Join wildlife photographer Nick Garbutt in Ladakh's remote region on a quest to photograph snow leopards, Pallas's cats and other Himalayan wildlife, including ibex, bharal, Tibetan partridge and red-billed chough.
On this extensive Pallas's cat and snow leopard photography tour, we use specialist local trackers in both the Ulley Valley and Hanle to maximise our chances of finding and photographing the elusive cats of these mountains. Other Himalayan wildlife we hope to see whilst out in the field, include ibex, bharal, red fox, bearded vulture, and possibly Eurasian lynx.
This tour visits spectacularly remote, rugged, and harsh regions that offer an opportunity to see and potentially photograph two of the world’s most beautiful and challenging to see cats, while staying in relative comfort and without the need to trek over large distances, making the experience more accessible than the majority of alternatives.
This beautiful setting, combined with expert guidance and tips from Nick Garbutt, offers all the ingredients for a perfect wildlife photography trip.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK
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Day 2:
Arrive Delhi
On arrival, transfer to our hotel, located a short drive from the airport.
Accommodation: JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity, 1-night
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Day 3:
Fly to Leh
Today we take an early morning transfer to the airport for the flight to Leh. On arrival, it's a short transfer to our hotel, in time for a late breakfast. For the rest of the day everyone's encouraged to relax and do as little as possible (perhaps sleep or read a book), to begin to acclimatise to the altitude and thin air.
Accommodation: Grand Dragon Hotel, 3-nights
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Day 4:
Leh
Again, the emphasis is on taking it easy and minimising physical exertion. In the morning there may be a chance to search areas along the Indus River close to Leh for birds like ibisbill, white-winged redstart and wallcreeper. Then perhaps later in the day we explore Leh on foot, including visiting the ancient Royal Palace which offers commanding views over the city.
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Day 5:
Further exploration of Leh & Indus Valley
Today we have a fascinating drive east, initially along the Indus Valley, passing great monasteries like Thikse, then turning away from the main river along one of two possible subsidiary valleys.
There's a good chance of wildlife sightings including blue sheep or bharat, lammergeier and golden eagle. Flocks of red-billed choughs are common, and in the fallow fields there may be beautiful Tibetan partridge and the more common chukar partridge.
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Day 6:
Drive to Ulley Valley
Today we drive west, following the Indus Valley, on the road leading to Kargil and Srinagar. We pass through the small town of Nimmu – one of the most important in Ladakh – where the Zanskar River meets the Indus. After a little over an hour, we head north on a road to Likir – home of one of Ladakh’s most famous Buddhist monasteries of the region. These areas are all now snow leopard country.
This habitat is also excellent for Siberian ibex, one of the main prey species for snow leopards in the area. The magnificent sweeping-horned male ibex sometimes create distinctive silhouettes when standing vigil on some impossibly narrow outcrop atop a plunging cliff.
The drive from Leh to Ulley, generally takes 2–3 hours, depending on the number of stops and what might be seen en-route.
Accommodation: Snow Leopard Lodge, 8-nights
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Days 7-13
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Search for snow leopard in & around Ulley Valley
Ulley lies at the heart of three interlocking valleys that are thought to support between ten and 12 adult snow leopards plus cubs (based on the most recent census data). At the base of the Ulley Valley and neighbouring valleys are the villages of Yangthang, Saspochy and Hemis Shukpachen. Further afield to the north, lies the Manghu Valley, that's also prime snow leopard territory. All these areas and valleys are connected by road, and over the period of our stay we're likely to explore much of the area by vehicle and perhaps on foot, depending on where trackers are having most success locating the cats.
All the time our guides are tracking snow leopards, they're additionally looking for other species like wolf, urial, Siberian ibex, red fox and birds like Himalayan snowcock, golden eagle and lammergeier that thrive in this harsh winter mountain landscape.
A typical day may involve receiving a warming drink delivered to your room before breakfast. For those who wish to get up early, sunrise is generally around 6.30am and there are often excellent photographic opportunities, especially for time-lapse sequences, as the sun first strikes the mountain tops. Spotters are out looking for snow leopard activity from around 7am, and it's possible to get news of a sighting and have to act quickly from any time onwards.
Breakfast is normally around 8-8.30am. After breakfast, if there's no news of sightings elsewhere, we may gather on viewing areas near the lodge, to help the spotters scour the ridge tops for activity.
From 10am onwards, we may choose to head out to one of the neighbouring valleys to continue searching. If it’s a fine day, lunch will be brought out, to allow us to spend longer in the field, if the weather is poor, we would likely return to the lodge for lunch. Spotters tend to concentrate their search efforts between sun-up and 11.00am and then again from 3.30pm until dusk, as these are the times the cats are most likely to be active.
All plans are kept as flexible as possible, to allow us to act quickly on any newly acquired information about snow leopard activity.
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Day 14:
Return to Leh
After a final day of looking for snow leopards, we return to Leh in the late afternoon.
Accommodation: The Grand Dragon Hotel, 1-night
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Day 15:
Transfer to Hanle
Today, we make the journey to the Hanle which is situated south-east of Leh towards the border with China.
This drive takes much of the day, but there are stops along the way to stretch our legs as we pass through some beautiful Himalayan scenery.
On arrival in Hanle, we check in for a 4-night stay at a local homestay guesthouse.
Accommodation: Lodge in Hanle, 4-nights
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Days 16-18
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Explore Hanle & surrounding area in search of wildlife
Over the course of the next three days, we explore the habitat surrounding Hanle in search of wildlife and photographic opportunities. Our primary focus is to observe Pallas's cat.
These felines are particularly expressive and endearing, but often elusive. However, Hanle has long been rumoured to be a stronghold for Pallas's cat and is thought to be one of the best locations in the world to encounter these characterful cats.
Once again, there are a local team of trackers aiding us in our search of Pallas's cats and, hopefully, we should enjoy a sighting or two of these remarkable creatures.
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Day 19:
Return to Leh
Today, we return to Leh for our final night in Ladakh.
Accommodation: The Grand Dragon Hotel, 1-night
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Day 20:
Fly to Delhi
In the morning, we transfer to the airport and depart Leh for Delhi. On arrival in Delhi, we transfer to our hotel.
Accommodation: JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity, 1-night
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Day 21:
Fly to the UK
This morning we transfer back to Delhi airport for our return flights back to UK arriving the same day.
Please note: The price of this tour includes a donation of US$200 to the Snow Leopard Conservancy.
