Story of preparation of Mind and Physical Strength

Taking up the Frozen Zanskar river trek is a dream of every traveler cum trekker. The picturesque location and its beauty attracts many tourists to this area. 

Ladakh in itself is a popular tourist destination and attracts loads of tourists every year ranging from bikers, trekkers, adventure sport lovers to typical tourists who would like to explore the secluded, peaceful land and the hospitality of the local Ladakhi population.

Back in 2009, me and my brother, Suraj had been on a long 3 week bike expedition. Back then, during our research, we had come across the information of Frozen River trek and were enthused to do it some time in future. So, it was a part of our travel wish list.

Coming back to present, 2020 travel season was pretty much lost due to COVID-19. Back in Dec 2020, we were exploring the possibilities of visiting a place in the pandemic times. The old dream of the frozen river trek sparked in Suraj's mind. The advantage of the pandemic times was that the place would be less crowded. Lately the place is attracting huge crowd owing to the scenic pictures floating around and the commercialization. As much as 300 trekkers stay at the each of the 3 main camping sites.

Finally, we concluded that it was the right time to explore the terrain. The preparation of mind for the expedition was pretty much completed. We booked the trek with one of the well known organization for this trek 'Altitude Adventure'. 

Now the next target was to prepare physically as the trek involves average 12-15 Km walk per day upstream and downstream. The trek involves gradual ascent towards the destination but the challenge is to overcome the freezing cold temperature and low oxygen level. The organizers had instructed a 2 month physical training which included walking + jogging + leg exercises. This really helps you to make your journey less painful and you spend more time in enjoying the hidden treasures of the nature. The target is basically to make 6-7 Kms in an hour which includes brisk walking and jogging followed by sets of sit ups.

Our travel date was 6th Feb and the actual trek was supposed to begin on 9th Feb. New guidelines recommend to land in Leh 3 days prior to start of the trek. This is mandatory to help acclimatize body for the high altitude atmosphere. On day 3, every trekker has to undergo a medical test which includes checking blood pressure and oxygen level. This is strictly followed on account of some unfortunate events that took place in recent years during this trek and some of the trekkers faced serious health issues including fatality. 

Hence, it is highly recommended that one prepares his/her body physically by working on stamina and strength in addition to the 3 days acclimatization.

As the day was coming near, our physical preparation was in full swing. 4 days prior to departure of our flight from Pune to Leh, a news splashed on our mobiles that Leh administration declared through a circular that the last batch of the trek will depart on 7th Feb and post that the trek will be closed till next year. So the decision had to be made immediately to reschedule the flight and get the COVID test done which is mandatory for the trekkers. After all the preparation and enthusiasm gathered around, we really did not want to cancel the trek and decided to go ahead bearing the additional cost of flight rescheduling. The new departure date was 3rd Feb.

On 3rd Feb, we left for the airport in the early evening. Reached Delhi around 9.30 PM.

Took dinner at the airport and started search to find a place to take rest as our flight to Leh was in early hours of 4th Feb. Fortunately, we could find two couches to have some rest. 

Early morning, we caught the flight to Leh and landed in another hour at Leh airport which is a defense airport and comes with lot of restrictions related to photography etc.

The Winter is coming! (In Leh)

Early morning on 4th Feb, we landed in Leh. The temperature was in the range of -10 to - 15 deg C. We took a cab outside Leh airport and reached Hotel (Noor Guest House, Leh) in next 15-20 mins. As we reached the Hotel, we felt the chill passing through the bones. That was the moment when we realized the significance of having layers of warm cloths for below 0 temperature.

We had carried a jacket for -10 C which helped a lot along with other 2 layers of thermals and a cotton shirt.

First day, you are supposed to take descent rest but not sleeping for long hours. In another hour or two other participants in our group arrived. We had formal introduction and decided that we would go for lunch in Leh main market which was around 20 mins walking distance. The other two guys were Kishor and Satya. Kishor was from Mumbai and Satya from Odisha working in Chikmagalur 

Around 1 PM, Suraj, Kishor and me walked towards Leh market to try some local food. The roads were literally empty with some cars going up and down after some intervals. Most of the shops were closed. Since winter is a tourist off season, everything was closed plus the pandemic may have had its adverse impact. 20 mins walk and we reached a local restaurant and tried Tibetan Thupka but it failed to satisfy our test buds. Not so good start :(

We spent rest of the day in the room trying to get accustomed to the cold weather. A warm heater proved to be a big help for us in initial days.

