As the winter sets in desolate Ladakh and the temperature plummets the Zanskar River starts to freeze. The ice forms a thick layer of path on it. That is referred to as the Chadar lake trek. The Chadar trek is to walk on this frozen river. The vibrant colours occurring from blue tinged to golden and yellow produced by the reflection of the sky and the mountains on the layer of ice is stunning. It's a walk like none other on earth.
Temperature Conditions in chadar lake trek : The temperature during the peak winters is around minus 35 to minus 40. The walk on the Chadar is the most historic, adventurous and thrilling. Risk and danger are definitely there and they are so high that insurance is mandatory to go there. Not anybody can go on the Chadar trek.
The vitals : First you must give a medical and fill out a form because it is risky. The medical check up includes oxygen level checking, blood pressure checking and beside this they will see if any individual has any health issue or not after that they complete the test by giving a pass certificate. After receiving the pass certificate you are allowed to do the chadar lake trek. Then after this the next step includes that they have three camps involved in the chadar lake trek. During each station like the first station is Shingra gongma then the second station is Tiss cave and the third one is Neraks. The most important thing is that they have one doctor, one paramedic and all the medical facilities in each of the campsites. If anyone has any emergency for that case this system has been introduced.
Perfect Management : They also provide oxygen for two people for at least 24 hours at all these campsites so in case of any emergency and in case of any casualty what they do is for example they have a casualty at xerox what they do is they just contact the rescue person that is Inga and they send them to the nearest camp which is safe and then they again check their vitals there and if you are sick then they will send you to the last campsite and there have a ambulance with the paramedics they will rescue you and take you to the SM hospital.
Since the last three to four years they have rescued five to six people with fractures, with cases of acute mountain sicknesses. During thePrevious year 80 people were stuck and then rescued afterwards. There was a flood in the Zanskar river all of a sudden. So the Indian Air Force army had come with the choppers and rescued the 80 people who were standing in nowhere.
Detail guide about trekking in Chadar lake trek : There is a technique of walking on Chadar. And the walk is generally called Penguin walk. Basically you need to walk like a penguin. You need to slide instead of walking. Otherwise people will fall a lot. After sometime you will reach a waterfall which is a sacred waterfall. There is an interesting story about it.
An interesting and legendary story about the spring waterfall : Years ago, a man from a nearby village reached Lhasa Tibet through this Chadar. There he met a lama to whom he told about the water shortage problem in his village. After listening to the problem the lama gave him a sealed metal box and instructed him to open it in his village. The lama said as you will teach near to your village this box will keep getting heavier. The man travelled to Ladakh from Tibet. But before reaching his village when the box got too heavy he opened it out of curiosity. Out of which two fishes came and bumped into a mountain. And in no time water started flowing from there. This much water coming from the mountain is astonishing. Next day you can go to the tent side which is 10 to 12 km. You need to be very careful while walking because it is a frozen river and any time it can break down and you will fall into the water.
Interesting facts : The water level remains low. And the weather changes during night due to which the heat increases. So the water level has risen again and the ice in the corners has melted. Its thickness has reduced. There is a 5 m long patch with no chadar at all. Then you need to rope up on the mountains. You need to go through the mountain to the other side and then continue on the chadar. It is said that you need to be very much careful while walking on the chadar. The night is tremendous with the delightful and stunning stars in the clear sky.The routes of the chadar lake are mostly difficult but it will be easy if you stay careful and for beginners it is going to be really challenging.
Conclusion : The Chadar lake trek usually starts from the place called Tosomo and you can see and experience huge mountain running rivers beneath that are fully covered with snow. Chadar lake trek hardly takes 5 days to complete. Remember one thing you have to always remain between the guides, there will be one main guide and one assistant guide and they will guide you throughout the trek. And you all have to walk at a constant normal speed in between the guides. During the day the sun melts the ice and you have to walk on water. So for these you need to start early in the morning as in the morning the ice remains cold and it will be easier to walk on the ice than on water. Carry essentials like medicines and oximeters and if you face any problem then the medical camps and the rescue camps will be there to help you. Lastly, the trek is very challenging.
