Chadar Trek :Walking in frozen river of Zanskar, India

Region: Zanskar Best Time Mid January to Mid February
Max. Altitude: 3850m Takeover Point: Delhi.

Walking on Frozen river of Zanskar is an ultimate experience for adventure lover. The traditional name of the trek is "Chadar trek" the frozen sheet, which was only way in and out for Zanskaris in winter when all other ways are closed due to heavy snow fall at high passes. Therefore, it had been trade route for centuries for Zanskari People. Now the route is also famous as winter trekking among adventure lovers. We are organizing this winter trek with trained local Zanskari potters and our well-experienced guide and staff.

The coldest temperatures may shudder your bodies in the mornings when the temperatures are often at their lowest. You'll be up at 8AM and we start walking around 9:30AM. By then the days are typically sunny with blue sky although cold and truly fresh! Of course, by now you'll be spellbound by your surroundings all over again and so easily will forget the discomforts of cold. As the sun climbs higher, temperatures become not only tolerable but pleasant and you'll no longer will be preoccupied with weather, enjoying the surroundings with zest.

Highlights: This is a trek into some of the most isolated yet inhabited regions in the Zanskar mountains, most notably the village of Lingshed. Trekking on ice, the frozen Zanskar River, we average five to seven hours daily at an easy pace but a reasonable degree of physical fitness is needed to sustain walking for nine days during winter conditions. The trek commences from the village of Chiling located not far from the confluence of Indus and the Zanskar River. The trek follows the river gorge through a spectacular landscape, a photographer’s paradise, offering occasional sighting of wildlife. Although pleasant on clear, sunny days, the weather conditions can change abruptly, with wind temperatures known to plummet minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius. Chiling and Lingshed are the only sizeable villages on this trek, all the rest are names of places and caves along the route.

Detailed Itinerary : 24 Days.

Day 1: Early morning flight Delhi to Leh, transfer to hotel and rest. Morning sightseeing - Shanti Stupa, and Sangkar Gompa; lunch at hotel, afternoon rest.
Day 2: Leh to Chiling (by private bus or jeeps) along with our porters from Pishu village of Zanskar, 5 hours; visit coppersmithing workshops.
Day 3: Walk on ice of the frozen Zanskar river, Chadar, commences from Chiling, stage one to Zaribago, 5 hours.
Day 4: Zaribago to Deepyokma 4 hours.
Day 5: Deepyokma to Nyrakpulu 4 to 5 hours; camp below Nyarak village, ten minutes up along a small stream.
Day 6: Nyarakpulu to Lingshed, one hour walk on Chadar, then 5 hours steeply up to Lingshed village; stay in private house, relax in a heated room. Visit monastery, school for monks, roam around the village.
Day 7: Ligshed to Nyarakpulu, 5 hours.
Day 8: Nyarakpulu to Tsomopaldar, 4 hours.
Day 9: Tsomopaldar to Tilatdo, 5 hours.
Day 10: Tilatdo to Chiling, and return by jeep to Leh, 5 hours.
Day 11: Return flight to Delhi.

Detailed Itinerary : 11 Days.
Day 01: ARRIVE LEH

Arrive in Leh in the morning and transfer to the hotel. Day at leisure. We strongly recommend the clients to rest the whole day in order to acclimatize faster to the attitude. O/n Hotel.

Day 02: LEH - NIMOO - CHILLING

Post breakfast drive to Nimoo. Visit Basgo monastery and local villages.
Morning drive to Chilling along the river Zanskar. This takes about 02-hour’s approx. O/n at Chilling. This day distribute the luggage amongst the porters and getting acquainted with the local villagers.

Day 03: TREK START: CHILLING - TELAT DO BAGO (Ice-Trek) (Bago men’s Caves).

This day of the ice-trek leads us to Telat Do Bago (Bago is cave in local dilect). This place is well known for its rich wood available-, which gives us an opportunity for a campfire. We will also come across atleast five to six caves at Telat Sumdo. Each cave can accomodate six to seven persons. They are of the radius of 5to 6 meters. If you are lucky, then you may come across a snow leopard.

Day 04: TELAT DO BEGO - MARKALAGA BAGO (Ice- Trek)
On the second day of the trek, we arrive at Maraklaga Bago-the place of the white caves.(Maraklaga is white clay in local dialect). Enroute we will stop at shingraks lunch.

