Chadar Trek Tales - Falling into frozen Zanskar River in Ladakh and escaping death

Chadar Trek Tales: Falling into frozen Zanskar River, Ladakh

Chadar Trek in Ladakh, India, is one of the most popular winter treks and one of the most glamorous treks in the world. This trek is considered to be highly difficult as it requires to trek on the frozen Zanskar river in extreme temperatures ranging between -15°C and -30°C. The word "Chadar" means a blanket, referring to the white ice sheets of the frozen river. The Zanskar river flows through a steep canyon between Chilling and Zanskar Valley. The locals have been traditionally using this route for trade in winters as the road to Zanskar Valley is blocked due to snowfall. Over time, adventurers have embraced this treacherous path, transforming it into one of the most beautiful winter treks in India.

Chadar Frozen River Trek - Ladakh, India

​Chadar Trek Route

The Chadar trek begins at a point where the current road ends, situated somewhere between Chilling and Tilat Sumdo. The 7-day trekking route, including a buffer day, leads up to a village called Nerak and back.
The trek follows the following route: Tilat Sumdo - Shingra Koma - Tibb - Nerak - Shingra Koma - Tilat Sumdo.
For a more extended experience, the village of Lingshed can be included in the trek, which would extend the duration to approximately 11 days from Tilat Sumdo.

Confluence of Zanskar & Indus rivers in Ladakh, India

​Chadar Trek Difficulty

The Chadar Trek from Chilling to Nerak and back covers a distance of approximately 105 kilometers, requiring a daily walk of 15-16 kilometers. This trek is essentially a flat walk, starting at an altitude of 3170 meters and reaching the higher camp at Nerak at 3400 meters. However, it is considered a challenging trek due to the harsh weather conditions. Therefore, thorough physical and mental preparation for the Chadar Trek is highly recommended.
Climate change is a pressing issue that is impacting our natural resources. The annual melting of the frozen Zanskar river in Ladakh poses a significant threat to trekkers, making it extremely difficult to complete the Chadar Trek.

Chadar Frozen River Trek, Ladakh, India

Chadar trek is a unique experience

Unlike other treks, the Chadar trek offers an entirely unique experience of walking on a frozen river along the flowing turquoise river, even in unbearable weather conditions. Each day on the frozen river was a surprise, as we crossed frozen ice slides, waterfalls, and caves on our way. One day, I was left thirsty throughout the entire route because my water bottle wasn’t sealed properly, leaving only frozen ice in it. Another day, I woke up in the morning to find my lenses frozen in the lens case. Every morning, I had to dip the case in hot water from the kitchen tent before wearing the lenses. Things like toothpaste, sunscreen, moisturizer, and wet wipes remained frozen throughout the trek. I started wrapping important things in my warm clothes to keep them from getting frozen, but there’s a limit to everyone’s imaginations.

Frozen waterfall Chadar trek ladakh

​Local Ladakhi sledges on the Chadar Trek

Locals of Ladakh are accustomed to using wooden sledges to transport goods on the frozen river. Our porters and support staff carried camping equipment on these sledges.

Local sledges on chadar trek ladakh

Alternate routes for broken Chadar

The ice on the river forms and breaks unpredictably, forcing the trekker to find an alternate route through the snow-covered steep rocks in the worst-case scenarios. The unpredictable nature of snowfall leaves the trekker guessing whether there’s ice or water beneath the snow cover.

Broken chadar on chadar trek, Ladakh

​Camping on Chadar Trek

The trekking day concludes in the afternoon, and we set up camp. Fortunately, nature has provided us with some flat surfaces in the gorge around the river for our campsite!

Chadar Trek campsite

Falling in the frozen river and coming out alive!

On one of the days, we received news that the chadar was broken ahead, making it extremely challenging to cross the waters or the steep rocks on the side walls. Despite this, I was walking down the frozen river with a cheerful demeanor, my backpack on my shoulders, and my camera hanging down my neck. I noticed a distinctly marked trail and found it worth capturing. And this happened to be the last picture I clicked on my brand new camera - Panasonic Lumix FZ-200.

I took a few steps on the trail, and this time, the micro spikes on my gumboots produced a different kind of crackling sound on the ice. Before I could even sense it, my leg had already broken through the thin layer of ice and plunged into the flowing water beneath. The icy water instantly numbed my leg and my brain. I managed to control my panic and attempted to lift my leg. However, the thin sheets of ice couldn’t bear the weight of my body and backpack, and my other leg sank in as well. I found myself chest-deep in the flowing river, with my hands above the chadar. In that moment, everything around me blurred, and I sensed a glimmer of hope for my survival. I somehow gathered my senses, waved my trekking pole, and called for help. Locals on the trek, carrying food items and other necessary camping equipment on sledges, spotted me and rushed towards me. It took two of them to pull me out. Yes, I was rescued alive and taken away from that trail, resting on the sledges to catch my breath. The helpers advised me to change into fresh clothes soon, but I felt shy doing it on an open trail. So, I insisted they let me walk to a comfortable, hidden place to change. After taking five steps ahead, I realized that every part of my body had gone numb, and I couldn’t move. The helpers then brought me back to the sledge and helped me change into fresh clothes. My boots were covered in a considerable amount of ice, and socks, double-layer pants, a down jacket, gloves, and my camera were all frozen, rock hard. Fortunately, I had waterproofed clothes in my backpack. The only way to warm myself up again was to start hiking. I remember how happy I was to have experienced this “FORCED DIP” in the chadar and survived it too!

I had removed the batteries from the camera and allowed it to naturally dry in the normal temperature for at least a week after my trek before attempting to switch it on. Thankfully, the camera had survived as well!

I don’t have any pictures of me sinking in the chadar, but this is how my frozen pants looked like!

Frozen pants after falling into frozen river

​Check out Leh Ladakh Tourism for more information on itineraries and tours in Ladakh.