Chadar Trek – Walk on Frozen River

Flying over miles and miles of the Himalayas covered with snow tells you why reaching Ladakh by road in the winter is an adventurer’s dream. During your flight, you can capture some memorable pictures of snowcapped mountains. Upon reaching one of the world’s highest airports, Leh welcomes you with fresh and crisp chilly air and low temperatures. The temperature remains at approx. -10 C and can quickly drop to -15 to -17 C after dark. 

You will need to book a cab on your own from the airport (we can assist you with this) and arrive at our Leh Guesthouse/Homestay after a 30-minute drive, where a delicious breakfast awaits you.

Your acclimatisation begins here. 

We will leave at about noon to explore Leh Market after sleeping for a few hours, which is required for acclimatisation. During the winter, Leh city is partially closed, with only essential shops and small cafes open for business. 

Although it is best to buy all you need before arriving in Leh, if necessary, some last-minute shopping can be done for the adventure ahead in case you missed something, especially woollen warmers. The coolness in the air as you meander through the Leh market will only serve as a foretaste of the temperatures to come on your winter adventure. Take a short walk around the city to get used to the cold, since this will help your body acclimate well before you go onto Chadar. Be cautious of slipping on roads that may be covered in thin ice sheets.

Welcome to Leh! 

This day is kept at your leisure. After a sumptuous breakfast, you can either go sightseeing around Leh, visit monasteries around the city, the Kargil War Memorial, Ice Stupa or Leh Palace. One can also utilise the day shopping for the forgotten essentials that are needed for the trek, as informed by the trip leader, like gumboots, trekking poles, Thermo flasks, etc. or simply buy stuff like praying flags, dry fruits, kawa, etc. for family and friends in advance. 

For those who have already visited Leh or feel too lazy to step out, they can simply while away their time relaxing back at the guest house, chitchatting, browsing the internet, watching their favourite TV programmes or movies, listening to music, playing cards etc.

PS: This can be an alternative plan for Day 02 as well.

Morning is free to explore the market. Post lunch, we will proceed to the Medical Camp for a medical examination with oxygen level and blood pressure check. Your trek leader will inform you of this in advance

Overnight stay at Leh Guest House 

Our programme for today includes a medical examination for each participant at a medical camp near the Leh market. Each person is subjected to a brief medical examination in which their oxygen and blood pressure levels are checked to determine whether they are fully acclimatised and fit to continue on this adventure. Due to the high volume of tourists, there is a long queue, it could take 3–4 hours. We’ll conclude our insurance formalities in the late afternoon once this is accomplished (if any). If the test results of a trekker are not satisfactory, you will not be allowed to proceed further on the trek by the authorities.

Important: No amount of the trip payment will be refunded in such a case. This may appear to be a daunting task, but our experience has shown that more than 95% of participants successfully complete Chadar. Congratulations to all those who are declared fit. You can enjoy the evening in Leh.

Overnight stay at Leh Guest House.

Let’s start our beautiful journey for the much-awaited trek. We head for a very picturesque and thrilling long drive to Tilat Do. The roller-coaster ride takes you along the Indus River to the  Nimu village where the Zanskar & Indus Rivers meet. After a brief stop at this confluence point, the drive continues and the road begins descending right into the river valley. There are quite some exciting moments as the vehicle drives through steep hairpin bends over the snow-covered road. The road goes past Chilling to Tilad Do. Among these mammoth mountains, the feeling of how tiny we are will surely cross your minds. 

On reaching Tilat Do, the end of road-head marks the beginning of our exciting trek ahead.  A 5mins descend down, is when you take your first steps on the Chadar. Walking with your gumboots on will definitely be a challenge in the initial stage. Do remember to take small steps on the Chadar to get a feel of the ice beneath. The surface can be many things – hard ice, freshly fallen snow, newly formed ice or something in between. It takes a while to get a hang of walking on the ice sheet. Observe the Locals, Porters and your guides over the initial days, imitate their strides and don’t digress on your own. Eventually, you’ll understand the surface below your feet.

After an hour and a half of slipping, falling and trying to gather your balance you’ll be reaching your first campsite at Tsomo Paldar. This is a beautiful campsite situated at a bend beside the river, surrounded by high peaks and walls of rock faces which almost look man-made. By the time our team pitches your tents on the banks of the Zanskar, you can either spend time practising walking on Chadar or help us in fixing your tents as this will be new learning for many and will also keep you warm. After setting up the day’s campsite, hot tea/coffee with snacks will be served followed by maggi as our lunch. As the evening comes your guides will issue out thick warm sleeping bags to each and will also brief you about the do’s and don’ts about the campsite and the trek. 

