India: Ladakh Rafting & Adventure Sports Tour

Your guide and driver meet you at Leh airport and take you to the hotel. Every flight to Leh lands in the morning, because winds pick up later in the day at an airport about 3,250 m high. The first day is for rest.

Leh is at 3,500 m. The Ladakh tourism advisory asks new arrivals to rest on the first day and add no more than about 500 m of sleeping height a day after that. Drink plenty of fluids, skip alcohol tonight, and let the thin air settle before any exercise.

Experience of the Day

–  Met at Leh airport by your guide and driver.

–  A full rest day at 3,500 m, as the Ladakh tourism advisory asks of new arrivals.

Food

Lunch and dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

Light rest only today. No exercise is planned on arrival day.

Route: Leh hotel – Old Town – Leh hotel

The morning is free for rest and a slow walk through the Old Town. In the afternoon the rafting guide comes to the hotel to fit your helmet, life jacket, wetsuit and spray jacket and to go through the safety talk: how to sit in the raft, how to hold the paddle, how to swim a rapid on your back with your feet downstream, how to take a rope, and what the whistle signals mean.

You also go through the plan for each run. The rafting guide explains the grade, the rapids to expect and the points where the crew will stop to scout, and your cultural and adventure guide explains the land days. A pulse-oximeter reading is taken for each guest, and any questions about health or swimming are settled today, before you reach the riverbank.

Experience of the Day

–  Fitting of helmet, life jacket, wetsuit and spray jacket at the hotel.

–  A safety talk on swimming a rapid, taking a rope and the whistle signals.

–  A first pulse-oximeter reading for each guest.

Food

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

A slow Old Town walk if you wish; the gear fitting and safety talk in the afternoon.

Shopping

The main bazaar sells quick-dry layers, sun cream and sunglasses straps, if anything is missing.

Route: Leh – Phey – Indus run to Nimmu – Leh

Phey lies about 12 km from Leh on the Indus, and the run to Nimmu, about 36 km from Leh, covers about 25 km of the river. Sources grade it from class I to III, and the gentler water at the start is where the crew sets the pace. Before the run you practise paddle strokes on the bank, and in a quiet pool you swim in your life jacket and are pulled back to the raft, so that you know what a swim feels like.

The river passes villages and fields along the Indus, with the Ladakh range above. The rapids are splashy and short, and the guide uses the spaces between them to teach. You finish at Nimmu, near the confluence, with a hot lunch on the bank, and are driven back to Leh in the afternoon. The crew reports on your paddling, and this decides what is offered on Days 4 and 7.

Experience of the Day

–  Paddle strokes practised on the bank.

–  A swim and rescue drill in a quiet pool.

–  About 25 km of the Indus from Phey to Nimmu, past villages and fields.

Food

Breakfast at the Leh hotel; a hot lunch on the riverbank; dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

Rafting with a guide and safety kayaker; a short drill session before the run.

Route: Leh – Chilling – Zanskar run to Nimmu – Leh

The Zanskar is the longer, colder and narrower river, and the run from Chilling to the confluence at Nimmu takes about three to three and a half hours. Chilling lies on the Zanskar road beyond Nimmu, and the river drops through a gorge with rock walls rising from the water. Sources grade it class III, with a few harder rapids that some accounts put at class IV, and the grade changes with the flow.

The crew scouts the larger rapids from the bank and decides whether to run them with you in the raft, to portage, or to run them with a guide only. You stop for a hot lunch at a sandy bend. The run ends where the Zanskar meets the Indus, below Nimmu, where the two rivers' water often runs in two colours side by side for a short way, and you are driven back to Leh in the afternoon.

Experience of the Day

–  About 28 km of the Zanskar gorge, from Chilling to the Nimmu confluence.

–  Scouting of the larger rapids from the bank.

–  The meeting of the two rivers, with the water running in two colours.

Food

Breakfast at the Leh hotel; a hot lunch at a sandy bend; dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

Rafting for about three hours, with stops to scout and to rest.

The Human Story: The Gorge Road

Chilling is the trailhead for the winter walk on the frozen Zanskar, known as the Chadar, and its villagers are known for their metalwork. In summer the same river is a rafting run, and the villagers watch the rafts go past.

Route: Leh – Khardung La – ride down to Leh

Today the legs have a different job. The support vehicle carries you and the mountain bikes up the road to Khardung La, the pass on the Nubra road, at about 5,360 m. The road signs give a higher figure, and surveys differ. You stay at the top briefly, for photographs and a warm drink, because the air holds roughly half the oxygen of sea level. Then you ride down.

The descent is about 39 km, with a drop of close to 1,900 m to Leh. The first stretch is rough, with loose stone and the occasional patch of water, and then the road becomes tarmac. The guide rides ahead, the vehicle follows, and you stop for tea at South Pullu. You are in Leh by early afternoon, and the rest of the day is free.

