In Zanskar in winter, the temperature drops to -40 degrees Celsius. The frozen river water creates a thick layer of ice on the surface, creating a road in the middle of the gorge. The locals call it Chadar, a blanket of ice and snow. According to CNN, Chadar is known as "the most difficult journey in the world", with nearly 150 km of ice road. This is the mountain ridge to the top, the scenery is beautiful but the road is very dangerous, just a little carelessness can cause slipping and falling.
Responding to Travellive, Thao Tran, representative of IntoWild, a platform for booking domestic and international adventure travel activities, said that trekking through the Zanskar glacier is a special journey because of two factors. First, visitors will experience all the activities of eating, sleeping, and playing on the frozen river. Second, currently in the world, only the Zanskar region has an ice road like the above and this is also the only entrance to this area in winter. Besides, the Chadar trekking route is likely to disappear completely in the future due to climate change.
"This route can only be traveled within 1.5 months in winter. However, as the weather gradually gets hotter, the time is shortened to 1 month," said Thao Tran.
Experience hiking on the Zanskar glacier
When registering for this route, tourists will spend 7 days trekking on Zanskar, of which 5 days to the destination and 2 days returning to the starting point. From New Delhi, tourists fly to Leh and stay overnight at the hotel. On the first day, tourists will spend time visiting places in Leh such as Shey Palace, Thiksey Gonpa, Stok Palace. This is also a suitable time to get used to walking slowly, breathing slowly and the cold air.
"This trek has a huge number of porters, possibly the largest group I've ever seen. There are only 5 people trekking but there are 15 people following to support them," Thao Tran shared.
Zanskar River in the dry season.
Before departure, the Ladakh government requires all visitors to this trek to undergo a health check. You will be given a general health check, blood pressure, body temperature and heart rate measurement. For visitors with an SP02 index below 85, they are required to eat and rest well to continue the measurement the next day or move to another trek.
The next day, visitors will be transferred to the confluence of the Zanskar and Indus rivers, from there turn left and drive along the Zanskar river until you reach Sumdou and then Bakula Cave. This is the day visitors officially walk on the glacier. Trekking routes in Nepal or Vietnam all have teahouses along the way to support essentials or necessary equipment. For the Chadar trekking route, you seem to carry an entire village with you, with many porters and carts carrying goods.
Frozen waterfalls in Zanskar.
Group of people trekking on the glacier.
Porters pull carts along with tourists.
"The atmosphere at the gathering point was very bustling, at night people sang and played music along the riverbank. Some Western tourists were so excited that they jumped into the icy river to swim," said Ms. Thao.
The next 3 days, you will have to walk on the ice for 7-8 hours each day until the end of the journey, Lingshed Monastery. The last 2 days, you will walk all day back to the starting point following the return route from Hotong to Tsomo Do and then back to Leh.
What do tourists need to prepare?
"We will have to carefully filter the registered guests, this route is suitable for those who have experienced altitudes above 3,000 m before," Thao Tran said. In particular, the tour company does not accept tourists with lung, blood pressure, or cardiovascular problems because there are absolutely no medical support facilities here. However, Chadar Trekk does not require too many health requirements because it is just a straight line on the glacier. Tourists do not have to endure sudden changes in altitude like other mountain climbing tours.
Before the trip, visitors need to prepare all the necessary warm clothes to cover their whole body. During the trekking, thanks to the sunlight and the increased body temperature, you will feel very warm. But, at night, the minus 40 degree weather becomes bitterly cold. To help everyone warm up, the porters will share glasses of rum and start singing.
Tourists play with icicles during the trip.
Shirtless tourists pose on the glacier.
Tourists try swimming on the glacier.
"Everyone lit a fire and danced together to keep warm. After that trip, many people also liked Indian music," said Ms. Thao.
For this route, tourists can wear normal rubber boots, if necessary, can use high-end climbing shoes. Tourists only walk for many hours on the flat terrain of the glacier, so do not need good climbing accessories. However, equipping shoes with crampons is necessary because the ice surface is very slippery.
"Winter in Ladakh is cold and dry, making the fingertips and toes cold. So if you wear shoes that are too tight, it feels like you are stabbing needles into your feet. Therefore, I switched to fishing boots, which are soft and can keep you warm," Thao Tran said. She advises tourists to bring anti-glare glasses to protect the retina. In particular, to prevent frostbite, tourists need to prepare a tube of anti-humidity cream or use beef fat from the local Tibetan people.
