Snow leopards, and so much more!

Small international group expedition

Country

Inde Inde Himalaya

Suggested duration

14 days / 11 nights

Ideal periods

November to March

Written request

01 77 37 03 10

The spirit of the journey

The trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh is one of the last frontiers of wildlife tourism.

It is within these high valleys that one can observe the highest density of the most elusive of all big cats: the snow leopard.
The name itself evokes everything wild and mysterious. An animal clothed in the subtle beauty of its own coat, carrying within it all the harshness of the magnificent environment it strives to master.
The Ladakh region is a high-altitude cold desert. Yet it holds a fauna that is, on the whole, fairly present for such a harsh environment. Great Bharals (blue sheep), ibex and marmots are what allow the snow leopard to survive here. But wolves, foxes and wild dogs favour the same prey, and so share this same territory.

Day by day

Small international group expedition

The Ulley Valley
Following the Indus River, you will reach 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, you will head north, on a road leading to Likir, one of Ladakh’s renowned Buddhist monasteries. You are already in snow leopard territory. Here, the landscape opens up further still, until you turn onto a dirt track that winds through a narrow valley alongside a stream called the Ulley Chhu.
Smaller valleys intersect here, and the guides keep their eyes fixed on the hillsides and the horizon, scanning for a silhouette…

Your snow leopard expedition begins!

Ambiance du Ladhak, Inde © andBeyond - Nick Garbutt

Vallée de Ulley

Le paysage spectaculaire de la vallée d'Ulley abrite de nombreuses espèces fauniques de l'Himalaya, notamment l'emblématique léopard des neiges.
Situé au nord de l'Indus à la tête de la vallée d'Ulley Chhu, le petit village d'Ulley, dans le West Ladakh, s'élève à près de 4 000 mètres d'altitude. Le village et la région environnante d’Ulley Valley n’ont été développés que récemment pour l'observation des léopards des neiges.
Parmi les autres animaux sauvages de l'Himalaya, citons le bouquetin de Sibérie (asiatique), l'ural (mouton sauvage indigène aux longues pattes et les cornes relativement petites), le renard de l'Himalaya et le loup. Parmi les oiseaux les plus remarquables, on peut citer la perdrix chukor et tibétaine, le lammergeier, le chough à bec rouge, ainsi que des vautours barbus et des griffons de l’Himalaya.