Our friends and I have not trekked at all in a very long time and we are avid trekkers mind you, but hearing about the Chadar Trek happening during the winter holidays, had us packing our bags almost ASAP!We saw the tour on thrillophilia and immediately made our bookings as we were simply too excited and it paid off in every way! We are not professionals but we did have an amazing time here.
We stayed here for 9 days and got to learn to adapt to the freezing temperatures soon enough(like we had a choice). We were positively scared when we had to trek across the frozen river as the ice was thickenough but still it crackled underneath our feet. The trek to Tilat Sumdo allowed us to see some breathtaking views of the snowy mountains and the thick and lush surroundings of ice everywhere!
Literally! Ice everywhere! The Dibb caves are also very beautiful and worth a visit if you are into cave formations, especially those that are covered completely in ice. A few tips to keep in mind though! Make sure you always have extra layers on even if the temperature seems decent, because there is no telling when the climate changes here to frigid. The lake is one of the highlights of the trip, but you have to make sure that you are wearing the appropriate footwear so that you don’t slip or stomp too hard on the ice.
Always keep your tour guide within eyesight because they keep drifting away as the group you may be travelling with could be a pretty big group. We were a group of 6 men and we are not afraid to admit that we were a little scared to climb up the Zanskar Valley. We stayed in some amazing camps in the Nyerak Village. The people who trekked with us are very friendly and as far as safety is concerned, there is absolutely nothing that you need to wrry about. The climb to Shanti Stupa though! That was something I will never forget so quickly from my memory! It was simply magnificent and so beautiful. We were taken good care of and our guides were ensuring that our safety is not tampered with at any cost. Watch out for the Tilat Sumdo, as that is one of the pivotal treks you will be taking here. Ladakh is breathtaking, and although I have written a detailed review, I was at many points, speechless!