Second day (5th Feb), we all 4 decided that we would go to Leh Main Market for lunch, window shopping and some nearby exploring. We left rooms around 11 am. Roamed in the main market which is not too big but a nice place to spend some leisure time. 

Leh Palace is one of the best attraction near market. It can be reached by road which is a long detour or one can take a short route by walk. It is located on a small hill and takes around 20 mins to reach top especially if you take stops after every few meters. Since we were not yet acclimatized well and did not want to stress our body, we walked slowly. Satya, the youngest guy was however quite enthusiastic and as good as running up hill. 3 of us were worried that this guy would get himself hurt due to acute mountain sickness (AMS).

Alas we reached the top. First time we took the left route which goes to the back side and does not have any entry. Then we came to the front side. Tourists have to pay entry fees of Rs 20. Leh Palace has a exhibition of some of the famous archeological places all over India. Its a nine story building and climbing each floor is a fun. Top of the palace, you get the splendid panoramic view of complete Leh and surrounding. It is worth visiting the place either by road or walk.

After spending more than an hour, we were hungry and came back to market. Explored a few restaurants recommended on internet but most of them were closed. Finally, we decided to go to Neha's Kitchen which is famous for North Indian and South Indian food. Its a very small place but crowded and waiting period was 15-20 mins. Food quality is quite good and worth the money.

Then it was time to walk back to the guest house. Late evening, our local contact Ajaz Ahmed arrived at the guest house to get the formalities done for the medical checkup and trek.  Afterwards, we had dinner and went to sleep early around 9.30 PM.

Next day 6th Feb, was the crucial day of medical checkup. Our trek guide Stanzin came to pick up us from guest house and we went to the office where medical checkup was supposed to be done. The most important concern for 3 of us from Maharashtra was that we had the COVID test certificate but no SMS with SRF ID and the officials at the medical checkup center were insisting for it. The problem was that many trekkers were producing fake certificates and there were some cases that some of them found to be positive after doing the test in Leh. Finally after convincing them that its a valid certificate, we completed the process and now we were ready to embark on the epic journey. The fees is around 8K which includes insurance, wildlife area charges etc.

Venturing in the lonely wilderness..

 7th Feb - Finally, the day arrived to march towards Zanskar valley. Bus came around 9 am along with supporting crew and all required equipment, food items for next 5 days. After some technical glitches related to insurance at the entry post, the bus moved ahead to halt at the Gurudwara Pathar Sahib located around 25 KMs from Leh.

After spending half an hour in the spiritual atmosphere in the Gurudwara, we resumed our journey towards the valley. On route of Leh-Kargil, we need to take a left turn towards for Chilling near Nimmoo. The road is pretty good for sometime before it turns into bad shape. The later part of the road is under construction and in coming years the valley will be connected with a tar road which could have adverse impact on the nature of the valley and trek. In next 1.5-2 hours, we were at Shingra, the spot where the trek begins.

Supporting team off loaded the equipment and  begun preparing some tea and noodles to fill our stomachs before we head towards our first camp at Shingra Koma

Once our tummies were full, it was time to get into action and the first step was to put on Gum Boots and try to walk on the ice with small footsteps or "Penguin Walk". Initially, we did not put the spikes on the boots and started moving slowly towards our camp site which is a couple of hours walk. Within a few minutes, we came across a glassy ice sheet which is a very slippery section on this trek especially if there is some ascent or descent. And before I could understand what's happening, I felt down on my back. Of course, the heavy backpack was a big support. Soon, Stanzin realized that it was of no use to just

carry on without spikes. He immediately put on spikes on my and Suraj's gum boots. Kishor and Satya carried on without it. After initial hiccups, we reached the camp site enjoying the exotic beauty of nature in the form of ice sheets, high mountain peaks of the valley and the freezing water flowing below our feet. Meanwhile, our eyes were also looking out for any sighting of wildlife which is a essential part of this region. The region is blessed with various kind Himalayan flora and fauna like Blue Sheep, Tibetan Ibex, Fox and the might snow leopard along with various birds.

Before we reached the camp site, the supporting team of Tashi, Namgyal, Dorje, Jigmit and had already passed us with their wooden snow sledges loaded with tents, food material etc. As we reached the camp site, the tents and sleeping bags were ready along with the tea and some snacks. 