Now all that is left to do is to soak in the views or to get some exercise and keep yourself warm, you can climb up the nearby mountains and get a good look at the frozen river. As the sun sets, it drags the temperature down with it, it’s time to move to the dining tent and interact with your new friends and share experiences over soup. Hot Dinner will be served after which we retire to our tents. The sleeping bags will keep you warm for the night.

Overnight camping at Tsmo Paldar

Mornings on the Chadar trek are quite cold. Though the sun is up by 7 am, it’ll be noon till you get any direct sunlight. The biggest challenge of this day, and all the remaining days, is to get out of the warm, cosy sleeping bags and go out into the giant freezer outside, but the steaming cups of tea being served will provide ample motivation. 

From today onwards till our next few days on Chadar, we will be following an early morning routine: bed tea at 6:30 am, breakfast at 7:30 am, and quick-march by 8 am. The trek leaders will give you a briefing about the day at breakfast and will also give tips on how to walk on the Chadar. Have a good breakfast, as today is one of the longest walks of the Chadar Trek and also the most beautiful. The distance would be almost 15 km, which can be covered in roughly 7-8 hours. But that is nothing to worry about; all the walking will keep you incredibly warm.

Today’s walk through the deep ravines of the Zanskar is stunning. The sublime walls of the mountains on either side of the river keep the sunlight away from the Chadar for most of the day. There are numerous caves in these mountains, big and small. You’ll come across several instances of little waterfalls frozen into dangling icicles. Midway through the day, you’ll come across a big waterfall that is not entirely frozen, and small prayer flags on the trees around it mark this place. It is said that Nerak once ran out of water and a holy man went to Kailash to pray for water for his people. On his way back, he was carrying a pot of water with two fish with the instructions to not keep it down anywhere along the way. But he happened to place it here, and two fish jumped right out, resulting in this massive waterfall. Legend has it that this waterfall traces its origin back to Kailash. This waterfall, miraculously, is not completely iced-up even in such freezing cold. The rocks below this waterfall are covered with moss, and this is the only greenery you’ll see on this trek.

Midway to Tibb Cave, the cook will prepare a hot lunch. Don’t forget to thank him. Always remember to regularly have decent levels of fluid intake. Fill your bottles each day with hot water before the start of the trek and at lunch points. Nothing makes you adapt to the conditions faster than nicely circulating blood in your system.

A couple of hours more and you arrive at today’s campsite, Tibb. Tibb is a large camping area with caves alongside large enough to fit 9–10 people. The cave here is the dwelling place of all the porters, and they welcome you warm-heartedly here to have a look inside. The highlight of the day is sharing a cup of butter tea with them! After a tiring day, we have dinner and retire to our tents. Tomorrow is the much-awaited day for all. Nearak Waterfalls it will be. Goodnight

Depending on the weather, the Chadar can assume various forms. It can be a cold and hard surface of slippery ice, or it can have a dusting of snow over it, providing a good grip. The ice can be thick or thin, and it’s best to keep closely following the guides. As you trek along, observe the sounds of the ice underneath you. With a little attention and practice, you’ll understand the thickness of the ice sheet and be able to differentiate when it’s a few days old and when it’s just freshly formed. In some places, you may need to wade through ankle-deep water or climb the cliffs on the river’s edge. Eventually, you get used to walking on the Chadar, which looks like a cross between gliding and skating. 

Overnight camping at Tibb

Today is the most spectacular of all days on this trek. From Tibb to Nerak, there is a walk of 7-8 hours covering about 12.5kms.  Walking on the frozen river you cross deep gorges and reach a point where Juniper trees are covered with prayer flags. A few steps away stands the mother-of-all frozen waterfalls – a huge instance of suspended animation several feet tall and equally wide. You can see dozens of colours in this enormous ice structure as sunlight plays off its surface. A little ahead from the massive waterfall is the Nerak pull or bridge. It’s an old wooden bridge that can hold at least 4 people at a time. You get a better view of the waterfall from here.

About 20mins ahead, you’ll reach the Nerak campsite. The Nerak village is 2000ft higher, while the camping site is 200 ft higher than the river bed. Nerak is known for its cold nights and shivering winds. This would be your coldest night on the frozen river trek, with temperatures possibly dropping to -25 or even lower. We can visit the local shops near the campsite and enjoy our time chatting and sharing experiences so far. Congratulations to all! You have made it to your destination and completed half the trek.

Overnight camping at Nearak.

Today you start the return journey and go back to the Tibb cave or Hotang another new and beautiful campsite for you. To reach Hotang we need to walk a little more and the walk will be around 8-9hrs but it’s totally worth it. 

Also if you thought that it was just a matter of retracing your steps back to Chilling, you can think again. The Zanskar River reacts to the slightest change of temperature, and constantly keeps repackaging itself. This is one of the uniqueness of this frozen river trek, old chadar breaks, there are snowfalls and new chadar forms constantly. The Chadar would have assumed a completely new form, and will it will almost be impossible to say whether you have been here before. 

