Toilets were the great outdoors. We splashed through easy Class II rapids down the Doda until it joined the Tsarapchu to form the Zanskar River near Karsha, a vertical village impossibly attached to a steep rock face. Lungs bursting, we climbed up to the monastery capping the village, frequented by actor Richard Gere. The canyon is an awesome display of nature. But the river can be a dangerous beauty, with its traps and snares.
Beginners soon learn the jargon of reading the river - eddy lines, holes, boils and flowovers.
The water can churn or bubble like a pot on a stove. After surviving the flip, though, our group of paddlers felt like seasoned and skilled rafters, even though the guides did all the work. The final challenge came on the last day, soon after the Zanskar flowed into the mighty Indus River. Our rafts bounced and bobbed like corks on the sea, but we sailed through with a whoop of exhilaration. Two hours later we beached by a culvert on the road back to Leh.