Gangabal lake is fed by the glaciers located along on the north face of Mount Harmukh. since considerable religious sentiments are attached with the lake as this lake used to be the site of annual pilgrimage besides kashmiri pundits used to cast the ashes of their dead to into this lake.

The lake was stocked with brown trout during the Maharajas rule and since then the fish has become well established in the lake and the place has turned into an important anglers destinations. Since the lake is located on the north side of Mount harmukh this side has sheer vertical rock precipice falling abruptly into the lake this side perplexed the mountaineers for many years untill 1905 when Major Bruce scaled a near impossible rock face to reach its summit to shatter its myth of insumoutability. Though mount harmukh was scaled well before this development from bandipora route by Dr Aurther Neve and Dr Earnst Neve.

The Gangbal lake is amoung the largest high altitude lakes of Kashmir standing second to lake Kounsarnag. The length of the lake is about 2km and the breadth varies from 1/2km to 1km the lake is the source of the wanghat nalla which drains the wangat  valley  the

lake drains into another lake known as the Nand sar a yet another high altitude lake only half a kilometre away from its gaint neighbour.adjacent to these twin lakes is a large meadow which is also know as the gangbal where large number of cattle herders come in the summer months to graze their cattle .

Along the north shore of this lake the mountains rise steeply however the mountain leaves a gap where access to the kishan ganga valley is possible this pass is know as SATSARAN PASS,named so after the seven tiny lakelets located near the pass.this pass has been used for centuries by the travellers and has the distinction of being the safest and the shortest approach into the kishen ganga valley

After crossing the pass one immediately encounters these tiny water bodies few of them pour their contents into the wangnat nalla while the rest pour out into the kishan ganga at a distance of 10 kilometres is yet another lake know by the name of Gad sar the surrounding mountains is a treat to watch and is known by the name of gad sar valley here the valley opens out a bit and the spectacular ridges of the surrounding mountains can be viewed the altitude of the lake is 3570mts since the lake is surrounding towering snow clad ridges the place at time is susceptible to inclement weather.