Snow Leopard Trek

Our snow leopard trek is a unique journey in quest of one of the most elusive and iconic of the Big Cats. Guided by experts and contributing directly to the Snow Leopard Conservancy, this exclusive trek gives one a unique insight into the ecology of these exquisite and beautiful creatures in the high Himalayas.

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Snow Leopards are rarely seen, but this trek is not a random one. Although their low numbers and reclusive nature, coupled with the inhospitable nature of their habitat can make the possibility of actually finding a snow leopard the most forlorn of forlorn hopes, our treks narrow the chances considerably. The treks take place at the end of the winter or early spring when the snow is at it’s deepest. The Snow Leopard is tied to its prey, and in vast and inhospitable country the prey is concentrated in the relatively few hospitable areas. By this time of year forage is scarce and the animals descend to the valley floors in search of graze and open ground. This narrows and focuses the search. Our treks concentrate on one such area in the Hemis National Park in Ladakh, south of the River Indus. This is an area that has been the location for snow leopard research and filming in the past. The bonus, and for many the real reward, is the exploration of the natural and human landscape of snow leopard country. The mountains are rugged but indescribably beautiful, as streams and rivers that bring the area to vivid life water the valleys that seam this barren but colourful vastness.

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The snow leopard does not inhabit this mountain fastness alone. It sits atop a complex eco-system and shares it’s habitat with a number of other fascinating creatures like Wolf, wild dog, Blue Sheep, Urial and Himalayan marmots while the skies are patrolled by such charismatic species like the golden eagle and bearded vultures.

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This is one of our most outstanding and inspirational journeys, as you trek in one of the most beautiful regions of the Himalayas and meet and interact the fiendly people who inhabit this harsh mountain area.

Himalayan Holidays – Ladakh – I’ve been talking about Himalayas Holidays on my previous posts – but mainly about the Eastern Himalayas. It’s easy to forget when talking about this or that peak that this range of mountains stretches for over 1500 miles from Afghanistan to the Burmese border. The terrain varies and nothing could be more different to the lush extravagance of the Eastern stretch of these mountains than the arid remoteness of Ladakh – the land of passes, Little Tibet – where the borders of three contending powers – India, China and Pakistan – collide in a wilderness of glaciers and forbidding peaks. Having grown up in the Garhwal Himalaya – source of the Ganges – a forested, bountiful and gentler (relatively) stretch of mountain country, I was at first unsettled and then utterly seduced by the sere, austere grandeur of these arid heights. Some descriptions thoughtlessly label it a ‘moonscape’. I find that ridiculous – for this is a landscape rich in colour and life. As you trudge up an endless valley the skies – a deep, impossible blue – are patrolled by Golden Eagles and bearded vultures. High on the slopes you may spot ibex or blue sheep and as you camp at night it is prudent to keep the packhorses tethered for wolves sing to the Moon.

Round a corner and the drab hues of sand and stone are startlingly counterpoised by the vivid green of a field of young barley tended by a smiling family whose gentle good humour belies their stone-hard physicality. Villages climb away into the hill-sides, white-washed and red-trimmed mud houses picturesquely framed by apricot and willow. If you are lucky – as many of our guests are – you will be invited by the lady of the house into her vast kitchen and there, amidst gleaming copper and brass, be invited to partake of cool Chhang or rice beer or hot butter tea – more a nourishing soup than the genteel beverage of England.

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Ladakh is a land of pastel hues and flaming sunsets. Here you still find the old untouched Buddhism of Tibet. Ancient monasteries soar, tier upon tier, up the mountainside and an age-old way of life is sustained by the piety of a free and unconstrained people. The Indus, rising in high Tibet, flows through Ladakh nourishing the central valley where Leh, the capital, is situated. This is a fascinating land by any measure – landscape, wildlife, history, culture, religion, geo-politics. If you’ve watched the BBC snow leopard documentaries filmed by Hugh Miles – they were shot here using the same groups of researchers who support our snow leopard treks. The money from our trips going directly into the villages – an incentive to protect snow leopards rather than to kill them. When I first went to Ladakah in 1978 this was still a frontier territory. Now you can choose your level of comfort – from the Shakti properties which partner with Ladakhi families to convert homes into luxury home-stays to more basic but authentic Ladakhi-owned properties. But where you stay is inconsequential when compared with what you see.

