Trekking in Ladakh

It had everything that you dreamed about. It had ice (lots and lots of ice), even when I was sleeping battling the cold at night I was could see those ice sheet right in front of my eyes. We were walking on ice, we were drinking those ice (of-course the boiled one), but the most exciting part was that we were never complaining even under these extreme condition. Thank to these amazing group of people I was travelling with. The support staff, the organiser and each and every people related to this trip were an amazing host. They made us feel at home, they fulfilled almost all our demands. I had done 2 treks before with other organizations, but these people were the best. The fun we had is quite vivid with this picture, but trust me nothing can be explained in words, you just have to feel it. Keep yourself fit and go for it . It will change the way you see nature , it will change your perception towards people and many more things. Stay happy and keep trekking

Being a fauji kid i always dreamt to do something adventurous and so i chose the most dangerous most exciting chadar trek as my first trek. After reaching the hotel in LEH i was welcomed by Satya sir and guess what we both shared common backgrounds i.e. fauj. After having breakfast i went to the room and slept for an hour or two. In the evening we were briefed by Satya sir and Shashank sir about the trek which actually helped me during the trek. We were a group of 14 among which 8 came solo just like me. At night we introduced each other and slept. Next morning we went for sightseeing and explored beautiful Shey palace and monasteries and by that time we all knew each other names. On day 3 we all went for medical checkups and every member from our group was fit for the trek. In the meantime we went to LEH market for some shopping. We were again briefed by Satya sir , Shashank sir and Sonam Sir and guess what we slept in the tents with our sleeping bags. Next day we started our journey from LEH to Chilling . After reaching chilling we were all set to step our foots on chadar for the first time and that feel was amazing. We walked for 3 hours and reached our first campsite. After having a lovely dinner by our porters we sang songs and went to sleep. Next morning i experienced first snowfall of my life and everything all around us appeared to be white and ahhh what an amazing feel i had that time. By God's grace we all successfully made it to Nerak on day 6 and saw that frozen waterfall for the first time. The josh and the deshbhakti inside me came out, i removed my jackets and stuff, wrapped myself in INDIAN FLAG and waved it at NERAK. I cannot describe that feeling until you experience chadar trek, we spent two hours at Nerak. Alright we made it to Nerak so easily and we all were like wow that was easy but nah something was about to come. After having lunch at Tibb caves we started our journey , after an hour there was a patch when our trek leader Dorge sir saw that chadar is weak ahead and went solo upto 50-80 meters & came back and said we cannot go from here, so we climbed up the hill carefully as it was all covered with snow. And again after this we saw the same thing but this time we couldn't go through the hills as those were standing hills. And at this point we all thought one thing that we all made it to nerak so easily, this has to be happened. Dorge sir again went solo up to 50 meters to check the chadar and suddenly his legs went inside the chadar upto knee. Being an experienced trekker he immediately came out and changed his socks. We didnt have any option so we started walking on the chadar. I being second last in my group saw my group mates how carefully they were walking on chadar, I heard the satisfying sound of crushing the chadar when my right foot went inside the chadar and my gumboots was filled by water. Ah i didn't went mad but stayed calm, my friend Dev behind me shouted Dorge sir come here, and he within 30 seconds came back to me removed my gumboots and helped me to change the socks. We successfully made it to our tents that day and the rest of the journey. All I want to say is we were a group of motivators, we became a family and from day 1 to day 9 we all were positive and supported each other. Much thanks to all the porters who made such yummy foods for us. Thank you to dorge sir & Sonam Sir who always said we will go to Nerak. Thank you to Satya sir and Shashank sir who's briefings really helped me during the trek. I wish again to be with this group because we became a family. Thankyou Thrillophilia for such a wonderful journey on chadar. I will be uploading my chadar trek journey on youtube soon i.e. PUNEET VLOGS. Peace

