Chadar — the frozen Zanskar
Walking the frozen Zanskar river gorge in deep winter. Almost no ascent, and one of the hardest treks in India.
- Days
- 9
- Distance
- 62 km
- Max altitude
- 3,390 m
- Total ascent
- 620 m
- Grade
- Challenging
- Season
- Jan–Feb
Elevation profile
The Chadar barely climbs — around 620 metres across nine days — and is still one of the most demanding treks in the country. The difficulty is cold, not gradient: −15 °C by day, −25 °C or lower at night, sleeping in tents on ice or in caves.
The ice is never the same twice. Sections that carried you yesterday may be open water today, and the route moves onto the bank and back depending on what the river has done overnight. Reading it is the guide's entire job.
Registration with the Ladakh administration, a medical fitness certificate and a mandatory acclimatisation period in Leh are all compulsory. Any operator offering to skip them is not one to walk on a frozen river with.
Common questions
When can you do the Chadar trek?
Mid-January to mid-February, when the ice is thickest. The exact window shifts each year and is set by conditions, not the calendar.
Is the Chadar trek dangerous?
It carries real risk — extreme cold, unpredictable ice and a remote gorge with no quick evacuation. That is why registration, a medical certificate, Leh acclimatisation and a registered guide are mandatory.