Chadar Trek: Walking on the Zanskar River
The Zanskar River in Ladakh freezes in winter with temperatures ranging as low as -35 degrees Celsius. The Chadar (blanket) is so called because when the ice forms on top of the Zanskar River, it feels like the river has worn a white blanket. This time, the minimum temperatures were quite high (my estimate around -20 degress), since regions of Leh (Ladakh) hadn't experienced much snowfall. There is currently no way to get to Padum, Lingshed and Nerak from Chilling in winter other than walk on the frozen river, while a road is being made in the next couple of years to meet the demands of the locals. As a result of the road building and increased crowds, the Ibex and snow leopard that are occasionally spotted during the Chadar Trek have more or less, disappeared and stick to the high mountain. I had planned on the Chadar Trek in 2017 since there was a rumor that it would end in a couple of years since the river would no longer freeze over. The trek begins with acclimatizatio...