Hi My name is Hemendra Kateja, I live in Jaipur, Rajasthan. My Chadar Trek was one of the unimaginable and most memorable trek. I went with my friend Nikhlesh for this incredible trekking adventure in February 2020. We both were very excited for this trek as we already mesmerised with chadar trek footage that we saw in several vlogs on youtube. We invested a lot of money in trekking gears and in other stuff because we were very keen to see the Chadar. I have heard a lot about the beauty of the Zanskar River but when I reached there it was much more amazing and I fell in love with the mesmerizing views of Zanskar Valley. We leave from Jaipur to Delhi on 31st Jan 2020, and reached delhi around 3:30 AM on 1st Feb 2020, Our flight was at 6:20 AM from IGI Airport Delhi. We both already pre booked our window seats to experience the aerial view of Magnificent Himalaya Peaks. After experiencing aerial view of Magnificent Himalaya Peaks we landed on the land of LAMA. Pilot announced that the current temperature of leh is -16, and we were eager to experience that kind of cold temperature, so we put out a woolen cap and gloves before getting out of the plane. From 10 degrees (Delhi) to -16 degrees (Leh) was teeth chattering cold. Reaching on a Leh Airport we took our luggage and moved towards the exit. Our tour operators were waiting outside with placards and welcoming gestures. We met Mr. Dorjay. He drove us to the guest house which was situated in STOK which was 15-20 Km away from Leh. We met Rovit Singla. He also came here for the Chadar trek and he was part of our Trekkers group. We reached our Guest House “Skitsal Guest House”. Staff gave us a warm welcome as we were first to arrive from the group. There was a Dog “Shadow”, he also came to us and started sniffing, so now we were now officially roam around out of fear. Arrangements were very good which were made for us by the team. We met Mr. Tenzing and other staff too. After a couple of hours we met with 3 other trekkers of the group (Bittu, Shishank & Shubham) at Skitsal Guest House After an hour Abdul & Vikash also joined the group as a trekker. The Trip coordinators “Kavish Rathore” and “The Bearded Traveller” Visited to the Guest house and started the introduction session and also briefed us about chadar trek and do’s and dont’s during the trekk. They told us not to exert ourselves on the first day as we were already feeling heavy while breathing because we were still not acclimatized to the leh environment. Second Day, Tenzing took us for a small trek around the village and Buddha Stupa which was around 3 km from the Guest House. We enjoyed Kids dance Performances also which was happening in school nearby. Then we went to have authentic Laddakhi local food. We had Kahwa, Butter Tea, Ladakhi Bread, Fried Momo & steamed momo with Pasta. We also tried a local Wine called “Chaang”. After an exciting visit to a village four people have decided to visit Ice Stupa & Shanti Stupa, So we asked Tanzing to arrange a Taxi for four of us so we can visit these places. We Visited visit Ice Stupa & Shanti Stupa and came back around 8PM. We had Dinner and and slept early as tomorrow was our Health checkup and Chadar trek Registration. Tonight we asked to sleep in the camps rather than rooms. Next Day we left for the Health checkup and Chadar Trek Registration and all of the group members passed the health test and we got a green flag to go on chadar trek. From Leh Market we brought Gumboots & Trekking Pole. Some of our group members also brought some hot jackets and gloves. Tonight again we asked to sleep in the camps rather than rooms. From tomorrow our trek was going to start in the actual manner. Trek Day 1: On the first day of trek, we started with a thrilling ride to Shingra koma (Starting point of Chadar trek) via Tilad Do, Chilling and Nimmu. Passing through the high mountains was a bit scary but we had a wonderful driver with us. We met our 2 guides Hanif and Tundup, they taught us how to walk on different types of ice.The day got colder as we reached Shingra Koma. Our Helpers cooked soupy maggi for us followed by the tea and cookies. It was our first-day of trekking in Zanskar. We had to cover around 5 km today. Be careful while you walk on the ice as it will be very slippery at times. At first, I was a bit nervous to walk on the ice but as we continued I was able to walk but steadily. I fell on ice in the very first hour of chadar trek. Nikhlesh leg slipped twice in cold water on the very first day and the whole shoe got frozen within 5 - 10 minutes. Today almost every one slipped and fell on ice multiple times. We reached our First campsite at Gylapo by evening and porters and cooks were already there and they