India Just Launched Its First Ever High-Altitude Snow Leopard Safari

India has a new way for visitors to search for one of the hardest animals in the world to spot. Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena flagged off six vehicles for the new Ladakh Snow Leopard Safari on October 7 at Choglamsar Protected Forest in Leh.

The open-back safari vehicles will travel through areas where snow leopards are known to live, with trained local drivers and wildlife guides along for the trips. The first routes are around Rumbak, Shang and Uley, according to the Ladakh government.

There is a good reason Ladakh was picked for the program. India’s first nationwide snow leopard population assessment estimated that 477 of the country’s 718 snow leopards live in Ladakh.

The government approved the safari project in August and wanted it running before the winter snow leopard season. At that point, officials said the idea was to offer guided Jeep safaris similar to wildlife safaris already available in other parts of India.

The First Six Vehicles Are on the Road

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The first six safari vehicles will operate around Rumbak, Shang and Uley. The Snow Leopard and High-Altitude Nature Conservation Society, or SHAN, is working with Ladakh’s Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment on the program.

The government is already looking at other places where the safaris could eventually operate. Those include Hemis National Park, Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary, Nubra, Zanskar, Sham, Kargil and Drass.

There are still some details travelers will have to wait for. The government’s launch announcement did not give a safari price or instructions for making a reservation, although it said SHAN has prepared a brochure with wildlife tourism packages.

The Safari Has Strict Rules for a Reason

Ladakh has had problems with illegal off-roading and people driving into wildlife habitat. The government said the new safari will use approved routes, trained guides and regulated visitor numbers.

Local residents are being brought into the program as drivers, guides and nature interpreters. When the safari was approved in August, the government said giving local communities jobs connected to wildlife tourism was part of the plan.

Snow Leopards Aren’t the Only Wildlife Here

Ladakh’s government says the region has more than 38 mammal species, over 340 bird species and around 1,800 species of vascular plants. Its August safari plan included both snow leopard routes and birdwatching areas.

Twenty local young people are now being trained in bird identification, birdwatching and wildlife spotting, and the government plans to provide them with binoculars. Birdwatching hides are also being developed at major wildlife hotspots as part of the same program.