In a Glimpse
The Kachura Lake (Urdu: کچورہ جھیل) refers to the three lakes in Skardu Valley. These three lakes are Upper Kachura, Lower Kachura, and less known Zambakha Lake. Upper and lower Kachura Lake is at an altitude of 2,500 meters. The Upper Kachura Lake is mostly unexplored by tourists because of its rough terrain. The Lower Kachura Lake, popularly known as Shangrila Lake, is nature’s gem in the beautiful north of Pakistan. Zambakha Lake is in the tiny village of Zambakha next to Shangri-la.
The lakes are at different elevations in the Karakoram mountain range in the western Himalayas and the River Indus basin in Gilgit Baltistan.
Kachuras, with its rich flora featuring western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests and its orchards of wild apricot – Prunus armeniaca, is the top tourist attraction.
Lower Kachura, known as Shangrila; has its name derived from the Tibetan language wherein Shang is a place, ri means mountains and la means pass. The name was first coined by James Hilton, an English novelist in his famous novel, “The Lost Horizon”. Hilton narrates about a plane that crash-landed near a river bed. The monks living nearby took the survivors of the plane crash to a place called Shangrila. The place was described to be a splendor of nature, with mesmerizing beauty and refreshing air.
Accessing Kachuras
Lower and Upper Kachura lakes can be accessed while moving from Jaglot to Skardu. Lower Kachura Or Shangrila is at 30 minutes’ drive from Skardu. Upper Kachura Lake, a natural lake about 60 meters deep, is at a walking distance from Lower Kachura and Shangrila and you can reach after 30 minutes of an uphill hike.
Undoubtedly, Shangrila and Kachura Lakes make the most beautiful and magnetizing pieces of natural attraction in the area.
Activities at Kachura Lake
Recreation activities at Upper Kachura Lake include hiking, trout fishing, and boating in lower Kachura lake. You can also enjoy dinner inside the fuselage of PIA plane, once crash-landed near Skardu. It offers a variety of food items ranging from spicy desi dishes to Chinese and local foods of Baltistan.
Accommodation
Inspired by Hilton’s Shangrila, the first commander of the Northern Scouts, Brig (Retd) Muhammad Aslam Khan built a spellbinding resort named Shangrila next to Kachura Lake. Amidst the lofty mountains of the great Himalayan Range, one can’t miss the beauty of red huts surrounded by scores of fruit trees. Built on the banks, each room offers a magnificent view of the Lower Kachura Lake with boats floating and birds singing the hymn of love, the love for nature.
Besides Shangrila, there are other accommodation facilities constructed by Pakistan Army and other state departments. The view of Shangrila resort is more pleasing from these facilities on the other side of the lake. Shangrila resort and its surroundings are more fascinating from afar which one can’t witness sitting inside the resort. The beauty of Upper Kachura is untapped owing to a lack of the requisite infrastructure.