served us hot tea and snacks followed by Dinner. The campsite was very beautiful and we could see the mountains on all sides. Temperature dropped significantly at night while we were in sleeping bags. Hanif told us that there is a possibility that we might not get permission to move to tibb cave because chadar has been broken before Tibb cave and there are 2 groups stuck at tibb cave and army guys are trying to get them out safely. Trek Day 2: On the second day of trek, we had our morning tea and delicious breakfast, and we were waiting for the update of the trekking association that we can proceed to tibb cave or not. We noticed that many groups decided to move to tibb cave without a backpack because they thought that they have to come back eventually. But our guides Hanif & Tundup decided that we have to take risk and take our backpacks and then go to tibb cave, so if there is any possibility to reach tibb cave we will attempt that and it will save our whole day too. We started our trekking from Gylapo to Tibb Cave. Today was a big day for us as we had to cover around 15 km. We started trekking through the deep ravines of Zanskar, and the day was a bit colder as there was no sunlight at all. We noticed the place where 2 groups got rescued, because there was a rope tide to make a path for trekkers. Chadar breaks and forms very quickly in these cold conditions , so we were very lucky to get a chance to walk on solid ice. We saw many caves and frozen waterfalls. We reached Tibb cave at our camp site. We explored the tibb cave where porters were preparing for the bonfire. We also enjoyed the warmth of the bonfire. We had a wonderful dinner with some roti and a sabji. Before going to bed we noticed that there were very few people reached here for camping, because in morning they decided to stay in the camps in Gyalpo.We were in confusion that could we move to Nerak Village tomorrow or not, But Hanif came to us and gave us a good news that because tomorrow and day after tomorrow there is Chadar Festival at Nerak village ,so officials gave permission to open trekk to nerak. Hanif told us that Chadar condition is very bad so we need to leave early in the morning so we don't experience broken chadar. We took some night mode shots on our camera and went to those suffocating tents and sleeping bags. Trek Day 3: On the third day of trek, Today we had to trek from Tibb cave to Nerak Village. Morning started a bit early for us. The first time on the journey we woke up around 6 and had wakeup tea, and had our breakfast and we left for Nerak Village around 7:30AM. As we started trekking we came across many Junipers and prayer flags tied on a twig. It was such a beautiful sight. Within an hour we faced a broken chadar and our guides helped us and guided us to cross the broken chadar where water was at knee level. We changed our wet socks very fast. We also came across a huge broken waterfall on our way to the camp. We had to walk slowly as few of the paths were a bit slippery.Hanif and Tundup decided to setup camp 5 km before nerak village so we can save our whole day while going back to leh. Just before reaching the camp site I had a great fall on a chadar when I slipped very badly and I hit my shoulder and head on rock solid chadar. I must say i was very lucky that head gears came out as a saviour and they saved my head, but unfortunately i hit my shoulder and now it was very painful to walk with that heavy rucksack backpack. We reached our campsite and had tea and snacks, I applied a fast pain relieving spray on the shoulder and put our bags in the camps and moved towards nerak village.At that particular moment for fraction of second i thought i can't do that and i need rest, but that what i learned in this trip is to push your limit and challenge your body. I started again with that painful shoulder. Now I reduced my speed of walk because somewhere in my mind there was fear of falling again on the chadar. That thought was not going and I tried many times. Beautiful landscapes distracted my mind and I forgot my pain. We saw a hot water spring on the journey of the trek. We took a rest for lunch and from this point we could also see the Narek village and some stupas. Our trek leader Hanif & tundup was really helpful throughout the journey. After having lunch we moved to Nerak Village and we saw the grand canyon of Nerak and the mighty Nerak frozen waterfall. We clicked pictures on the frozen waterfall and then we moved to nerak village where the Chadar festival was happening. We saw the local people wearing their traditional woollen Gonchas. It was such a wonderful view to see how these people have adjusted to the biting cold here Chadar village people