Day 05: MARAKLAGA BAGO - TIB BAGO (Ice- Trek)
This day of the trek is through Rocky Mountains. Enroute we will also stop at Tsomodo, which has links with Tibet. Lunch break will be at Tutu Rong. Tib Bago is the largest cave in this route. It said to accomodate atleast fifty people together. Tib means shadow in local dialect-this place does not recieve any sunshine throughout the whole year.

Day 06: TIB BAGO - NERAK PULU (Ice Trek)

This day of trek leads to Nerak Pulu -the Shepherd camp. This place is used by the local shepherds, who stops here for few days to take an account of their cattle,before proceeding further down to Tib Bago.

Day 07: NERAK PULU - LINGSHED OR SHALADO (Ice Trek)

This day of the trek is also the hardest day of the trek. Stop enroute at shalado for lunch. Follow the same route to return to Leh (on arrival in Chilling, over night at Chilling and the following day, drive straight to Leh) / fly out by helicopter to Leh. Or Nerak pulu to Shalado overnight at Lingshed/Shalado.

Day 8: SHALODO - PIKMO (Ice Trek)

This day you are enter to Zanskar area there is around 50 Family houses and a small monastery which is belongs to Gelukpa society.At Camp/Local House.

Day 09: PIKMO - ZANGLA (Ice Trek)
Zangla is the former capital of the King of Zanskar.

Day 10: ZANGLA - PADUM (Ice Trek)

This day early in the morning after the breakfast you can visit Zangla gompa and trek to Padum overnight in the Hotel/Guest House. Sightseeing around Padum Overnight Hotel/Guest House.

Day 14 to Day 21: PADUM - CHILLING
(8 Days trek on the same ice route to Chilling).

Day 22: Drive CHILLING - LEH Overnight hotel at Leh.

Day 23: AT LEH. O/n at hotel.

Day 24: LEH – DELHI. Transfer to Leh airport to board the flight to Delhi.

Delhi-Chamba-Keylong-Manali Trek (Chamba,Himachal,India)

Keylong, the main town of Lahaul subdivision of Lahaul-Spiti, lies some 59 km ahead of Rohtang Pass. Keylong was once the capital of the kingdom of Lahaul-Spiti and remains one of the few places in this region with a decent range of tourist accommodation and other facilities. For travelers heading for Leh, Keylong poses a quandary – it offers the best accommodation between Manali and Leh but is actually too far from Leh and too close to Manali to be a logical stopover! Still, for those who wan to travel the trail at a relaxed pace with time out to visit some of the region’s tourist hotspots, a night or two at Keylong is definitely a good idea.

Day 1:- Delhi-Chamba(560 km)

Day 2:- Chamba-Barmour(65km)- Hadsar (2317mt,13km)

Day 3:- Hadsar-Kugti (2590m,12kms,trek)- Duggi Got (3350m,12km, trek)

Day 4:- Duggi Got-Alyas (4000m, 12km,trek)- Duggi Cave- Kuddi Got

Day 5:- Kuddi Got-Kugti pass (5200mts, trek)- Khardu (3550m, 5hrs,trek)

Day 6:- Khardu-Shansha (2950 mt,14km,trek)-Keylong

Day 7:- Keylong-Manali (115 kms) via Rohtang pass

Day 8:- Manali-Delhi (525km).

In winter season 15^th Nov to 15^th May the road transportation to Keylong is officially closed only helicopter service from Bhunter Airport is available to come to Keylong but that is for the employees posted in the district and for the local people of the valley .

Kinner-Kailash Yatra[Trek] (Kinnaur,Himachal, India)

Kinnaur with all its beauty and splendor fell from the clouds to take its place in the Himalayas The strikingly beautiful Kinnaur is bounded to the north by the Zanskar range and to the south, the greater Himalaya . The journey through Kinnaur is not just merely a visual experience but an intensely spiritual voyage too.

