Dream Trek- Chadar Trek

Dream Trek - Winter Wonderland - ( CHADAR TREK )

LADAKH :- It is not just a place, it is a feeling. A feeling of Love, Passion and Adventure.

LADAKH = HEAVEN

Description about the place :-

The name LADAKH means " Land of high passes. " The region was previously known as "Maryul" Ladakh is the highest plateau in India with much of being over 3,000m (9,800) feet. It extends from the Himalayan to the Kunlun Ranges and includes the upper Indus River Valley. It is the coldest desert in the world. With temperatures ranging from 30 degrees in summer to -30 /-35 degrees in winters.
the coldest month are January and February. The roads from Manali- Ladakh and Srinagar to Ladakh are closed by the end of September.
During winters, the only possible way to reach ladakh is to take a flight from Delhi which is approximately of 1hr 45 min.
Ladakh lies in the north-east region of India and is surrounded by the world's highest mountain ranges, Karakoram and Great Himalayas.

Population : The population of ladakh is about 2,60,000 which contain a mixture of many different ethnic groups, predominantly Tibetans, Monpas, Dards and Muslims.

Culture :-
The culture of ladakh is fascinating, intoxicating and captivating.
It is quite similar to the Tibetan Culture. The most famous local cuisine is " Thukpa and Tsampo"

The National Dress of Ladakh is Goncha, which is very effective to protect them from the harsh and extreme cold weather of the region.

The traditional music of the ladakh includes the instruments like Surna and Daman ( shenai and drum)

Flora and fauna :- It has a great diversity of 225 species of birds and big land animals such as wild Yak, Ibex, Tibetan wild ass , bharal (blue sheep) and the predators found in this region are Snow Leopard, Brown Bear, Wolf and Lynx.

Amazing Facts about LADAKH :-

1. World's Highest battle field - Siachen Glacier
2. Highest Salt Water Lake - Pangong Lake
3. World's Highest Motorable Road - Khardungla Pass

Description about the Chadar Trek :-

It is being considered as the most difficult trek in India. And it gets featured under the top 5 difficult treks in the world.
The Trek is being carried along the Zanskar Valley and the only possible season to do this trek is from January to second week of February.
It is considered as the most Extra-Ordinary and a very risky adventure.

History and the Formation of Trek :-

Zanskar valley, a River which is usually flows in the summer, but in winters due to freezing temperatures of -30 degrees to -40 degrees. During this time, the entire river gets frozen and the villagers from the Zanskar village had to come to the ladakh city for their daily work, and to send there children's to school. So, as they had no alternative option they had to walk on the frozen river in order to reach the city. it was a very difficult task then and even now. walking on a frozen river, is like absolutely uncertain, the frozen layer can break down anytime, and unfortunately many people have lost their lives, which includes the local villagers , porters and trekkers.

The idea about trekking in this Zanskar valley, a 70km long scary walk which makes your heart beat every single minute and keeps you mesmerised by its views and also challenges you by its harsh bone chilling weather was being inspired by the local HEROES of the Zanskar Village.

Preparation :-
It was a hard task for me to get myself prepared for this extra-ordinary adventure. I had to be prepared both physically and mentally.
I planned it out in the first week of December 2019, well I had 3 reasons, to go to this trek.
1. It has always been my dream and I love challenges.
2. Wanted to kick start with year 2020, with a bang!
3. There were news, as the trek would be banned soon as it was getting disturbed by the human interruption and global warming.

On 10th December 2019, the booking for the trek and all the flight and necessary travel bookings were being made.
Also, from this day my mom was mentally prepared to bear my tantrums regarding all the diet conscious food Habits. Well mentally, I had prepared myself with a statement " I am going to give my best and whatever has to happen, it is going to happen so I will cherish the beautiful moments I witness and enjoy with my fellow trekkers"
Now, coming onto the Physical preparations, first and foremost I had to make my body fit and had to start getting adjusted with the cold temperatures as in a month I would be facing the 3rd most coldest temperatures on earth. Henceforth, I started bathing with cold water everyday to make my resistance power more. also, there were 25 days of absolute strict diet and workout which included cycling and walking for 10km. Well, being very honest I did have one cheat day in those 25 days.
The last day of my workout and the previous day of starting my journey I was well prepared and confident about my preparations which gave me a positive hope on completing the journey safely and happily.

