Ice Stupa Project

With “Ice Stupa Artificial Ice Reservoir Technology” (AIR), unused water is stored in large ice towers during the winter. The meltwater that is then available in the spring is used for irrigation in agriculture.

The GlaciersAlive association works together with Acres of Ice and the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives in Ladakh. HIAL aims to involve young people from several Himalayan countries in research and development in order to address the problems faced by mountain communities, particularly in the areas of education, culture, and the environment. 

How does an Ice Stupa work?

The melting glacier water reaches the ice stupa via pipes connected to the river. The pressure generated creates a fountain that causes the water to drip onto the stupa from above. Thanks to the cold winter air, the water crystallizes into ice. Finally, the ice slowly melts in the spring months.

Inventor of the ice stupas

The invention of the Ice Stupas is due to the engineer Sonam Wangchuk from Ladakh. He developed the simple solution to form cone-shaped ice mounds from the melting water of the glaciers. Wangchuck's design is based on the experiments of engineer Chewang Norphel, who created flat glaciers. Why did Wangchuck choose cone-shaped rather than flat glaciers? He concluded that conical ice mounds have the least surface area and therefore melt more slowly than flat ice fields. In 2014, the built prototype provided about 1.5 million liters of meltwater for irrigation of 5000 trees planted by locals.

Europe's first Ice Stupa

This was built in 2016 in Val Roseg (Samedan, Pontresina). At the end of October 2016, the inventor of the Ice Stupas, the engineer Sonam Wangchuk from Ladakh, traveled to the Engadine to build the first Ice Stupa together with local glaciologists and architects.