In the olden times the traditional Kinner Kailash Parikarama was a long journey on foot, over 200kms. Starting from the Buddhist temple of Powari in the Lower Kinnaur, the route wound along the bank of the Satluj, into the Tedong valley, over the charang pass, and back to Powari again. But, now motor roads have cut down the walk to a five day trek from Thangi in the Tedong valley to Chitkul, the last village in the Baspa valley. During the Janam Ashtami (Birth day of Lord Krishna) Festival, which usually falls in the Month of August there is a traditional festival when all the pilgrims from adjoining villages gather at the Village of Charang and embark on the onward yatra of Kinner Kailash.

Day 1:- Delhi to Shimla (330km)

Day 2:- Shimla to Recong peo (230 km, approximately, 10hr drive)- Kalpa(13km)

Day 3:- Kalpa to Thangi (2966m,50km)- to Lambar (2896mt,12km, trek)

Day 4:- Lambar to Charang (3506mt,24km,trek)

Day 5:- Charang-Lalanti Camp (4400mt, trek, 6-8 hrs)-Chitkul (3450 m, 14km last village on border with China & is a virgin beauty trek)

Day 6:- Chitkul- Sangla (2800 mt, explore this splendid valley)

Day 7:- Sangla-Shimla(257kms)

Day 8:- Shimla-Delhi(330kms).

Kinner Kailash mountain is regarded as one of the mythical homes of Lord Shiva.

Delhi-Manali-Moonlake-Ki monastrey Trek (Kullu,Himachal,India)

Chandratal or Moon Lake is located in the Lahaul-Spiti region of the Himalayas. This is one of the five most beautiful lakes in the the Himalayas, Chandratal is at an altitude of almost 14500 feet(4500 mts). Its beauty is particularly enhanced on a full moon night.

Day 1:- Delhi-Manali(525km)

Day 2:- Manali-Rohtang pass (51kms)-Gramphu(14kms)

Day 3:- Gramphu-Kunzam pass (4950mt,60kms)- Moon lake/Chandra tal(6km)

Day 4:- Chandra tal-Kaza (3660m)- Ki monastery (12kms). You can spend as many days as you can afford in the Spiti valley & return by same route or via. Kinnaur valley.

There is a beautiful trek from this region to Surajtal(or Sun Lake) near Baralacha Pass.

Delhi-Sirmour valley Trek(Sirmour,Himachal, India)

Day 1:- Delhi-Chandigarh (225km)-Nahan

Day 2:- Nahan-Renuka (660m, 45km, visit the Renuka lake, and beautiful historical temples)Day 3/4:- Renuka-Sangrah (1370mt, 20 km, trek)- Haripur Dhar (2510m, 25km). (This is a remote & virgin area of the valley of Sirmour, trek)

Day 5:- Haripur dhar-Choordhar(3647m,16km,trek)

Day 6:- Choordhar- Naura (16km,trek)-Rajgarh (explore the area)

Day 7:- Rajgarh-Solan (39 kms)- Chandigarh (70km)- Delhi (225 km).

Delhi-Sangla Valley Trek (Kinnaur,Himachal, India)

The Sangla Valley stretches across what was once a glacier moraine but is today a gorgeous swathe of green, dwarfed by the surrounding mountains. The clear waters of the Baspa (river which meets the Satluj at Karcham, and by several smaller streams and springs.) run between orchards of apple and apricot, through villages where the houses have exquisitely carved wooden doors and steeply sloped slate roofs; an area so amazingly lovely that the natives actually say that this is where the gods live. The first 18 km of the valley are fairly narrow, with cedar, chilgoza pine and bhojpatra trees covering the slopes on either side. At Kupa, however, the valley opens up and widens into an unforgettably lovely vale, dotted with a pretty-as-a-picture villages, right up to Chitkul, beyond which habitation is almost nil.

Day 1:- Delhi-Shimla (330km), Stay at Shimla.

Day 2:- Shimla-Rohru (1550mt, 112km)-Chirgaon (1800mt, 15km)

Day 3:- Chirgaon-Larot (2440mt,15kms,trek)- Dodra (2800mt,6hrs,trek)

Day 4:- Dodra-Kuwar (2300m, 6hrs, trek), these are the remotest areas in Himachal.

Day 5:- Kuwar-Jakha (3100m,7hrs,trek)

Day 6:- Jakha-Ruknal(4400m,6hrs,trek)

Day 7:- Ruknal-Sangla Valley (2800m, 6hrs, explore the beautiful valley, trek)

Day 8:- Sangla-Karchham (1982m,17km)-Shimla (2205m,240km)

Day 9:- Shimla-Delhi (330km).