In the evening, we had plenty of time. So, we thought of roaming around the camp site and climbed up a hill nearby. Camp site can be seen down below on the turn of the river.

Night was a clear sky and moon would rise pretty late due to high mountains so we could observe unimaginable number of stars. Unfortunately though we could not spot milky way. May be we need to plan it for next time 😇

Towards Tibb Cave and marvelous Frozen Waterfall at Nerak

 8th Feb, it was time to march towards Tibb Cave a distance of 14 Kms. We had our early morning breakfast and started to walk towards our destination. It's distance of 5-6 hrs of walk depending on the speed of the team.

After first day's couple of hours walk, we had fair idea of the different kind of ice and snow sheets and knew how to walk on each of them. So, it was relatively easy to walk with our backpacks and stick.

Noon time and a walk of around 3 hours, it was a time for lunch break. Dorje and his team were ready with tea and "rice pulao". It was like a delicacy after such a long walk. We took rest for some time before proceeding further towards Tibb Cave camp site. 

The long walks were of course a beautiful
journey with scenic views changing after every turn of the river and with the chit chat among 4 of us along with Stanzin. The subjects were ranging from office work, travel experiences to other groups going along with us. Every moment of this walk was a full of joy.

2-3 hours of walk after lunch, we reached the 2nd camp site of Tibb Cave. This time our tent was located on the top of a hill. It was a big advantage though as we could explore the wide panoramic view of the camp site with frozen river and the mountains in the background.

9th Feb was the wonderful day with destination being the famous Frozen Waterfall near Nerak village. The only twist was that the COVID had come as a spoiler. Due to fear of Corona spread the stay at Nerak campsite was not permitted.

So, the solution was to visit Nerak and come back again to Tibb Cave on the same day which makes around 24 Kms. It was not an easy excursion considering the harsh conditions. Only solace was that we did not have to carry our bags making us to cover the distance relatively faster. 

We started early morning around 7 am. Having no bags on backs, made life easier and we could cover the distance quickly. 

It took us around 4-5 hours to reach at the waterfall. It is located nearby the Nerak village. One can notice one bridge crossing the river nearby the waterfall. In normal times, the trekkers would hike up to the village. 

After a long walk, it was time to refresh with some nice food intake. Dorje and team quickly prepared delicious "Masala Rice". The hot food helped us to get rid of the exertion. Now was the time to click some nice pics at the waterfall to take back some nice memories of the marvelous location.

It was already 1 pm past and we had to head back as we needed to reach at the base camp of Tibb Cave before weather starts to get bad. With clouds gathering around, the weather was already showing some signs.

After walking 12 Kms in the first half of the day, we were tired and speed was slowed down when we started descending towards Tibb cave. The thumb rule was to keep covering the distance steadily even with slow pace.  By early evening, we reached back at the camp site.

Weather was bad and it started snowing. Even if, we wanted to enjoy the first snowfall of our expedition, the tired legs wanted to take rest. So, we went back to tent into our sleeping bags. Our kitchen team knocked on the tent to inform that it was time for dinner.  The long walk had taken all the energy our of the body and taking rest was the only way to make it feel better. So, we went to bed early after dinner.

Just before going to bed, I decided to go to relieve myself and went to backside of our tents where I heard a big noise of something running away. Most likely possibility is it could be some Himalayan Fox looking out for something to eat around human presence. 

Next day morning was a beautiful sight with the camp site and the mountain tops covered with snowfall that happened in the night. It was complete change of image.


10th Feb, we had a choice to either return all the way to Shingra where the bus had dropped us and reach Leh one day before. Initially, Suraj and me were thinking on same lines. After having some chat with others, we concluded that it was better to spend one more exciting night in the valley but at a different campsite. 

This campsite is a few kms behind the Shingra Koma camp site. So, it was less crowded.

We reached early around 2-3 pm. After having a couple of cups of hot tea and snacks, we decided to venture into the wilderness of valley and started walking into the sub valley near the camp site. We walked around 20-30 mins exploring the natural beauty of nature. We were followed by a group of porters from other group. A small chat with them revealed that they were going further deep inside the valley to get some wood stock for camp fire. It was 1 hour walk for them where there is a small forest cover from where they are allowed to collect woods.
Another interesting incident took place in front our eyes. The mountain opposite to our camp site was a steep climb. What we witnessed was impossible to believe. One of the person from other groups supporting team had climbed up from other side to collect some spiritually important tree leaves and barks. But while coming down he was descending from the steep section of mountain and we were wondering how he is doing that. Moreover the last section of 15-20 feet had no scope of walking only a jump could take you down on the frozen river surface.

