pamir range of Asia. It is found on alpine pastures and on steep rocky cliffs w ...

, and

snow partridge The snow partridge (''Lerwa lerwa'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae found widely distributed across the high-altitude Himalayan regions of Pakistan, China, India and Nepal. It is the monotypic, only species within its genus, and ...

Access

The

2005 Kashmir earthquake An earthquake occurred at on 8 October 2005 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a territory under Pakistan. Its epicenter was 19 km northeast of the city of Muzaffarabad, and 90 km north north-east of Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, ...

in North

made access more difficult. However, since 2006 the Pakistan government has taken steps to restore tourism in the Kaghan Valley, including rebuilding and new tourism facilities and infrastructure.www.president-of-pakistan-gov: "Tourism Revival plans"
To reach the lake, you start your hiking from a small village near Lulusar, called Besal. It's strongly advised to rent mules from here for you and your rations. After crossing one of the streams which later form the Kunhar river downstream, it's around 6/7 hours' hike to the lake. Most people have to stay overnight at a stone-hut village near the lake called "Mulla ki Basti". You need to carry tents and sleeping with you.

References

External links