Experience of the Day

–  The drive up to Khardung La, at about 5,360 m.

–  A short stop at the top for photographs and a warm drink.

–  A ride of about 39 km down to Leh, with the guide ahead and the vehicle behind.

Food

Breakfast at the Leh hotel; tea and a snack at South Pullu; lunch and dinner in Leh.

Activities to Do

Mountain biking downhill, with a short stop at the pass.

Route: Leh – Nimmu – Indus run to Saspol – Nurla

You leave Leh at about 8 am and join the Indus below Nimmu. The stretch between Nimmu and Saspol is one the Ladakh tourism pages name for guided white water, and sources grade it from class I to III. It is the run on which the crew checks your paddling and swimming before tomorrow, and it is a lively run in its own right.

After lunch on the bank you are driven on to Nurla, near Alchi, passing Likir, and arrive at your lodge by late afternoon. Nurla is at about 3,100 m, lower than Leh, so the night here is an easy one.

Experience of the Day

–  The Indus between Nimmu and Saspol.

–  A skills check by the rafting guide.

–  The drive through Likir to Nurla.

Food

Breakfast at the Leh hotel; a hot lunch on the bank; dinner at the Nurla lodge.

Activities to Do

Rafting with a guide and safety kayaker; a transfer to Nurla in the afternoon.

Route: Nurla – Alchi – Indus run to Khaltse – Nurla

The stretch from Alchi to Khaltse is the hardest on the days listed. Sources grade it from class III to V, and a long series of rapids near Nurla is the reason. It is a run for guests who have rafted before, and who have passed the skills check on Day 6, and the rafting guide has the final say. The run is short and fast, and a safety kayaker stays beside the raft throughout.

Guests who are not offered the run take the alternative, the stretch from Nimmu to Alchi, which sources grade from class I to III. In the morning, before the river, you can walk through the Alchi temples, a group of temples on the south bank of the Indus at about 3,100 m, with murals that scholars place between the 11th and early 13th centuries. Photography is not allowed inside. The afternoon is free at the lodge.

Experience of the Day

–  The Alchi to Khaltse run, or the Nimmu to Alchi alternative.

–  A walk through the Alchi temples, with murals of the 11th to early 13th centuries.

–  A quiet afternoon at the lodge.

Food

Breakfast at the Nurla lodge; a hot lunch on the bank; dinner at the lodge.

Activities to Do

Rafting for one to two hours; a temple visit; time to rest.

Shopping

Alchi has small shops for Ladakhi crafts and dried apricots.

Route: Nurla – Likir – walk to Yangthang – Leh

You drive from Nurla to Likir, a Gelug monastery founded in 1065, with a Maitreya statue 23 m high, completed in 1999. From the village a trail climbs over two passes through barley fields and apricot orchards to Yangthang, a distance of about 10 km that takes five to six hours. The highest point is below 3,900 m, and the walk is rated easy to moderate.

The vehicle meets you at Yangthang and drives you back to Leh, about two hours. The day is a long one. If you would rather rest, the guide shortens the walk to a few kilometres from Likir to the first pass, and the vehicle collects you there.

Experience of the Day

–  Likir Monastery and its 23 m Maitreya.

–  A trail through barley fields and apricot orchards to Yangthang.

–  A drive back to Leh along the Indus.

Food

Breakfast at the Nurla lodge; a packed lunch on the trail; dinner at the Leh hotel.

Activities to Do

A walk of about 10 km, with two passes, in five to six hours.

Route: Leh hotel – optional run – Leh hotel

This day is held in reserve. If a river run on an earlier day was closed, because the flow was too high, a rockfall blocked the road or the weather turned, the run is made up today. If every run went as planned, you can repeat the Zanskar from Chilling, spend a rest day in Leh, visit the palace and the Old Town, or go to Thiksey and Hemis in the east.

The rafting crew confirms the day's run the evening before. A repeat run is charged at the run rate, and a made-up run is not charged again.

Experience of the Day

–  A made-up or repeated river run, if the water allows.

–  Or a free day in Leh, with the palace, the Old Town and a rest.

Food

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Leh hotel or in town.

Activities to Do

As above. The day is held in reserve for the rivers.

Shopping

Leh's main bazaar sells pashmina, silver jewellery and prayer flags.

Route: Leh hotel – Leh airport

Your driver takes you to the airport. Every flight out of Leh leaves in the morning. If you are staying on in Ladakh, today is the day to move on to your next stop.

Guests with an evening international flight from Delhi can connect the same day. The Leh–Delhi flight takes about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Experience of the Day

–  Transfer to Leh airport for a morning flight.

Food

Breakfast at the hotel; other meals as you choose.

Activities to Do

None scheduled. The day is kept free to flex around your flight time.