Walking on the frozen river of Zanskar is an ultimate experience for adventure lovers. The traditional name of the trek is "Chadar trek" the frozen sheet, which was the only way in and out for the people of Zanskar in winter when all other ways are closed due to heavy snow fall at high passes. Therefore, it had been a trade route for centuries for Zanskari People. Now the route is also famous as a winter trekking route among adventure lovers. For the last several years, we have been organizing this winter trek in three different options with trained local Zanskari potters and our well-experienced guide and staff. The most isolated and made inaccessible for nearly eight months a year due to heavy snowfall resulting in closure of all the access passes, Zanskar has the distinction of being the least interfered with microcosms of Ladakh, and thus one of the last few surviving cultural satellites of Tibet. This geographical isolation together with the esoteric nature of Buddhism practiced here has enabled its some ten thousand inhabitants to preserve and perpetuate their cultural identity. This Chadar trek allows you to penetrate this isolation and to examine some of the villages along the Zanskar River in the midst of winter and thus catch a glimpse of the lifecycle during this unique time of the year. A visit to the ancient monastic establishments of Karsha and Zangla promises to heighten your insight into the mysteries of this Shangri-la, a land and culture frozen in time behind the ramparts of the Zanskar Mountains. Chilling and Lingshed are the only sizeable villages on this trek until Hanamur and Pidmo before Pishu and Zangla in Zanskar, all the rest are names of places and caves along the route.

Although this intense trek does not include extreme changes in height (we walk on a river), the altitude is considerable (between 3700m and 4300m), and requires full dedication: the ice of the river can force us to use some difficult passages, where sometimes it will be necessary to use ropes.

This travel doesn’t require any special technical knowledge. However, it requires the traveler to completely let-go and has total confidence in our ability to deal with any situation. But after all, what do you expect? A once in a lifetime opportunity like this does not come easy.