Walking in the Himalayas has to be one of the most perfect antidotes to frantic modern living. Our Himalayan holidays include long fairly arduous but exhilarating treks in high country but also a terrific range of relaxed walking holidays at somewhat lower altitudes that enjoy panoramic views of the high ranges while simultaneously providing fascinating glimpses into the lives and culture of the mountain people. Some of our Himalayan walking holidays use charming village homes that have been simply but tastefully adapted to the needs of western travellers. We have also recently added a couple of lovely, gentle treks in the lower (relatively speaking) hills of Himachal Pradesh that end up in Shimla or begin in Shimla. The classic Himalayan trek or walking holiday was the expedition style adventure where you went off into the high mountains with a large train of pack horses or porters, completely self-contained except for water. This remains the preferred option in high country and for longer treks. The independence and flexibility that this allows is particularly in keeping with that quest for freedom that underlies the impulse to foray into mountains away from the humdrum bonds of domesticity that anchor our everyday lives.

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In recent years there has been an exciting development that has added to the possibilities of Indian luxury holidays in Himalayas. This is the growth of beautifully located historic homes that are being converted to homestays in the most magnificent locations – many of which are now either within or at the edge of protected wildlife sanctuaries.

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There is nothing more relaxing, more fun than to have a comfortable base from which to head out for gentle or vigorous walks as the mood takes one without the compulsions of completing a set day’s march to the next camp. And if the weather turns bad – as mountain weather can – the option to retreat to a warm fire with a good book and, glass to hand, smugly contemplate the prospects of nothing more rigorous than an excellent meal while the weather blows itself to exhaustion outside. Our Himalayan walking holidays encompass the entire gamut of winter treks in Ladakh searching for snow leopards to relaxed walking trips from a comfortable base.

Trekking Nepal- I recently received a letter from a friend from my Nepal days in which he swears that the mountains have become higher – well, they are supposed to be growing at about 2 cms. a year – and that “some b……has gone and made them steeper too!” He does grumpily concede that it may have something to do with the fact that he is now a ‘senior’ – an ill-defined term that has nothing to do with time spent on earth but how well your knees perform going downhill. Of course, the joy of Nepal is that you can walk through jungled plains, or gentle Middle Himalayas or assault an 8000 meter peak. It’s all there. Best to get out there sooner rather than later though, for progress – as defined by the encroaching reach of roads, traffic and all that goes with it – is coming to the mountains and whatever the benefits to the locals, it does bring the sort of change that one is trying to get away from in the first place.

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Being an ex-Tiger Tops man I am admittedly biased but I think by any measure the Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge has to be one of the best of its kind anywhere in the world. It has just the right balance of local style, architecture and materials, simplicity, elegance and comfort that makes you feel at home but special. And what a location – a ridge 1500 feet above the Pokhara Valley with a skyline crowded with Himalayan giants – the entire Annapurna massif, Machha Puchhare (Fishtail) – a chiselled stone age dagger piercing the heavens – Peak 29, Manaslu.  The walking from here with the spectacular back-drop is fantastic. Villages and terraced fields crowd the hillside and a path runs east dropping after several miles to the valley floor. One bright December morning a small group of us headed out with an excellent young naturalist guide – a local kid trained by Tiger Mountain. Every breath was a celebration of life. An ancient Tata bus wheezed up a dirt road, grinding past a bright coca-cola emblazoned parasol set sharp against the elegant triangle of Fishtail. As the sun climbed the thermals brought out the raptors – Himalayan griffons, steppe eagles, Greater spotted eagle, Booted eagle and – as we crawled up a short but almost vertical stepped section – a huge bearded vulture dropped down on rocking wings to investigate eliciting the classic remark from Tim H (all of 80 then), “Clearly our speed up the hill suggests that we are dead.”

