Rafting in Zanskar is one of the ultimate rafting experiences in India. It is absolutely stunning, due to the landscape and its grade V rapids. In my opinion, it is among the top 3 rafting experiences in India, comparable to the ones in Ganga and Brahmaputra. Zanskar river originates from the high altitude plateau of Sarchu and the rafting trip takes you down the extremely remote and sheer Zanskar gorge with walls rising massively out of the river bed and finally culminating on the mighty Indus river.
In June, Indus river has less water and hardly any worthwhile rapids so it is always better to go for rafting on the Zanskar in the Chilling - Nemo sector like we did. I was travelling in Ladakh with Srikant, Joel and Lolita (a wonderful tour arranged by Take a Break Tours) and even though we had not met before our Ladakh trip, we became very good friends and it was a wonderful experience knowing them and travelling with them during my 15 day trip.
We left early morning from Leh in the Qualis arranged for us and set off on the road to Chilling. After crossing Magnetic Hill and Nemo (the confluence of Zanskar and Indus rivers), we veered off along the side of the Zanskar river. The width of the river and the water volume was impressive. At some points, the river appeared to be turbulent and the mere sight of waves crashing on the rocks made me more than a touch nervous (especially because of my non-existent swimming skills).
We traveled up stream about 15kms or so to a place called Sumdha Do, which left us to do 14 kms of rafting in about 2 hours. It had a good view of the Zanskar and offered a slope towards the river bank to enable the rafters to board the raft and launch themselves into the river. Our driver Nurbu was a very friendly guy, who was a joy to travel with. We were glad he came along for this trip, which allowed us to designate him as the official photographer. He was going to drive to Nemo, which would provide him stunning vantage points to take our photos as we navigated the angry river.
When we reached there, the vehicles with deflated rafts were already in place. The instructors got busy with their instructions to all the rafters, while the helpers started inflating the rafts with the help of foot (and hand) operated air pumps. Getting into the body suits was quite a task and it took me almost 15-20 mins to strap them on along with the life jackets. Once we were ready with our gear, it was time for some photo ops.
In total, there were 5 rafts being launched from this point. All the rafts were rinsed with water and we were again given last minute instructions like forward paddling, backward paddling, jumping inside raft and what to do if we fall into the river etc. All of us get set for the launch one after the other - keeping some distance from one another.
We took our turns sitting in the front seat, which was heavily in demand because you have the best view of the rapids and you get the brunt of the aquatic onslaught. The girls and boys (total 10 in one raft) were divided equally on both sides of the raft and the instructor sat on the last row barking instructions to us. It was funny how he was sitting coolly (as if sitting on a throne or something) while all of us were nervously looking for ways to tie ourselves to the raft, so that we don't end up in the river while negotiating the rapids. Once the guy in the lead kayak gave the thumbs up, the Zanskar adventure began in earnest!
I, for one, was comfortable once I tucked my feet inside the pockets built in the bottom of the raft. For the first 10-15 mins, we cruised along downstream aided by the river current and it was a super experience bobbing up and down on the Zanskar waves. I tried to paddle to the best of my ability and soon, gained a bit of confidence.
That was until we hit the first rapid and none of us handled it quite well - all the instructions were forgotten and we all paddled without any coordination. Some of us stopped paddling altogether. Still, the first few rapids were smaller in comparison to what followed. The water mass menacingly came towards us and hit the ones who were in front, smack on the face. All of us were speechless for some time while the raft kept meandering along (since all of us had now forgotten to paddle). The lone kayak guy was at the front of the procession, guiding all the rafts and on the look out for the best course to be taken by all the rafts. An exciting (plus dangerous) job designation !
The rapids approached us thick and fast now - we were soaking wet. The cool waters and the wind kept our bodies shivering and out teeth clattering. It was some time before I got used to the chill factor and from then on, it was pure adrenalin which carried me throughout the expedition. The wind and the waves turned the direction of the raft sideways and sometimes, we turned 180 degrees and on a couple of occasions, we came close to crashing against the rocks. There was an eerie silence in the raft as we had by now lost all confidence in paddling the raft and despite the instructor barking orders at us, we were meandering in Zanskar - the waves were charting our course and our paddling was having no effect.
During one of the big rapids, the inevitable happened - we were the first raft and somehow, we negotiated the rapid but the ones behind us were not quite so lucky. The foreigners in the second raft were not holding for dear life like we were and most of them ended up in the water. Some people from the third raft also fell in to the river and soon, they were passing our raft from both sides. We were astounded to say the least and froze in shock. Then the instructor took over and asked all of us to try and hold on to as many "floating persons" as possible. We managed to pull in a couple of them and once the velocity of the waves came down, the instructors helped the "fallen comrades" back into the rafts and we continued our journey.
There was a stretch of 2-3 kms where the river flowed very smoothly and the instructor asked us to jump into the river and enjoy the dip in the Zanskar during the smooth stretch. I was hesitant at first but when I saw a couple of my fellow rafters jump in, I kept my mind blank and just went in without giving it a serious thought.
It was quite simply one of the most awesome experiences I have ever had. I cannot put it into words - the chilly waters and the mountain landscape, the excitement of floating in Zanskar without the swimming knowhow, holding the raft for dear life and just allowing myself to drift along where the river takes me. I was shocked and excited in equal measure and I didn't even realize when the instructor had asked us to try and climb back into the raft. As usual, there had to be some drama for me. Many of us struggled to climb back into the raft and the instructor then had to haul us back in. From the corner of my eye, I could see the rapids and rocks approaching our raft and for a moment, I was shit scared that I would end up crashing against the rocks. Thankfully, after what seemed an eternity, the instructor saved me the trouble of negotiating that stretch of the river on my own by hauling me just in time (or so it seemed) - I was the last one into the raft. Even today, when I think about it, I shiver a bit at the memory and wonder how I jumped into the river that day!
There were more rapids to negotiate but they were not as challenging as the ones we just experienced. All the 5 rafts were now in a race towards the Nemo shore. We paddled furiously and it now resembled an Olympic rowing competition. Our arms were straining with every paddle now but all of us kept at it and thankfully, our raft won the "Gold". We celebrated with gusto and our instructor too was very happy with our efforts. One by one, all the rafts reached the shoreline and we clambered out of our raft, physically and mentally drained. Our walking was disoriented and it took us some time to get back the normal feeling in our limbs. A shower and fresh set of clothes got me going and it was then that the hunger pangs hit home. Thankfully, a Ladakhi lunch had been arranged and we wolfed down massive portions of the delicious food with a huge sigh of relief. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life and something which I would be willing to try as many times as possible in future.
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