A typical Day on a Ladakh Trek

A typical day on Ladakh Trek begins at 6:00 am. Each member of the group is given warm water to wash. The breakfast is generally an hour after waking up. In between you do the morning ritual. The breakfast generally is milk/tea/coffee, porridge, bread-jam or eggs. While you have your food, the crew in charge of you wraps up the tents and loads them on the ponies or porters. You carry your lunch with you on your journey ahead. And if that is not the case then facilities for hot lunch have been arranged on the way.

You reach the next camping spot around evening time. When you reach your next halting point, you are welcomed with tea/coffee and snacks. Dinners are not at nine but immediately after sunset. No one minds because the smell of food after a long days trek is more than inviting. The dinner is very basic food items like bread, a vegetable, rice and Dal. Some places you will also be offered a drink at the end of the meal. It can be tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

Before reaching the camp the entire trek is an ordeal of carrying your rucksacks on your back. Trekking on a single day begins with deciding the route and leaning your camp with a trained guide. You maneuver through gorges, passes and narrow passages. You do series of ascends and descends. You are in a group so there might be people who would want to rest. While some rest some take time to click pictures.

Anyway after arriving at the camp and having some refreshments you are ready to sleep. Most of the people prefer unwinding instead of hitting the pillow. They gather together and play cards, read or write about their experiences. Sometimes everyone is asked to gather around camp fire and spend time singing, sharing jokes basically mingling with each other. By 9 pm everyone is inside their tent and by 10 pm latest every one dozes off.

Trekking Adventure in Ladakh

Ladakh, the Himalayan city is located in Jammu and Kashmir at an altitude ranging between 1500 ft to 25000 ft. The snow laden peaks, valleys, lakes, springs and Buddhist monasteries are part of the Ladakhi culture. Snow covered mountains and thousands of miles of barren land make up this beautiful city. Ladakh’s challenging territories and diverse climate makes it trekkers favorite. The virulent conditions of the Ladakh plains which enhance the beauty of the place are inviting for anyone who is looking for that perfect adventure holiday.

Ladakh is bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram. Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2750m) at Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672m) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram. Summer temperatures rarely exceed

about 27 degree while winters are freezing at -20 degree celsius. Surprisingly, the sun shines throughout the year and due to such varied climatic conditions Ladakh becomes the only place where one can suffer a sunstroke and frostbite at the same time.

Ladakh has a long list of must visit places. For trekkers there is no dearth of challenges. Infact, Ladakh is a heavenly abode for adventure seekers. Acclimatization is the most important activity before heading for trekking and mountaineering. Ladakh has popular trekking destinations like Spituk to Markha Valley, Laayury gompa to Chilling and Likir to Temisgam. Rafting down the Zanskar is another exciting adventure one would like to indulge in. If trekking on a frozen river sounds thrilling then Zanskar river trek in the winter will not disappoint you.

There are many ways to get around in Ladakh. Apart from trekking on foot, you can also go for jeep safaris, mountain biking through the rugged terrains by bus or even cars. The roads in this region are in very bad condition but have been somehow made accessible to vehicular traffic. Bad roads necessitate greater preparedness from the trekkers. You should go with a seasoned guide as his familiarity with the region will be an advantage. There are many inline routes which needs government permission to enter.

The more you explore Ladakh the more there is to explore. This little corner of India puts the rest of the country as simply ‘Down’. See if you don't start doing the same thing yourself.

Chadar trek Adventure

Cloudy blue-green waters and black rock are shrouded beneath a thick veneer of ice and snow, known as the “Chadar” (or veil) lie dormant like a downy white blanket.

Chadar Trek is an unusual expedition of walking on ice. Trekking in Zanskar is the best experience for adventure lovers. The conventional name of the trek is "Chadar Trek", called as the frozen sheet.

Do not forget that, for this trek you need to be patient, resourceful, and mentally flexible.

Esoteric nature of Buddhism practiced here, and enabled its some ten thousand inhabitants to preserve and perpetuate their cultural identity.

Zanskar has the differentiation of being the least interfered with microcosms of Ladakh, is one of the last few surviving cultural satellites of Tibet. It is the most isolated place and inaccessible for nearly eight months a year due to heavy snowfall resulting in closure of all the entries.

The trek is a hazardous journey with temperatures regularly dipping below minus 30° C.

Also, the state of the ice can change quickly from a solid surface to unsteady flows. The route is

passable only when the river is at its coldest.

The trek will require constant alertness in the gorge when ice melts rapidly or conditions change. In some places, the gorge is only 5m wide and there are only a few emergency escape routes and caves for shelter. The trek follows the river gorge through a spectacular landscape, a photographer’s paradise, offering occasional sighting of wildlife.

This Chadar trek will offer you to get through this isolation and to examine some of the villages along the Zanskar River in the midst of winter and thus catch a glimpse of the lifecycle during this unique time of the year.

Many ancient monastic establishments of Karsha and Zangla promise to heighten your insight into the mysteries of this Shangri-la, a land and culture frozen in time behind the ramparts of the Zanskar Mountains.

Visit the villages like, Chilling and Lingshed, which come on this trek until Hanamur and Pidmo before Pishu and Zangla in Zanskar, all the rest are names of places and caves, which come in route.