Search for Snow Leopards with Valerie Parkinson

This is my second time to Ladakh for snow leopard spotting and both times have been incredible. The landscape, people and wildlife are incredible and matched by the dedication of Valerie and her team to ensure you enjoy your time here and have the best wildlife spotting opportunities. It can get cold and you should pay careful attention to the trip notes, bring plenty of layers and be prepared to trek and work for your sightings, but those sightings are the stuff of magic. The homestay and festival visit are a great extra to the wildlife too, giving you an insight into local life and culture. Lastly the food provided by the local team is excellent and plentiful, with Johnny the chef's culinary delights being worth the trip evenif you didn't have the wildlife.

An amazing time spent in Ladakh amongst stunning scenery and the local people. We were incredibly lucky to see 6 snow leopards in total thanks to the incredible skills of the spotters. The time spent in Delhi and Leh made an interesting contrast to the mountain wilderness.

Winter trip in Ladakh to search for snow leopards. