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.