Chadar – Frozen River Trek

There is no running water in most of the hotels during the winters. The extreme temperatures (minus 10 to 20 deg C) freeze the water in the pipes which leads to rupturing of the water lines. The only method is to deliver hot water in buckets to the hotel rooms. A select few hotels these days have running water wherein they use motors to circulate water in the pipes throughout the night when temperatures are coldest and water tends to freeze if not moving.

Like the name goes, Homestays are extremely different from a regular Hotel. Homestays generally have a few extra rooms which are given out to guests visiting Ladakh/Zanskar. Lingshed, Zangla and Karsha have excellent homestays with Bukhari (heater) in the living room which warms up the whole room in a matter of minutes. Some Homestays use the Bukhari for cooking or just heating the Water. These homestays have wood stocked for the Winter months and ration it all through the season to keep the Bukhari going. The rooms are spacious and clean and the toilets are dry, compost pits. The best part about homestays are the hosts who are extremely warm and hospitable.

Most of the Kashmiri shops selling items like shawls, carpets, masks and curio that abound the market in the summers are all shut. Most of the big eating joints are also closed. The small eating joints selling simple Indian and Tibetan Food are open.

Most of the local porters wear gumboots on the Chadar Trek which are easily available in Leh. This seems to be the most practical and inexpensive option for walking on ice. A lot of people do the whole trek with gumboots; however it is not easy walking in them all the time. At times when Chadar does not freeze very well, we advise people to use gum boots. Gum Boots are easily available for cheap in Leh (Rs. 400 to 500),

Yes, you need both a fleece Jacket and a down Jacket… and good ones! It is cold throughout. You can normally do with just a fleece while walking since your body is generating enough heat. But once you reach Campsite and, in the evenings, a good down jacket is a must.

Porters are the mainstay for transporting luggage on Chadar Trek. Most of the porters come from Zanskar and walk the chadar four times to complete one trek with clients. Lucky ones get to do 3 to 4 in one season. The loads that the porters carry is about 20Kg+. Most of the time, loads are tied to sledges and are pulled on ice. At places where the chadar is broken, is where the load is actually lifted on the back like a big backpack. Apart from the load given to them, porters have their personal bags and their own ration that they carry.

Drinking water needs to be kept adequately warm to counter freezing. You are normally given hot water in the mornings in your water bottles. You can keep this inside your day sack instead of the side pocket to avoid freezing. Buying a water bottle sleeve ensures that it does not freeze. We also suggest clients to carry a 1 ltr Thermos apart from their regular bottles to keep the water warm which could be used for drinking tea or warm juice on the trail.

You need sleeping bags that should withstand atleast -20 degree Celsius. Such sleeping bags are used only by mountaineers climbing summits above 6000m+ in the Himalaya or people who do winter expeditions. These sleeping bags is of 2 layers – a Down Inner and a Hollofil Outer and are generally similar to the ones used by the Indian Army on the Siachen Glacier where temperatures can get severe. These sleeping bags have been successfully used on the Chadar Trek and are great to keep you warm during those bitterly cold nights.

Lunch is generally prepared fresh and hot right mid-way through the trek. This works better than serving packed Lunch.

Strictly “NO”.

We do not take more than 12 on any trip on Chadar.

Leh in winters is a different planet – everything is shut, there are only a few shops which open up & which sell the essentials required by the locals. Don’t think you would like to arrive much earlier as the trip is anyways 3 days longer. A couple of days ahead would be more than enough. About possible places where you could go – You can visit some monasteries close by. We also take people out to a monastery or two on our acclimatization day in Leh.
In the winters the temperatures are really low & a lot of homestays / hotels / guest houses are not centrally heated. You anyways are doing a 8/9 day trek. I guess by the end of it you would be quite fed up with the cold & would really want to get out & thaw yourself in a warmer place.

If you tend to freeze quite quickly, it is not a bad idea to have hand & toe warmers for a bad weather day. Now, Warmee’s are easily available in India and work very well in the mountains.

A pair of walking poles is essential. Walking Sticks are essential on the Chadar Trek. They help in balancing on ice and also checking its thickness

Obviously we can’t wear contacts there. Bring glasses, I think you should take contacts too & see if they work.

You have phone connectivity only in Leh. On the trek there is no connectivity. The villages do have a satellite phone each installed by the government, which you can use by paying a minimal charge, but connectivity is not very reliable.

Any camera would work; it is batteries which is a problem. When the temperatures are low the batteries discharge faster. If you intend to take a lot of pictures on the trek, we recommend that you carry a couple of spare batteries with you and keep them wrapped up and warm in the nights.

Carry a power bank and use your mobile sparingly, just to take pictures.

Most times serious injuries on Chadar are always a result of slipping and taking bad falls on ice. Be very careful while walking on blue glassy ice surfaces which are most slippery! A thin layer of snow on the ice actually helps in increasing the traction to the ice. All this can be avoided by being a little cautious and using walking poles.

We carry a first-aid kit are available with us. Also Insurance Co. and Leh Association is having a Small Medical Check up Center – Near Tilad Sumdo Camp Site

Yes, you should always carry your own personal first-aid kit with you. Will provide you a list that what to carry.

2 – 3 People Or as per size of Tent

Please refer Chadar Trek Essentials document.

Sanitary facilities will be provided to you as Toilet tents. You might also have to go behind the rocks at some places in groups.

