Ladakh Expeditions For All in the Land of High Passes

In Northwestern India, mountains tower thousands of meters, forming one of the highest regions on Earth. These glaciers feed rivers whose names are nearly infamous in the whitewater world— the Indus, the Zanskar, the Tsarap Chu—and some that aren’t: The Shyok, the Nubra, the Dras. But instead of a destination reserved for the best of the best, Ladakh's welcoming paddling community, spectacular Class II-IV surrounded by lush valleys, craggy mountains, high-altitude cold deserts, and dense forests, offer the perfect introduction to big water expedition paddling.

Felicitas Grabner

Nestled in the Himalayas lies a region of India called Ladakh, where the mountainous desert nearly reaches the clouds. As the Ladakh Range spans from Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan) to the west to the Tibetian border, its lowest point is still 3000(+) meters above sea level. Flying into Leh, the region's capital, you'll glimpse mountainous valleys, the snaking blue and brown of big volume rivers, and the huge glaciers that feed them. These rivers form a network of water veins the people of Ladakh desperately need. Water is a precious good here, a necessary resource for agriculture, and a crucial element in making a living. Landing at the military airport in Leh is immediately grounding. Control of this region has been fiercely contested by Pakistan, China, and India for decades. Driving around…

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Kayak Session (Digital) - 1 Issue, Spring 2024

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