Chadar trek

Chadar Trek
Chadar Trek
	Blue sky in Chadar
Length	Approx. 65 miles (105 km) One way
Location	Ladakh
Designation	Chadar Trek
Trailheads	Chilling
Use	Hiking
Difficulty	Extreme
Season	January to February
Sights	Zanskar
Hazards	Severe cold

33°46′19″N 76°50′43″E / 33.7719174°N 76.8453493°E / 33.7719174; 76.8453493

The Chadar Trek or the Zanskar Gorge is a winter trail in the Zanskar region of Ladakh, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Traditionally the only means of travel in the area during the harsh winter months, the trail has become popular with international adventure tourists.

Trail

Its walls are near vertical cliffs up to 600 m high and the Zanskar River (a tributary of the Indus) is only 5 metres (16 ft) in places.^[1]^[2]

The overall distance is approximately 105 kilometres (65 mi) – an average trekker walks 16 kilometres (10 mi) per day.^[3]

The best time to do the Chadar trek is January to February,^[4] when the temperature during the winters drops sometimes to -30 to -35 degrees^[5]^[6]^[6]

Chadar trek starts from Chilling however with time the organisers tend to drive ahead to about 1 km away from the first camp at Tilad Sumdo (10,390 ft ). Over the next days the trek moves to higher camps till Nerak (11,150 ft) .This is the return point of the famous trek. There are other variations of the trek which go till Lingshed while a bigger version will take you to Padum over almost 14 days^[7]

Modern road

A road is under construction to maintain year round connectivity between Leh and Zanskar and is expected to complete in couple of years.^[when?] The locals have been demanding this road for a long time and will make their life a lot easier, specially to answer medical emergencies during winter. The road construction has disturbed the local wildlife, primarily the snow leopard. It used to be its prime territory for the snow leopards in the winter, but now they dwell up higher in the valley.^[3]^[8]