Chadar Trek: 41 trekkers rescued; temporary shutdown of Ladakh’s famous trek

The very famous Chadar Trek in Ladakh was recently shut for two days after water flooded over the ice that the trekkers have to traverse through. A total of 41 trekkers had to be rescued from the flooded trek. Indian Air Force and Army had to exercise an emergency operation to save the stranded trekkers from the perilous conditions, with the temperature reading plummeting to as low as minus 3 degrees Celsius.

The accident led to a temporary shutdown of the trek, only to be opened after the passing of inclement weather and life-threatening conditions. A statement was issued on the same by Leh District Magistrate Sachin Kumar Vaishya, saying “The trekkers who were stuck between Tibb and Neyraks camps due to overflowing of water over ice have been rescued and temporarily accommodated at Neyraks village.”

Rescue operations were carried out on the trek at the behest of Leh’s administrative authorities after the two groups of trekkers were reported missing. Reportedly, river water started flowing on the ice that the trekkers have to walk through for this trek. The trekkers were, thus, stranded between Tibb and Neyraks.
Chadar is one of the most interesting yet perilous treks in the world, with trekkers having to trek on the frozen riverbed in the mighty Himalayas. While you can certainly brace yourself and gear up for the cold, there are pleas to limit the number of trekkers owing to the fragile ecology here.


In fact, there have been reports that state that the trek would shut down soon, owing to global warming that does not let riverbed freeze. Additionally, there have been predictions about the disappearance of River Zanskar if global warming is not curtailed soon. Experts have predicted that at the current rate, there might be no river in the next 2-3 years!