So, lovely people till here you have witnessed about the city ladakh and about the chadar trek and my preparations towards it.
Now,
Sit back & be relaxed to witness the ultimate Roller-Coaster Journey.

Itinerary:-
Day :1 5th January 2020
As, depicted in the picture above I am all set with 2 bags weighing approximately 16kg to go on a crazy Adventure. I was accompanied with my dad, mum and a the little monster- my brother to bid me goodbye and to give their best wishes.
It was 4:03pm, when I was boarded to the fly bus, which would make me reach from my hometown (Mysore) to Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore.
Well, It took me around 4 hours to reach the Airport. Around 9:00pm I had checked in to the airport, with approximately another 1 hour I was done with all the luggage check-in and boarding formalities.
Then, went up to the Airport Lounge, grabbed some good meal and some desert. After sometime, boarded into the flight.
Bangalore -> Delhi.

Day 2 : 6th January
I had Reached the Indira Gandhi International Airport (Terminal 3) Delhi at 2:00 a.m. Then, I had to wait for the next 4 hours at the airport to catch my flight from Delhi to Ladakh.
It was such an exciting moment, whereas I had no sleep in the night. it was 2:00 a.m. Instead of being tired, my soul was so excited that I grabbed a expresso & some chips and was

watching the documentaries of chadar trek, the place I would be witnessing, the cold temperatures, etc.
The most Awaiting moment, I had boarded into the Air India flight to Ladakh, it was at 6:18 a.m. in the morning, had selected the window seat, the beautiful sun rays & that very moment it is just so difficult to put it into words, that in another 1hr 45 minutes I would be at heaven on earth.
But, unfortunately a beautiful airhostess says, she has an announcement to be done, I was like, its cool maybe some random news regarding the safety instructions and stuffs. But, it was totally opposite, the announcement was that it has started to snow in ladakh, due to which it is absolutely impossible to land. So, the flight was delayed by 1hr.
After an hour, the airhostess comes again, heart beats first, ( not exaggerating ) we all hope for a positive news, but again a totally opposite announcement, (BABA RAMDEV ) appears, a joke (lol)
The announcement was, they would be providing refreshments (PATANJALI Mango fruit ) that is why in the above sentence I had mentioned BABA Ramdev ( sorry, if the joke was bad, lol )
At, 9:53 a.m. finally good news, " Please fasten your seat belts, We're ready for take-off " I'm like Patanjali ka jaado ( magic) worked.
we, were almost moving, the engine started but unfortunately they stopped again.
No more announcements were being made, after an hour later by 10:53 a.m. They finally made a announcement, that the flight would not take off due to bad weather in ladakh and that was a very sad moment, it had been 19 hours of continuous travelling but still could not reach the destination, well then got my ticket cancelled and booked another flight for tomorrow . And spent rest of the day, at a hotel in Delhi by just taking rest and television which was indeed needed.

Day : 3 7th January
I had Woke up, very early that day around 3:00 a.m. As, I had to leave to the Airport, well at around 4:00 a.m. I had completed my check-out formalities and reached the airport at 4:45 a.m. completed all the boarding formalities around 5:30 a.m. So, finally I was excited as it was just half an hour more remaining to board the flight.
But, here comes another twist and that is this time a handsome guy came and gave a announcement. Well, to be frank I was scared, I literally was because after all that happened yesterday, I was not in a situation to hear the flight getting delayed or cancelled again. But, unfortunately the flight got delayed. Well, to be honest if the flight would be cancelled then I did not have much buffer days, so eventually it would lead to my trip getting cancelled. After sometime, we got the news 95% chances were off cancelling the flight. I was numb. I was sad. I was just sitting, trying to be calm, drinking water.
After sometime again, at around 7:50 a.m. we got the confirmation that the weather in Ladakh is clear, all set to go. I rushed, Literally I was standing first in the queue, boarded into the flight.
The most beautiful thing happened was, a window seat as i had requested it and I was sitting next to a army person who was from Mysore too ( My Hometown ) he was being posted for two years in Siachen glacier. That, was genuinely a wow moment, It was 1hr 45 min flight we had a wonderful conversation he gave me some tips on how to manage in these harsh cold places. I was enjoying the beautiful, mesmerising views of the snowcapped mountains, I was finally going to meet my love ( Mountains)
The moment we landed in Ladakh, OH MAN ! THE Airport was so beautiful, covered with the snow. absolutely heaven.

