Snow Leopard in one of the most elusive & magnificent cat, it is believed to be a native of mountain ranges of Central & South Asia. It is usually found at a height of 3K to 4.5K. Snow Leopard Tour starts with the aid of local trackers and guides, we take you to the adventurous expedition in search of Snow Leopards amid the mountains of Hemis National Park in Ladakh. On this Snow Leopard Tour, you’ll get an opportunity to see the beautiful mountain scenery of the ancient kingdom of Ladakh.

This Snow Leopard tour has a realistic chance of seeing this most elusive cat. We have seen almost 50% chance of sightings success to date.

The tour offers spectacular Himalayan scenery in the ancient kingdom of Ladakh. It’s a Magical land of Buddhist monasteries & ancient mud palaces and you get the best opportunity to see the coolest of the places.

Suggested Itinerary (Snow Leopard Tour to Spotting Leopards in Winter)

Program (15 Days)

• Day 1
  1
  Arrive at Leh

  Arrival and transfer to the Hotel. The whole day rest to acclimatize to the high altitude of Ladakh. Overnight in Hotel

• Day 2
  2
  Leh sightseeing

  Visit the Shey Palace, Thiksey Gompa, and on to Hemis Monastery which is one of the largest and best-endowed monasteries in Ladakh. Overnight in Hotel.

• Day 3
  3
  Leh - Alchi - Likir - Leh

  Monastic tour of Alchi and Likir to Leh. Alchi Gompa that dates to the 6th century. Proceed to Likir Gompa believed to be 900 years old . Returning to Leh, the day is spent visiting the area, the Handicraft Center and the Astro Medical Center known for its Tibetan holistic medicines that incorporates elements of Shamanistic Bonpo religion. Overnight in Hotel.

• Day 4
  4
  Leh - Zingchen - Husing

  Drive from Leh (3,500 mtrs) to Zingchen (3,600 mtrs) to Husing(3,800 mtrs): Drive time from Leh to Zingchen is approx. 2 hrs. Trek time from Zingchen to Husing is approx 2.1/2 hrs. Overnight in tented camps Husing is the epicenter of three prominent valleys well known for sighting of Snow Leopard also known globally as “the world capital of Snow Leopard.” We make Husing campsite as our base camp as we venture out for the next 5 days towards the many bye-valleys that vein out ofthe Husing pastureland. Overnight in tented camp.

• Day 5
  5
  Snow Leopard Trek

  Today the local expert will take you on a early morning excursion to the trails frequented by the ever elusive Snow leopard and will teach you how to interpret through local art and techniques of smelling of rock sand (smell of urine of the leopard), reading of pug mark, scrape (digging of ground by the animal), scate (stool) and rock-face rubbing of the snow leopard. The expert will also share local traditional knowledge on how to identify the hunt patterns and kill spots of the snow leopard in Ladakh. Overnight in tented camps Some prime examples are as below: (a) Alert calls of deer, blue sheep or barals. (b) Hovering of the golden eagle over kill spots. (c) Excited screaming of magpies indicating kills. (d) Nervous movement of the red fox in the nearby vicinity of the kill.

• Day 06 to 12
  6
  In the search of Snow Leopard

  Identify “hot spots” (machans) vantage points through mapping and tracking; also, techniques in gaining the confidence of the villagers so that they can alert and relay instant information of any signs and actual sightings of the snow leopard. Overnight in tented camps

• Day 13
  7
  Tarbung and Kharlung Valleys

  We go along the snow leopard mapping grid and keeping our ears and eyes open; we operate within the nearby valleys in the nearby bye-valleys of the main valley of Ranjon behind Husing and Rumbak. The other 2 prominent valleys where snow leopard sightings are frequent are that of Tarbung and Kharlung where we will also make day excursions to check out their habitats and trails. Overnight in tented camps.

• Day 14
  8
  Rumbak - Zinchen - Leh

  Walk from Rumbak Doh to Zinchen where the vehicles are waiting to take you back to Leh city. Overnight in Hotel in Leh

• Day 15
  9
  Leh - Departure

  Early morning transfer to airport to proceed on your onward journey. NOTE: Please bear in mind that this is a tentative itinerary for we will certainly be changing the set date activities as for the findings and daily information updates of the movement of the snow leopard in the local area.