One of our bucket-list wildlife adventures is searching for the elusive snow leopards of India. Our first group returned with amazing sightings of both snow leopards in the Himalayas, and later saw beautiful tigers in Kanha Tiger Reserve. Check out this video and see more stunning photos taken by one of our travelers.
I couldn’t pass up the chance to see snow leopards and tigers in India. My journey with Wilderness Travel alongside 14 adventurous travelers began in Leh, Ladakh, where we were able to acclimate for a couple days.
From Leh, we headed to the Snow Leopard Lodge in Ulley, India at 13,400 feet. While rustic, the lodge and food exceeded my expectations, and the staff was great—genuinely wonderful and caring local people. The trackers were out early every morning searching for leopards in the three surrounding valleys. Over four days, we were rewarded with gorgeous views of the Himalayas, but no sightings of the elusive snow leopard.
In the late evening on one of our last days in Ulley, our guide and trackers spotted Gyamo, a female leopard with her two cubs! We quickly headed down the mountain to get as close a look as possible.
The next day we had an even better experience—our guide and trackers spotted the same three leopards. We watched the cubs playing in the deep snow on the high ridge directly across from the lodge! It was a dream come true!
From the high mountains of Ulley, our journey continued back through Delhi and on south to Kanha Tiger Reserve. The hospitality and food at the Kanha Jungle Lodge was top notch. After several safaris into the reserve, we were rewarded with great sightings of tiger T29, as well as other wildlife.
—Text, videos, and photos by WT adventurer Karen Perry, Snow Leopards and Tigers in India.
