Completing the Chadar Trek

The Frozen Highway, as it is called by the Ladakhis, has a lot to offer when it comes to trekking on a single or multiple layers of ice sheet. The Chadar Trek is becoming more adventurous because of global warming. It’s the porters from Zanskar Valley, who make your trek easy. Here’s my experience of the adventure...

Ladakh

The beauty of this small, ancient town is not hidden. Many tourists visits Ladakh for its beauty and to enjoy bike rides. The serenity of Ladakh lies in the stupas and lakes that it is surrounded with. Zanskar is said to be the holy river rising from Himalayas. It is known for its emerald colour. Chadar Trek starts after the sangam of Zanskar River and Indus River.

Chadar trek

The Route: The one-way 105 km trail is extremely hard and adventurous. The distance between Leh to Zanskar Village is 180 km. Around 30 km from the place where Indus and Zanskar meet is the point where the Chadar Trek begins. Some trekkers start trekking from this point, while others use vehicles to cover this distance. Each year, army helps build a 1 km road. Few trekkers go till Padum, which is 70 km from the point where the trek usually begins. Most trekkers go till Nerak Waterfall or Nerak Village.

Frozen in time

Nerak Waterfall

Nerak Waterfall is 56 feet high. The blue colour visible gives a hint of the running flow of water behind this frozen form. Due to the climate, very few trekkers can reach till here. The challenges that are met on this route are many. Sometimes the ice sheet hasn’t formed or the waterfall isn’t frozen. In such cases, trekkers have to trek up the mountain.

The porters

The porters take care of you throughout the trek

A lot of people will tell you dos and don’ts for this trek. You will know about this trek from many websites and links. But the only people who will take care of you throughout the entire trek will be the porters, even when your friends aren’t around. The hardships of these porters can’t be described in words. Chadar Trek is only open between January and February. These porters, who are from Zanskar Valley, earn their livelihood only in these two months. March and April are the months when they again walk through the entire Chadar to reach Leh city to purchase things for their homes and to send their kids to schools in the city. From the month of May for the next four to six months they do farming. At the end of November, they walk the trail again with their kids, this time back to Zanskar Valley as this is when the school vacation begins. The months when they do the trek, others than January and February, is the when the path is at its riskiest, as this is when the a sheet of ice hasn’t formed completely or ice is still melting.

Wisdom that comes from years of experience

The porters are cheerful during the entire trek

The porters have been trekking on this sheet of ice for years. They are super experienced in regards with the trails. They have no sleeping bags or if they do, then they don’t have tents even when the temperature at night falls between -25C to -50C. They are the most cheerful people during the entire trek. After the trek was over, it was a humble decision on the part of our entire group to give them our gumboots and even the socks, which we had used only for a day. Few of us gave them our sweatshirts and jackets after seeing the amount of hardwork they had put in. The trails were laid by them, food was cooked by them, tents were arranged by them. Just imagine, after walking for 10 km on a sheet of ice at an altitude of 11,000 feet above sea level, wouldn’t you want to rest? These porters were so polite and selfless, that all they needed was a word of appreciation. I remember they offered us a free ride when we looked tired, but we insisted on paying them as we knew how difficult it was for us to walk our way back.

Masterchefs at work

They are make great food with the resources available

A special mention for the amazing food the porters cooked. They make the best food out from the very less resources available to them. I remember my craving for hot gajar ka halwa. Stenzing was the chef during my Chadar Trek. I was amazed to see how beautifully he utilised the few things that he had to make delicious halwa. Setting up camp for lunch wasn’t always easy, but they managed to do so even after carrying lots of luggage during the day.

Nature at its best

Prachi describes the trek as an amazing adventure

Don’t be afraid of how difficult the Chadar Trek might be. This is the best way to experience nature and its beauty, and to find your inner self. Don’t hesitate to ask the porters for help. My friend and I had decided to give our backpacks to the porters to carry, not because we couldn’t carry them, but because this is the only way through which they can earn their livelihood. The moment you tell them you require a porter to carry a backpack, a beautiful smile lights their face; which is very rare in cases when you have to get work done from someone.

The author is a sports physiotherapist, manual and aquatic therapist, and a certified advanced fitness instructor.