On the way, you can meet a lot of locals wearing their traditional woollen Gonchas – some of them Monks who are hiking from the Lingshed Monastery to Leh, some of them young students accompanied by their parents returning to their schools in Leh after the winter vacation. Watching the locals negotiate the Chadar is a fascinating sight. They are suitably adapted to the climate and seem very much at home in the sub-zero temperature and the biting cold winds. Nothing wipes the smiles off their faces and dampens the warmth of their spirit. Today if we reach Hotang and spend our night at this beautiful campsite, do not forget to set up your Tripods & cameras to click some amazing night sky full of stars. 

Overnight camping at Hotang

This is the last day of treading on the Chadar – the last chance to immerse in the pristine beauty of the frozen river. Starting from Tibb/ Hotang, we go up to Shingra Koma today. The high walls of mountains rising from the sides of the river almost look like castle walls. You can see several trails of pug-marks all along the trek – footprints belonging to foxes, ibex or snow-leopards. You would be lucky to view a snow-leopard, but you can almost be sure that you are being watched by one all the time. We have almost completed our beautiful yet challenging trek. 

Once you reach Tilad Do, it’s time for all of us to party and congratulate each other for this accomplishment. Also, it is time to say goodbye to the Zanskar and the Zanskaris. We drive back to Leh at our Guesthouse and take a dry bath to wipe out all the dust. Tonight you get to sleep in a warm Guesthouse again.

The Chadar trek is absolutely as unique as it sounds and by now you the reason why? It is a far more fascinating and enriching experience than you can imagine. Our team and our porters will take good care of you and make this trek one of the most memorable experiences for you. Don’t forget to thank them before you say the final goodbye. 

Overnight stay at Guesthouse

As this unforgettable journey gets over, you depart from Leh having a newfound respect for the Zanskaries who brave all odds and survive with style in their beloved land. This trek also leaves behind a tremendous feeling of accomplishment – one of having undertaken and endured an extraordinary and challenging trek. The Chadar trek will be a cherished memory for life. 

• Accommodation: On triple sharing at Leh (Guesthouse)/ Hotel on Day 01, Day 02, Day 03 & Day 08, and on a Triple sharing basis (During camping) from Day 03 up to Day 07
• Good Quality camping arrangements; we focus on your safety, basic comforts and the environment while camping.
• Fresh and clean double layered sleeping bags of good quality (Sleeping bag to sustain temperature up to -40°C)
• Good quality Camping Mattresses
• Mess Tent
• Toilet tents 
• All vegetarian Meals while on trek and either Breakfast only option, Breakfast + Dinner (included) option or Breakfast+ Centrally heated room Hotel option at Leh as per your choosen packagage.  Meals would be simple, mostly hot, nourishing & vegetarian
• Basic First aid medical kits and oxygen cylinder.
• Qualified & experienced Trek Leader, Local Guide (Ratio, for every 08 Trekkers: 01 Local Guide for better safety) and Support staff like cook, helpers to help trekkers & Team of porters  
• Transport: Transfers from Leh Guesthouse to Road head/ Base Camp and return back to Guesthouse on Day 08
• Porter charges for carrying camping equipment & rations

• GST (5%)
• Cost for Airfare to reach Leh, Airport Pickup from Leh to Guesthouse/ Hotel on arrival & drop to Leh Airport on Day 09 (we can arrange the same for you at an additional cost on your prior notice and willingness to avail this service)
• Lunch at Leh Guesthouse/ Hotel on Day 01 , Day 02, Day 03 i.e. at all days while your stay in Leh city
• The proposed Wildlife Fees, Environmental Fees and other fees as being put forward by LAHDC and ALTOA or any other organization. 
• The same will be payable at actuals on the spot at the prevalent rate
• Environmental fee & Red Cross: INR 1800/- per person
• Indian tourist wildlife fees: INR 2000/- per person
•  ALTOA fees: INR 900/- per person
•  Personal Insurance: INR 2300/- per person
• Rescue & Medical support fees: INR 2000/- per person
• Inner-line permits fee
• Additional accommodation and food expenses if trek gets delayed due to weather, health or any other reason
• Expenses for evacuation and rescue operations due to natural calamity, mishaps, injury or any health problem.
• Any kind of personal expenses like bottled water, alcohol, soft drinks. 
• Porter to carry personal luggage. 
• Anything not specifically mentioned under the head price Includes.
• Any cost arising out of unforeseen circumstances like landslides, road blocks, bad weather, expenses incurred on account of sickness etc. 
• Extra cost incurred due to an illness, accident, hospitalisation or any Individual unforeseen cost incurring incidence.
• Personal and Medical Insurance.