Mahodand Lake

Mahodand, the lake of fishes, lies at around 2,900 metres at the top of the Ushu valley, fed by streams off the Hindu Kush ridges and draining into the Swat. The jeep ride from Kalam is half the experience, fording side streams and winding through deodar forest and summer pastures where Gujjar herders camp with their buffalo. The lake itself spreads between grassy banks and scree slopes, with snow patches lingering on the peaks behind for most of the summer; trout swim in the clear water and boats and horses tout for visitors along the near shore. Development at the lakeside is informal: food stalls, camping tents for hire, and crowds on summer weekends that can overwhelm the place entirely. Walkers who continue up the valley past the lake reach quieter meadows within an hour and can look towards Falak Sar.

What you actually see

• The lake basin - clear water between meadows and scree at 2,900 metres.
• The Ushu jeep track - fords, cedar forest and herder camps en route.
• Trout and boats - fishing and informal boating at the shore.
• Upper meadows - quieter ground a short walk beyond the lake.

When to go

June to September for reliable access; the track opens as snow clears in late May and closes with the first serious autumn falls. Weekdays are enormously better than weekends. Early morning at the lake, before the day-trip wave arrives, is the best of it.

Honest expectations

Summer weekends bring hundreds of jeeps and the lakeside becomes a bazaar of stalls, horses and litter; the scene is far from pristine at peak times. The track is rough and fords can deepen after rain. There are no fixed facilities, and the toilets are grim. Walk fifteen minutes past the lake and most problems disappear.

Nearby

Kalam is the base; the Ushu forest is passed on the way up.