Search for Snow Leopards with Valerie Parkinson

Our adventure begins in Delhi, a colourful and chaotic city full of architectural masterpieces. You are free today to explore this buzzing city or rest after your flight. Around 6pm, say namaste to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Your tour leader then ensures a big welcome by arranging a group dinner at a nearby restaurant. Want more time in Delhi? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Usually, we have an early start for the flight to Leh. We may have to leave the hotel around 3am and drive to the airport for the very early morning (but highly spectacular) flight over the snow-capped peaks of the Himalaya, which are incredibly beautiful in winter. Landing in Leh, the temperature drops dramatically and we need our down jackets at the airport. If the weather is good and the flight goes on time, we should be in Leh for breakfast. The rest of the day is free to relax and acclimatise to the altitude (11,485ft/3,500m). In the morning, we rest and catch up on sleep. In the afternoon, we have a gentle orientation walk around Leh and its bazaars.

Today we visit the most important monasteries in the Indus Valley. First, we drive just over 30 minutes to Shey, once the residence of the Ladakhi royal family. Below the old palace ruins is a small temple containing a two-storey gilded statue of Buddha. From Shey, we walk across the fields to Tikse, spotting birds en route. Set on a hill, it is one of the most impressive gompas in Ladakh. It has several temples, one of which contains a superb statue of the Future Buddha. In the late afternoon, we return to Leh. There may be the opportunity to attend a local monastic festival depending on the lunar calendar. Usually, we time the trips so we can visit a festival on either Day 3 or Day 11, keeping plans flexible. Valerie and our local team will advise what's possible on the day.

Leave Leh and drive across the Indus towards Jinchen. We follow the road past Phe to the entrance of the impressive Rumbak Gorge. We leave the cars near a bridge and our trail takes us up into the narrow gorge and we start our search for evidence of snow leopards and blue sheep. We camp tonight at our base camp at Rumbak Sumdo (12,470ft/3,800m).

The next five days are dedicated to searching for snow leopards. The itineraries are flexible and set by our expert wildlife guides. They are in touch with other local spotters, who share recent sightings and maximise our chances of seeing a snow leopard – in 2025, we saw seven snow leopards, lots of blue sheep and a lynx. We usually spend most of the time at our base camp at Rumbak Sumdo, while walks take us into the Rumbak Valley and further towards Yurutse and the Ganda La. We can also explore the Husing and Tarbuns valleys, all well-known haunts of the snow leopard. Bring a good pair of binoculars to scan the slopes, though we also have wildlife spotters (one per five group members), who carry spotting scopes, which they set up at camp and on ridges on the walks. They also go out in the early mornings and late evenings to search for evidence of any animal movement. We also have a full trekking crew with us, including guides, assistant guides, cook, kitchen assistants and porters. Lunch and hot drinks are brought to us by our camp crew. If you have a heavy camera bag, it is possible to hire a private porter to carry this for you. We camp every night, except for one, which is spent in a traditional Ladakhi homestay. Food at the homestay is traditional local fare and you get the chance to interact with the villagers.

Today we trek back to Jinchen, where we meet our transport and drive back to the relative comforts of our hotel in Leh.

Once a year, every monastery in Ladakh has a festival where the monks dress in elaborate brocade and silk costumes and re-enact century-old stories of the Tibetan Buddhist religion. Valerie and the local team will be able to make arrangements locally if it is possible to attend a festival for those interested. People come from all over Ladakh to the festivals and these are a great social as well as religious occasion. The whole day is spent at the festival; in the evening, we return to our hotel in Leh. Please note: the masked dance festivals run on the Tibetan calendar. Dates can and do change. Festivals can be a day earlier or later than advertised due to the moon. We do our utmost to ensure you have the opportunity to visit a festival either on Day 3 or Day 11 where possible.