When we narrated this incident to Stanzin, even he could not believe it how he managed to do this 😇 

Overall, the decision to spend another night at valley was worth and it became another awesome night in the trek. We spent some time making a camp fire and singing some songs local Ladakhi and old bollywood songs.

11th Feb, this was the last day of the trip and the day where we had to cover the shortest distance. With lot of time in our hands, we started little late after having some good breakfast. Reached Shingra in next 2 hours. 

It was time to say good bye to one of the most beautiful places, I have visited in my life. We had started the journey with doubts in mind whether we would be able to make it to the times when we felt weak due to the harsh weather conditions but it was more than worth.

Those who love to explore the nature at its best, should do this trek before it loses its USP of desolate and peaceful area. 

Some of the other groups were busy in taking a dip in the freezing waters. Although, it is not recommended at all as it may lead to hypothermia and potentially to death.

We were happy with playing around in the snow and enjoying some beautiful moments with our group. Finally, we hopped on to the bus for Leh. After a journey of 3 hours, we reached Leh to learn that our Hotel was changed. But the good part was that it was better than earlier although little bit far from Leh market.

Icy Pangong Lake

Rescheduling of our original plan had given us an opportunity to explore other places. We had 2 more days of stay and the best part was that the stay was paid by Altitude Adventure India as a goodwill gesture to compensate the losses incurred due to rescheduling.

So, Suraj, me and Satya decided to go ahead with a plan which was lingering on our minds before we came to Leh i.e. to visit Pangong in winter.

We had already informed Sohail who was our organizer in Leh to arrange necessary permits so that we could leave on the right next day after we come back from trek.

Kishor could not make it as he had rescheduled his flight and had only one day spare. So, he did not want to take risk of getting stuck or getting late due to this trip. The reason being the weather at the Chang La is very unpredictable and chances of getting stuck are high.

We left Leh quite early around 6.30 am. Zakir who was our fellow driver stopped the Innova around 8 am for breakfast. Preparation of breakfast took bit longer due to the sudden rush at the restaurant. There were 2 other cars along with us. So, we were not alone that gave us some respite that there would be some one to help in case something goes wrong :)

It took around 5 hrs to reach Pangong Tso (Lukung) which is the first spot of the lake. The road is maintained quite well so the journey was pretty nice also fortunately we did not face any weather issues. Sky was clear so we could capture some nice snaps with blue background.

Lukung has an army post where you need to produce your permit and identity proofs. Soon we were witnessing the panoramic view of the lake with some fresh snow on the icy surface of the lake with mountains and blue sky in the background.

Although the sun was shining pretty well, the chilling wind was freezing even with all the

layers of jackets. It was an amazing experience to walk on the frozen lake. This was a different experience than what we had years back in summer. Also, it is unique and cannot be compared with the experience in Zanskar valley. Valley having the limited view and we are in the gorge while Pangong gives an amazing and awesome view of lake with mountains spread surrounding it.

We spend around 1.5 hours before heading back to Leh. On the way back we spotted a herd of wild asses known as "Kiang".  These valleys provide good amount of food in the form of grass to these creatures. Being wildlife enthusiast, it was an achievement for us 😊. Specially when we were disappointed with no sign of wildlife in Zanskar valley other than some pug marks 😉.

At Durbuk, we could find a restaurant and were happy to find it open. Had a quick bite of Schezwan rice and some momos. Food was quite delicious. The restaurant was run by a family. Worth trying for food on the way.

Before returning back to Leh, we had a couple of hours to explore a few places on the route. So, we decided to visit Shey monastery. It is just on the road side and a walk of 10-15 mins uphill. A good place to spend some time.

Finally, we reached back at the hotel and were pleased having spent the day to visit Pangong.

Last day 13th Feb, was reserved for the shopping of some winter ware, dry fruits etc. Kishor left early morning for Mumbai. After having breakfast, we went to the Leh main market for lunch and shopping. We were back at Hotel by early evening. It was time to prepare for the next day travel back to Pune. 

Meanwhile, Stanzin made a call and came to visit us before we left for our native places. We spent some good time recalling the moments from the trip and making promises of visiting someday again!