Trek Description
I would rate this trek easy as return distance is around 16.6 km (8.3 + 8.3) and altitude change over 8km is only 3000 ft. Out of this 3000, 1000ft climb is from basecamp till the lake.
My initial plan was to start the trek on day one and camp somewhere after turning into sub-valley. Then visit the lake next day and spend some good time there and finally return to Riat village.
If you do the trek in 2 days then it is super easy but can be done in one day as well. 7 out of 10 reached the lake in this attempt and 3 were doing trekking for the first time 
Jeep ride is around 4 hrs from Astore to Riat. Riat village is across the river so u need to get down to the bridge on jeeps. Jeeps cannot cross the bridge so u leave the vehicles on this side of river and cross bridge on foot.
From Riat village, trek starts into main Riat Valley. Then there is a division after 1 hour of trek and a sub-valley branches out to left. The 4 small lakes are straight ahead in main Riat Valley. All these 4 lakes are on left side of main Riat Valley. The big one is in this sub-valley. So, from this domail, turn left into sub-valley along with stream coming down from lake. There is only one lake in this side-valley which is the biggest. The bakarwal camps are at this turning point.
There is no tricky crossings but only last climb is a bit tough. The angle is steep and there is no path at all. So, choose your own route and reach the top
[B]Distance, trek time and altitude change[/B]
Riat Village - Turning Point
Riat Village - 10,200 ft ASL - 34?54'2.45"N, 74?51'45.13"E
Turning Point - 10,950 ft ASL - 34?52'56.68"N, 74?50'24.79"E
Distance: 3 km
Time taken: 1 hr
Simple defined path as it is regular route between Riat Village and bakarwal camps so is used a lot. Some climb at the start and then a little descend till the camps. You can camp here as well since there is a beautiful grassy campsite here a bit away from bakarwal camps.
Turning Point - Basecamp
Turning Point - 10,950 ft ASL - 34?52'56.68"N, 74?50'24.79"E
Basecamp - 12,200 ft ASL - 34?51'13.85"N, 74?49'25.44"E
Distance: 4 km
Time taken: 3 hr 15 min (includes 30 min wait for bakarwals)
The moment u turn left into sub-valley, there is steep climb with water stream of lake. If u cross the stream at this spot then go up on slope to reach the main path then use it to enter sub-valley. And if u stay on left side of the stream then u need to do some rock climbing till a bridge comes which u cross to go on right side of the stream.
Other than this part, it is a beautiful straight walk till the basecamp and u will see some amazing scenes on this part of the trek .... absolutely untouched and pure natural beauty 
There is a small pond with unbelievable reflections and i loved the shots at this place. Another highlight was the brightest of the greens i have ever seen in mountains. I felt like this valley was oversaturated with colours
It was mid of August but still we saw quite a few glaciers in this path. There was a single house and an old woman offered us tea there. She was surprised to see us and was happy to be our host
Basecamp - Riat Lake
Basecamp - 12,200 ft ASL - 34?51'13.85"N, 74?49'25.44"E
Riat Lake - 13,150 ft ASL - 34?50'44.66"N, 74?48'35.24"E
Distance: 1.3 km
Time taken: 1 hr 45 min
We spent more time mainly due to route chosen to reach the lake. I was insisting on following the stream path that was coming from the lake while locals were asking us to climb straight up on the slope which was very steep and only traction was being provided by the long grass otherwise it would be almost impossible to climb on such slope. Later on, we returned from stream path route and it was easier though still involved some steep climb. The climb is in 2 parts. There is one slope u need to climb and u hope that u will see the lake after this climb but when u reach the top of the slope, there is another one waiting for u and this second one is even bigger
The first one is easier to climb even without path. But second one is bigger and more steep so equally difficult to climb without path. Now there is open plain between first and second slope and at this point stream moves away to left as water exit is on far left of the lake. I asked the locals to walk on plains along with stream and attempt the climb at the end but they ran on the slope in front and were on top in few minutes. I knew it would be tough for us but had no choice but to follow them.
Now there is a third route as well which is on far right side but it is total rock climbing. Big boulders path runs from top till the basecamp. If u r not feeling comfortable with steep slopes then opt for rock climbing.
After climbing the slopes, there is a straight walk till the lake bank. You see 2 small ponds on way to main lake so don't get disappointed after seeing these 2 ponds 
The main lake is ahead. We played this prank with couple of late arrivals
Here is the map of Riat Lake Trek
0803 by Mobeen Mazhar, on Flickr