welcomed us very warmly, they started traditional dance with traditional songs of nerak, Drums were so in sync with songs and the echo of music in the valley was an epic experience. After Half hour of enjoyment we took our leave and started moving towards our camp. We came across many pug marks of foxes. After reaching our camp, the pain in my shoulder started irritating me and I was not able to do normal work. Today clouds covered the sky and it was too windy, so because of that we were feeling so cold and our hands and palm were getting numb. Here Hot water bag saved us in this horrible situation. Trek Day 4: On the third day of trek, Today we had to trek from Narek camp to Gylapo via Tibb Cave which was basically our return journey. And today we have to go more than 15 km I guess. IN the morning we woke up many times because of the windy weather and stage noise on our tents. After we woke up we found out that it was snowing, and everywhere there was a layer of snow. We had Tea and breakfast and moved towards Gyalpo. After we started our trek within 10 mins snow started falling again and this was the cherry on the cake of the journey, that we experienced trek in snow fall too. The morning was very cold when we started. We reached Tibb cave very fast and then we pushed our speed to reach Gyalpo camp. Everyone was very tired that they wanted to reach leh asap. But we need to spend one more night in the tents. We reached so early to Gylapo that we had enough time to explore nearby places, we took rest in sunshine and then we saw local blue sheeps, did some photography and then moved to the dining area. As this was our stay of trekk, so all the group of trekkers started playing dumb share arts and time flew by, we had great fun , laughs. We became good friends during the course of our journey. Then a hot dinner was served by the helpers and then we were surprised that all the crew members prepared a delicious and beautiful cake. Hanif and Tundup and all our crew came together and shared their experience of the trek, ever one were very emotional and happy at the same moment that they have achieved a milestone. We had a bonfire and sang songs and we danced together. Today's temperature was not that harsh.That night was the best night of the whole trek. We went to our sleeping bags and tent for the last time. Trek Day 5 : We were almost coming to an end of our trek. Today we had to trek from Gylapo to Shingra Koma. We started the trek for the last time, and as we know that our group is very fast so everyone expected that in 2 hours we will reach Shingra Koma. But as i previously said that Chadar is unpredictable. Last night it was not that cold, so because of that after 15 mins of trek we saw that there is no chadar present anymore and there is water everywhere, and the mountains were very steep that we cannot walk through. We were in huge confusion as our travellers were already waiting for us at the pickup point as Shingra Koma. We thought adventure was over for us on the last day but wait now we have to climb the 30 Feet mountain and then cross the valley from the mountains. How interesting and it was very dangerous too. Nikhlesh, Abdul and Ashish already climbed and reached on the top of the hill, I started to climb and slowly and steadily everyone climbed that hill. This was so much thrill and fun. We threw rope and the remaining group climbed the hill very soon. Thanks to Hanif Bhai and Tundup for making our trek such an awesome one. We were the first group who reached nerak from thrillophilia this season. We reached our pickup point and took a sigh of relief. We Stopped at Gurudwara Shri Pathar Sahib Ji and thanked god for the success of the Chadar trek and then we had langar prasad and moved towards leh city. We checked in our guesthouse Palam Hills Guest House. We took a bath after a week and then we went to leh market, and brought souvenirs for my friends and family. We enjoyed a bonfire with drinks and then we had dinner together and started packing our bags as we all have early morning flights. Today was our last day at Leh, we were ready for our return journey. We took our flight back home. We had the best time doing this incredible trek, a must do trek for all the adventure seekers, you will just love everything about this trek. Just remember to wear thermals and wear gumboots during the trek. You can buy them at Leh on your first day itself. We click a lot of pictures to cherish these memories. Huge thanks to team Thrillophilia and Kavish and The bearded Traveller. Thanks to all crew members and especially Hanif & Tundup, Keep rocking guys. Special thanks to my Team Nikhlesh, Abdul, Ashish, Bittu, Viskash, Rovit, Shubham and Shishank.