Landed in Ladakh Airport, The temperature in Delhi was around 15 degrees and the transformation in temperatures were drastically changed. That moment when I landed the temperature was, - 15 degrees I was like Crazy ! I knew it ! The weather how it would be, i had researched a lot about it and with my dad's advice I had all the warm clothes, in my hand. Wore my Jackets and Hand gloves Immediately. I was seeing many people, finding warm place to sit. But, me like crazy I took my luggage and was waiting outside to meet my fellow trekkers and was enjoying the cold weather and was absolutely flattered by the beauty.

We took a cab and reached the hotel, got our room keys. So, my fellow trekkers Saahil and Piyush were my roommates. We kept our luggage in the room and went down in dinning had some hot breakfast, I had a hot coffee and a sandwich.
Then, we left to the market, well the market is absolutely stunning. its a long narrow road, on both the sides, you have shops selling various groceries, trekking equipment, etc. We took photographs, had fun, took some warm clothes, greeted people with " JULLEY " ( JULLEY means- Hello in local language)

A very important place to be noted :- If you guys were plan to ladakh, which I guess you definitely should, there is a place in the main market its a small, and a calm wonderful restaurant.
So far, that's the best restaurant I have personally ever been.

The name of the Restaurant is " Neha Snacks "
They serve you some amazing food with such a warm smile, its just WOW.
Best dishes are :-
Chole Kulche
Paneer Paratha
Paneer Butter Masala and the other dishes are fabulous too!

There is also an BARISTA café over there, which is absolutely amazing.
We went to the old Tibetan market, they had local things, such as key chains, lockets and various other things.
We all shopped some of the things for our loved ones. And then around 8:00 p.m. we reached our hotel back, kept the things in our home and had a wonderful dinner which included Dal, rice and salad.

We went up to our rooms, contacted our family members and had some gossip for sometime and then we just slept in the cold weather by literally wearing 3 layers of clothing.

A fact which can give you an idea, of how cold it was.

The water taps, were totally frozen, we just turned the tap on, but there was no water flowing as it was frozen.

Day :4 8th January
As soon as I woke up, just pulled the curtains aside and I was amazed and worried at the same point, amazed because of the spectacular view and worried because it had snowed in the night, the reason to worry if it has snowed, the next day when the snow is being cleared it gets very cold and the next day was our medical test at the ladakh hospital, about which I will let you know later. We got freshen up and had our hot breakfast and according to the itinerary today was our sight-seeing day, we all were excited to witness the crazy-off beat adventure. we started off with our first place, the HALL OF FAME, it is being managed by the Indian Army, It is a place where all the brave soldiers who fought in the various wars, are being honoured with their medals and descriptions, the Siachen glacier soldiers, the equipment they use, their tents everything has been showcased and also they have honoured the soldiers who fought and lost their lives in the kargil war. The history of Ladakh and its rich culture is also showcased.

2nd sight-seeing place :- " THIKSE MONASTERY" The Monasteries are a place where the local people of ladakh worship their god, it was indeed quite peaceful to sit over there and cherish the beauty at which it is situated.
3rd sight-seeing :- A crazy off-beat adventure towards the Ice-stupas, the ice-stupas where a magnificent invention by Sonam Wangchuk. It was truly a wonderful one and a great help towards the local people.
After, these three sight-seeing we went back to the Neha Snacks, had some amazing dinner and reached hotel and as we were tired. we just jumped upon our beds and had a sound sleep.

Day 5 : 9th January
This was a hard day, but ended with a beautiful one though. As usual, I woke up and went to the window and pushed my curtains aside, after sometime when I went outside for getting some warm water, I could feel the cold, a sudden bone chilling cold, and when I had checked the temperatures in the mobile, it was -22 degrees, I was shocked ! I had my breakfast and our

trek leader gave a medical disclaimer which we all had to fill, and get to the hospital to get the medical test done, which was compulsory announced by the ALTOA ( All Ladakh Tour Operator) seeing the severity and high risk of the trek, it was necessary for all of us to pass the medical test, indeed which would give us the permission to go for the trek ahead. As, I was fit I got my medical card and was given the permission to go to the trek. After, sometime we went to our hotel and took some rest as the weather outside was very cold, after sometime our trek leader gave us some instructions which had to be abided throughout the trek. In the evening, we went out to buy some necessary stuffs like Gum Boots, Chocolates, etc I had a mini-attack when a shopkeeper said, he did not have my size shoes, as without gum boots it was nearly impossible for me to do the trek. But, fortunately, he got a pair and I bought it.
After having our dinner, we went off to our rooms, had to pack the stuff in the bags, as we were supposed to leave in the morning and we did not want to leave any work to be done in the morning. We planned to finish our packing by 10:00 and sleep by 10:15, but instead I had a wonderful conversation with Piyush my fellow trekker. And, finally we finished our talking and packing by 1:15 a.m. and went off to bed