Delhi-Shimla-Jalori Pass-Manali Trek(Shimla,Himachal, India)

Trek the beautiful Holy Sereulsar lake at 11000 ft followed by Jalori Pass in the Banjar Valley of the Indian Himalayas in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
Day 1:- Delhi-Shimla(330km)-Narakanda(2708mt,64km)-Ideal campsite.
Day 2:- Narkanda-Luhri (792 mt,19km)- Ani (1240mt, 18km)-Khanag (2530mt,8kms)
Day 3:- Khanag-Jalori pass (3233mt, 7kms)- Shoja(2683 mt, 7kms)-Banjar (1524mt,15km)-Aut (20km)-Kullu(30km)
Day 4:- Kullu-Manali (2050mt, 40km)- rest or local sight seens.Day 5:- Manali-Chandigarh (300 km)-Delhi (225 km).

Delhi-Manali-Dashair lake Trek (Kullu,Himachal, India)

Dashair is located near the Rohtang Pass that connects district Kullu with Lahaul, which is about 4,270 m above the sea level. Dashair lake is nearly 3 km.[dubious – discuss] deep and it is also known as Sarkund.

Day 1:- Delhi-Chandigarh (225km, 5hrs)-Manali (300 kms,10hrs)

Day 2:- Manali-Marhi-Rohtang pass (51 kms,3hrs)-Dashair lake (4270mtrs,4-5hrs,trek, camp at appropriate place)

Day 3:- Dashair Lake-Marhi-Manali (rest or local sights)

Day 4:- Manali-Chandigarh (300km)-Delhi (225km).

Delhi-Gangotri-Goumukh Trek(Uttarkashi,Uttaranchal,India)

Day 1:- Delhi-Haridwar (201kms)-Gangotri (3048mts,270 kms,9hrs)

Day 2:- Gangotri-Goumukh (3850 mts,17kms, 7hrs.)

Day 3:- Goumukh-Tapovan (4463mts)-Back to Goumukh (10kms,7hrs)

Day 4:- Goumukh-Gangotri (3048mts,17kms,7hr)

Day 5:- Gangotri-Haridwar (rest or local sight seeing)

Day 6:- Haridwar-Delhi(201km).

This is a place of Pilgrimage and is a spiritual experience, the source of most famous Indian River "Ganga", Spectacular view of mighty "Shivling" peak (6545m approximately) is clearly awesome and stunning.

Delhi-Indrahar Pass Trek (Kangra,Himachal,India)

Day 1:-Delhi-Dharamsala(495km)-Mcleodganj (1640mt,16kms by road).

Day 2:-Mcleodganj- Triund (2975mt,10km,6-7hrs)-Ilaka(2hrs).

Day 3 :-Ilaka-Lahesh Cave (3600 mts, 9kms, 3hrs)-Indrahar pass-Chata Parao.

Day 4:- Chata Parao-Kwarsi-Choli(28km, 8-10hrs).

Day 5:- Choli-Holi-Chamba(by bus).

Day 6:- Chamba-Delhi(560km).

View at top includes Kishtwar area, Pir Panjal range, Mani Mahesh Kailash (5656m).

Indrahar connects Kangra with Chamba.

You can trek via Holi to Manimahesh lake if you have time. This will take another three days.

Delhi-Chanderkhani Pass-Malana Trek (Kullu,Himachal,India)

Day 1:- Delhi-Chandigarh (225km)- Kullu (280 kms,6-7 hrs)

Day2:-Kullu-Naggar(23kms,1840mts,1hour)-Rumsu(10kms,2200mts)-Camp (3000m,6hrs,15kms.)

Day 3/4:- Camp-Chanderkhani Pass (3650mt)- Malana (2652mt,5hrs,7kms).Stay at Malana & explore this old civilization.

Day 5:- Malana-Jari(1500mt,20kms)-Kullu (21 kms by road)

Day 6:- Kullu-Delhi(505km)

The main highlights are famous hamlet of Malana, Spectacular vistas of Lahaul peaks, Shimla hills, Naggar fort, Roerick Art Gallery.

Malana is a very unique village as visitors are not allowed in most parts. Be careful, this area is ill-famed for CHARAS production, always move in groups.