Amazing trek.. Thanks a lot to THRILLOPHILIA. Life changing experience. This is the master of all the treks. I am marathon runner, always wanted to go for a trek. Finalized to go for Chadar trek with little hesitation. But, THRILLOPHILIA cleared all the mental blocks and made me confident. Hats off THRILLOPHILIA. What an experience... People tells Swizz mountains. Guys come to Leh and go for Chadar trek. Then compare :) Again thanks a ton to THRILLOPHILIA

Chadar Trek - Feb 2019 Julley!!!!! It's been 15 days my trek is over but chadar effect is still Onn!!!! Without fail I see the same pics again and again, take the pride to share my Chadar experience with my friends. Thanks to Satya, Shanshank, Guide, Porter's, my Group and Thrillophilia for this amazing and lifetime experience. Chadar denotes to the Frozen Zanskar River which transforms into thick layer of ice and it's a beautiful trek admist the Zanskar Valley. It was my first trek of life and really grateful to my sister as it was her plan and it's only because of her I had this lifetime unforgettable experience. Day - 1: Acclimatization The only Challenge in Chadar trek is adverse temperature which drops down to -30 and low oxygen due to high altitude. Trekker from all over the INDIA come for Chadar trek and due to drastic change in weather and temperature there is high probability of AMS hence government from this year has made a mandate 3 days acclimatization rule. So before carrying out the trek it a mandatory 3 days stay in Leh city which is followed by Medical. Once you are hit by AMS the only option left is fly back from Leh . While taking flight from Delhi to Leh don't forget to take window seat kyuki everyone knows Badal important hai but yahan Badal keh sath snow capped Himalaya ka view bhi milta hai and it's very beautiful. After landing in Leh airport we were received by Mr Tanzin who took us to our hotel. It was my first visit to the cold desert and I was overwhelmed by the hospitality of Ladaki people. We met Satya, our trek leader and over all in charge from Thrillophilia who welcomed us and had a short introduction over break fast. On Day1 we were strictly adviced to stay in hotel and not to exhaust ourself and to have at least 5litres of water - only saviour. Meanwhile all others members of our group came and in no time from stranger we became friends. In the evening there was an official introduction round of our group and we had a great time over tea and we were given briefing about the trek by our Guide Sir about Do's and Don't during the trek. Day - 2 : Leh Sight Seeing / AMS / Tension We were fortunate enough, big thanks to Thrillophilia for this add on and taking us for Leh city tour. We were taken to Thiksey monastery, Shey Palace, the meeting point of Indus and Sindhu river, Magnetic hill and local market. The scenic beauty was mesmerising and can't be captured and defined in words. It's way beyond beautiful. WARNING -Please don't forget to carry your water bottles and drink water at regular intervals. AMS - After the tiring day my brother in law was having a head ache and the moment we reached our hotel we reported this to Satya.The moment he heard he rushed my brother in law to hospital and asked us to stay back. His oxygen level was low and was hospitalized. He was hit by AMS and he was medically unfit to take this trek. All of a sudden all the excitement vanished and pressure crept in. It was certainly a tough call for all three of us. It was my sister's dream to take this trek and her husband was hospitalized due to low oxygen level and the only option left for him was fly back to Delhi. My sister almost made up her mind that she is going to fly back too . Shanshank Role- Experience Counts. While Satya was at hospital with my brother in law, Shanshank stepped in gave moral boost to my sister and convinced her not to quit and carry on. He told us that my Brother In law was absolutely fine it's just due to altitude and it's very common and he will be completely fine once he lands in Delhi. Satya after coming from hospital gave me a hug and asked me to be prepared for medical. Unfortunately my brother in law had to fly back to Delhi. Day-3: Medical From Jan 2019 it is mandatory for trekker to undergo medical test even if anyone has medical certificate from any doctor. The government has also introduced a mandate insurance policy for trekker keeping in mind the safety issue of trekker. Every person is issued an insurance card which is valid for 10days and any medical emergency during the trek is covered under it . Even doctors are available at camp sight and any casualty during the trek can be addressed. They have been given satellite phones and at utmost emergency, the