Day 6 : 10th January
The time had finally come, We all woke up, got ready. Everyone were excited as well as anxious, I guess more anxious were our parents & loved ones, seeing us going on into scary adventure, we all contacted them, as further they would be no network available. Around 10:30 a.m. we were all set to leave our hotels, we all sat in a TATA SUMO, and we were headed off to our starting point of the trek which was " shingra koma, and after reaching the place, we were supposed to have our lunch and trek for 3-4 hours and reach Tsomo Paldar our first campsite. On our way, while reaching to shingra koma, the drive from leh city was 3 hours, it was a crazy bumpy ride, the scenic views, the cold air, everything was absolutely stunning.

It was a journey towards heaven. At around, 3:00p.m. we had reached shingra koma, got down and I could clearly see the view of Zanskar river, the river totally frozen and I was really nervous, as well as excited. We all gathered, had our lunch, a deliciously made pulav by our heroes ( the porters) As soon as I had my lunch, Suddenly I started feeling cold, damn cold. My hands were freezing, I just sat over there alone for sometime and then took some long breath and we all started to move, after sometime around 30 min, our trek leader made us stand in a semi-circle and gave us the instructions on how to walk on the frozen river, Damn I could not believe I was actually standing and walking above a river, completely frozen. It was scary, it absolutely was at some points, I could see the layer of chadar broken, (the frozen river melted in some areas) while I was walking my heart was beating hard in the initials, as what if I the next foot I keep forward, and the frozen layer breaks down and am down in the water & lost my life, after, sometime our trek leader showed us the technique to fall, because a frozen layer was like ICE, in common terms, we all know ICE is slippery, make it fall once on the floor and its difficult to get the grip to catch it in our hands, similarly we had to walk on an ICE, which was very slippery at times, our trek leader just said, while your about to fall, just fall completely on your back, the 10-12 kg bag on our shoulder would protect us from the harm, he also said us a statement " IF YOU DO NOT FALL WHILE WALKING, THAT MEANS THE ZANSKAR VALLEY HAS NOT ACCEPTED YOU" He even said, he being a trek leader has fallen like many times, so its all fun but have to also be very careful at the same point.

We were all walking, talking, and appreciating the marvellous, scenic views around me, its just unexplainable people. Well, I started seeing many people falling, while they were walking it was funny to see that though, and after sometime Me, Raj and pooja my fellow trekkers we literally were actually saying to each other, I wont fall, I wont fall! after sometime, the first wicket among us three went, and that was Raj ( you fell many times bro, lol) and now me and pooja were left, I was sure I wont fall at least on the first day, it had been 2 and half hours and I was doing brilliant, then I thought of singing a song, as you know nice nature, all fun. I came in Rhythm to sing the most famous song in south, north side of the country as well. It was the "Why this Kolaveri di " song. The moment I said why this kolaveri di, in full enjoyment the next moment, I FELL !! AH, that fall was actually painful but funny too the way I felt. Pooja was happy, then after sometime Raj and I decided to make pooja fall, we constantly kept telling her " POOJA FALL, POOJA FALL " But, she didn't. after a hour later, she finally did fall. ( I was HAPPY ) It was 7:00 and we still did not reach our campsite, it was absolute dark, and the tension began, we put on our head torches, but when it is absolute dark, head torches just cover a very minute area, if it was a normal surface it was fine, but it was slippery and risky. Trust me! that 30-40 minutes till we reach the campsite it was hell, so many people fell!
We reached our campsite, our heroes were ready with hot tea and biscuits, we had them. We were tired, we had some amazing food, that is Dal, rice, Roti, Gravy, also we had desert, I guess it was custard if my memory serves right.
We all had them, and took our tents and NOW, trust me the most difficult part, was sleeping.
Trekkers who are reading this, you must be well-versed with mountains and the fact that you do not actually get full straight sleep for 7-8 hours, sometime we do, not mostly! To everyone else, Due to extreme cold and as we stay in tents, and the oxygen level in mountains is less, so it gets difficult to sleep in the night. SLEEPING BAG is not big, you also have a sleep liner, which you have to wear it above fleece/jackets and then get into the sleeping bag, and once you have got into it, it is just almost impossible to move aside, Ugh its a task to sleep peacefully in it. Due to experience, I did get a good sleep , but many people did not. well, that is the end of day 6!