We ensure that the layer or chadar of the river will be thick enough to walk but still falling in freezing water or river can be dangerous or risky. You just need to be careful and follow the footsteps of our trek leader who ensure that chadar is thick enough to walk or hold the pressure of a person. Our Tour guides and porters are experienced enough to handle such situations.

No, it is not advisable to intake alcohol during trek as having any drug or alcohol will make you unwell and develop symptoms of AMS. In any such case, the trekker needs to get back to Leh (down to lower altitude) immediately. So say no to alcohol or Smoking while trekking or on heights.

You might like to carry energy drinks, cookies, chocolates, dry fruits and nuts as they all consist of high calories which give you energy. Rest, fresh food will be provided to you during the trekking.

Cameras and electronics etc. generally do well at high altitude, but the batteries tend to die out very quickly in the subzero temperatures. So carry the extra batteries when on the trek and keep them warm. Put them in woolen socks or gloves or in the inner pockets of your jackets close to your body temperature. While sleeping in the sleeping bags, you can keep them probably in the socks you would wear. The frozen batteries also revive when you warm them up. Your hard drives might crash by the altitude sickness (read air pressure) in the trek, so keep them back at Leh hotel.

You can transfer via Cash/NEFT/UPI to our Bank accounts, shared with the document.

No, flight cost is not included in the given price of the tour. However, we can assist you with the flight bookings at the best possible cost.

We do not advise carrying too much money or precious things on trek, as all the stuff will be given to you which includes tents, meals, porters which will be required during the trek. Only amount you will spend in Leh, whatever you shop at the local market.

Stoves will be carried by porter. Zanskar river water will be used as drinking water after boiling. Do carry your insulated water bottle.

Yes, you should be fit physically. It is advisable to start some workout (cardio possibly) a month before you start the trek. Running, swimming or yoga are some good options to start with. If you are a regular office going person with long sitting hours, the underlying task is to let the heart and the lungs get used to working out so that the trek for 5-6 hours on Chadar is not a sudden variation for your body.

We will give you a list to refer while packing your bags. All the queries shall be addressed on call or whatsapp group.

Yes, it makes you feel comfortable while trekking or walking on the Chadar. It helps you grip on slippery layer and to check whether the river is frozen or not in case fresh snow begins.

During chadar trek season, most of the hotels will be closed at Leh. Accomodations will be provided in standard & comfortable hotels – 2 or 3 People in One Room. Rest the whole tour is about trekking. During trekking, portable tents will be provided to you.

Only Veg. Food Available

After the start of the trek, if trek gets cancelled due to bad weather/ army interference or for any other unforeseen circumstances then no refund is possible.

Any high-altitude trek in Himalaya has a risk, but it’s not impossible you just need to be physical fit and need not panic.

There is 2 trek leader or guide or Co-ordinator for every 10/12 trekkers.

Fleece Jacket, Down Jacket, Double Layer fleece/ water resistant pants available on rent at MSA, Gorai

Participants who could not clear medical examination or does not get necessary permit for the Chadar trek has to bear all the cost of stay at Leh, food and any other expenses till the entire group returns on schedule date from the trek.

Due to any reasons beyond our control or poor ice layer formation on the Zanskar River, no refund will be made, but we will try our best to organise a substitute tour in Leh around only.

Participants has to bear any additional Expenses/ cost incidental to any change in the itinerary / stay caused by reason beyond our control such as Natural Calamities (Land Slides, Floods etc.), any accidents, medical evacuations, riots, strikes, evacuation costs, flight cancellation for any reasons including bad weather, etc.

Leh would not be accessible by road at all. You will have to fly in & out.

The toughest part about this trek is to deal with the extremely low temperatures, day in & out. On a bad day, the min temperatures can drop down to -30 deg C. Average day time temperatures are about -18 deg C. On a sunny day you would not be able to make much difference between -5 deg & -18 deg C. It is only when the winds start blowing or if your body part is wet that you will understand that it is much colder. Temperature in Leh ranges between -10 to -15 deg. C

Apart from the extreme cold and the glassy terrain, Chadar is not a difficult trek. There is hardly any gain in altitude. You would always be between 3400m to 3700m. Once you have acclimatized, you should not have any high altitude related problems on this trek. Next, the trek is not very rigorous. You do not have to be super fit to do this trek. All we are doing is walking carefully on ice with occasional crossings over rocks if the chadar is broken. Walking on ice is also something you will pick up pretty fast. Clients normally have problems adjusting to the penguin gait on the first day and do take a few falls. But from the second day itself you can see the confidence in their strides.
This trek is a lot about preparation (gear wise) to deal with cold temperatures. If you are well kitted out and reasonably fit you will enjoy the magnificent scenery in the gorge, if not it can be quite tough. Keeping all this in mind, yes, Chadar can be your first trek.

Physically it is not very taxing as there are no steep ascents & descents. You walk on the surface of the frozen river & the walk is always quite flat unless sometimes when the Chadar is not very well formed one would need to scramble up the slopes for some time. If you follow some fitness regime, just continue doing that. If not you can do some cardio exercises (running, swimming, cycling, skipping or playing some sport) – at least 30 min 2-3 times a week should be good enough. Preparation in terms of gear & dealing with the cold is more important on this trip than physical preparation.

Once upon a time, hardly any tourists visited Ladakh in the Winters. Over the years, the popularity of the Chadar Trek and the prospect of spotting snow Leopards have increased the tourist influx in the Winters too. But compared to the Summers only a select few hotels are open during the Winters. There are many small guest houses operational too.