evacuation process is carried out by helicopter. A great initiative by the government keeping in mind the safety of the trekkers. After medical clearance the excitement level was at different level. Finally we were given green signal and my wishlist was going to be fullfilled. Everyone from our group cleared the medical and for the next 5 days we were going to be in Chadar. On returning to hotel we were congratulated by Satya and Shanshank on clearing the medicals.On day 3 we have to sleep in tents just to have a feeling of Chadar. We were given briefing about how to use sleeping bags and be organized and take care of ourselves during the trek. It was altogether a different experience for me as it was my first trek of my life and I had never slept in tents before. The sleeping bag used was of same quality as used my military and it was very comfortable Day(4-9) : The Day - How's the Josh? Chadar here we come. After 3 hours of ride from our hotel we finally arrived at Chilling (from where our trek started) at around 12noon. The first step- It was like a dream come true. I was definitely on cloud9 . It's a 2 hour trek on the first day from Chilling to Tilad just to familiarize ourself with Chadar. Message - Please follow your guide instructions very carefully as smartness can be fatal at times specially in Chadar which changes every hour. Weather plays a vital role. Keep your sunglasses , sunscreen handy and cold cream handy, make sure your ears are covered. Relish your trek as it is one time. Enjoy the beautiful Zanskar Valley. Respect the environment and don't throw your waste in the Zanskar. Enjoy the freefall at Chadar as everyone falls and no one laughs at you. Food- I just couldn't believe that I will have such an amazing experience with food in Zanskar. I really am speechless . I never had such tasty food experience in my life. I had the most tasty veg Momo's of my life. And the love with which the cook served won everyone's heart. The support Staffs are the main hero of Chadar trek without whom it won't be possible. Enjoy your night and have good sleep. Tilad - Tibb Caves. The next day you start your trek after your breakfast and it's going to be a tiring day with 8hours trek. You have a lunch break in between where you are served kashmiri kawa and Maggie or Thupa. And around 4 in the evening we reached our camp site. Please change your socks immediately once you reach your camp site. After having our evening tea we went to medical camp site where our oxygen level and pulse rate was checked as routine check-up. You can explore camp site or choose to stay at dinning tent and chill with your group . Tibb Caves to Nerak. By next day your Josh has come down in the freezing cold valley but once you reach Nerak all your pain just vanish and its Worth it. The sight of huge waterfall and the feeling of completing the trek successfully brought in you a new Winner and you take the pride of earning it. Bravo!!! You have made it... It's a beautiful trek and sincere thanks to Satya, Shanshank, Dorje Sir, Tharchin Sir, and Thrillophilia for giving me this lifetime experience and the joy of completing the Chadar trek. Come and enjoy the C - Chilling, H- High, A-Altitude, D- Daring, A- Adventurous, R- Zanskar River T R E K.

It was the best experience of my life I have visited many places but this place was amazing because of its environment there was a lot of ice this trip have a good impact on my life, we get away from the daily hustle-bustle of city I enjoy this trip very much I really love this place and I want to visit it again.

Ladakh was on top of our list. It was an awesome guide we have on the trek, so beautiful place and totally different adventure. The meals were nice as per the location, in mid there were some problems but we all combine deal with it.

We were the group of five we decide to visit this Ladakh together, so we book the trek from Thrillophilia because they always provide the best deal, This place was very beautiful and we love this place. snow was just beautiful, the weather was also in our favour, the guide was excellent and professional this was one of my best trips.

I book the trek from Thrillophilia because I want to visit this place, suddenly my friend suggests me to book it, as there was a discount going on the website so I book the trek and it was a good experience, and the place was wonderful.

The trek was amazing just, everything was perfectly managed by Thrillophilia and we just enjoyed it. we were 14 in total and went for it after a long discussion from the salesperson and must say, they did it well. We were satisfied with all the things like the meal, stay, guide, and other activities we did there. Highly recommended.