Day 7 : 11th January
After spending a cold night at tsomo paldar, the much needed morning tea in such frosty conditions and the hot breakfast re-energized our senses, and we all got ourselves freshen up, applied the suns-cream, and all set to go to the Tibb Cave, our next campsite, this route had some of the best eye-catching frozen waterfalls.
The mighty Zanskar was just flowing all along with us on the trail and the emerald green water was just soothing. After, a couple of hours we were served lunch , and then we continued moving, and we came across the different rock patterns along the way, and the sun rays falling on them, witnessing that was extremely beautiful.
It was evening, after a long tiring walk, just one hour before reaching our campsite, we got a news by our local porters that, the river was melted, and people are stuck forward. Everyone were tensed, because now we could not move forward and the danger of survival was hanging upon us. After, a lot of discussions we decided to stay at the point where we stuck as we could not go forward, as the river was melted and could not go backward as it was getting dark. So, we all had to camp up there and spend the rest of the night.

Day 8 : 12th January
After, a sad and a tension night yesterday. While we woke up in the morning, it was all snowing, everyone were enjoying it, because the views were just amazing, everyone took out their cameras, mobiles, etc. whereas I wasn't that happy at all because, if it has snowed all night then the river hasn't been frozen ahead, which clearly meant we couldn't reach the last campsite. Well, this did make me sad. I honestly, tried a lot of members, lets try going forward and see what the situation is, but they were scared and worried. So, Majority wins and we all got ready to move backwards. Well, the whole day I spent almost listening to songs and enjoying my company and the nature.

Day 9 : 13 January ( Last day of my trek & absolutely dangerous, painful, fun and sad.)
Well, today as usual we got up, had our breakfast and tea and all set to keep walking to end the trek and get back to our hotels in the city.
As, I just took my bag and put it and my shoulder suddenly there was a pain, I could not move, I just felt numb ! And the back was paining very badly, it probably was a cramp due to cold. I somehow, tried not to give up and just keep walking ahead. After sometime, as I was walking in pain, another challenge knocks the door, I could see the INDIAN ARMY SOLDIERS, they were all assembled and when we had a talk with the, we all just got the news, that the route forward is very risky, the river has melted, the frozen layer has not been formed perfectly at places, they had set up ropes across the mountains for us, we all had to go through that, my fellow trekkers, did ask me whether I need any help because I could even barely stand, but I denied as it was a risky point and I did not want to trouble them, I had no idea how I got the energy but I did cross the mountains, with the severe back pain. After sometime, another challenged approached, we had to literally cross the melted river, the temperature was around -30 degrees and the water was very freezing, there were chances of a frost bite too, but I somehow did cross the river, whole socks were wet, water went into our shoes, we had to change everything and move ahead. After sometime, we had a hot cup of coffee , biscuits and Maggie and everyone had a celebration dance unfortunately I could not, due to the back pain and then after sometime we finally did reach our destination. Well, we all hugged each other on successfully completing the India's Difficult trek and we bravely survived and had fun in 3 rd coldest temperatures on earth for 96 hours.

All my gratitude to my dad, mom for giving me this opportunity and supporting me. A big thank you to the local porters, who worked so hard for making our journey comfortable and a happy one. Also, Thank you to all my fellow trekkers for being a part of this wonderful Journey.

A PERSONAL NOTE :-

It was indeed a wonderful lifetime journey. Trust me people,
BE ADVENTROUS, BE WILD, TRAVEL , TREK,
DO ANYTHING WHICH MAKES YOU HAPPY.

It feels extremely honoured and proud to receive the achievement of holding the record for being the YOUNGEST INDIAN TO THE CHADAR TREK.

THANK YOU EVERYONE.

Also, reading so much about my journey till the end. I am thankful for all my readers, just a humble request do share your views about the whole journey of mine which you have read by leaving a message on my Instagram ID or WhatsApp.

Take care everyone & Thank you once again.