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Returning to the lodge in the late afternoon, I sat on the verandah cup of tea in hand watching the sunlight change from flat-and-bright to slanting gold. The little wisps of afternoon condensation cleared and as the Sun slipped below the horizon, the high peaks flared pink and vermilion in the alpenglow. So beautiful that even the memory is a pleasurable ache.

Holiday in Eastern Himalayas – in the previous piece I talked a bit about Glenburn and forgot to mention the fact that it is still very much a working tea garden and the manager of that side of things is a chap called Sanjay Sharma. If you like fishing, snakes, walking, birding or just having a bit of a yak about all things wild and outdoorsy – Sanjay is your man. Terrific company – backed up by the quiet charm and efficiency of the manager of the hotel side of Glenburn – Nina. Nina is a retired planter’s wife and creates such a warm and hospitable atmosphere that a stay at Glenburn is like being indulged in the home of well-off friends. And there’s so much to do here – visits to Darjeeling, fishing and rafting on the Rangeet river which flows into the mighty Teestha not too far away; the most extravagant picnics at the little lodge by the river where you could even spend a night; walks – but be warned – this is the Eastern Himalayas – some of the steepest country on earth. Walking downhill is bad enough but be careful what you commit yourself to on the return! Oh – and did I mention that you have the most fabulous views of Kangchenjunga? And because the Eastern Himalayas are not always clear, the staff have a lovely habit – on a clear morning – of waking you at dawn so you can feast on the magnificent view – cup of Darjeeling in hand.

Is it possible to contemplate holidays in eastern Himalayas – of any description -  without Darjeeling intruding somewhere? In 1896 Mark Twain boarded the ‘Toy Train’ at Siliguri and was so entranced by the 40 mile, 8-hour journey to Darjeeling that he immediately declared it as “the most enjoyable day I have spent on the Earth.” And if you have seen BBC 4’s wonderful series on Indian Hill Trains with one of the episodes devoted to the Darjeeling hill train or Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (in its present avatar of world heritage monument), you’ll understand just why. It isn’t just the stupendous scenery as the track jacknifes its way up some of the most precipitous mountains on Earth; it isn’t even the richness of trees and plants and flowers and shrubs that that you encounter or even the velvety lushness of the endless tea that you pass through beyond Kurseong. No – it’s the fact that this little train and its tiny tracks are so deeply woven into the human landscape of the Darjeeling hills, shouldering it’s way through traffic jams and pedestrians and roadside markets and quaint little stations, monasteries and temples, often at no more than a slow walking pace – a human pace. And if you are incredibly lucky and find a completely clear day, you could even find yourself steaming past the massive rearing bulk of Kangchenjunga seemingly almost within touching distance. That is magic.

Eastern Himalayas

But don’t harbour too many illusions about Darjeeling. Yes, some of the old buildings of the Raj remain but for the most part the town has surrendered to the ramshackle decrepitude and general nondescriptness that has infected so many of the old hill stations. Not so the surrounding countryside, however. A mere hour and a half from Darjeeling and 3000 feet lower will bring you to Glenburn.

Glenburn

Glenburn is the name of a tea plantation and in the name one can detect the plaintive yearning of a Brit far from home – a yearning quickly doused by the cold realities of ‘home’ when compared with the indulgences of India during the Raj – especially if you were a Sahib. Well – think of all the indulgences, service, comfort, scenery, outdoor recreation, indoor décor and style, cuisine and little un-thought of luxuries that your imagination might conjure up – then multiply by two and you have Glenburn. A fabulous creation of Husna-Tara Prakash, the wife of the owner of Glenburn, who has converted the old managers bungalow and added another new wing built in faithful imitation of the old planter’s style and furnished them with such perfect taste and understated but natural style that the word ‘boutique’ intrudes as a crass interloper. I have one rule – if any client gets anywhere near the eastern Himalayas, they have to end up at Glenburn – no matter how many raging mountain torrents they have to ford, cliff-edge mule-tracks to negotiate, yak trains they have to follow – Glenburn is a must. Almost my most favourite place in these hills. Watch this space…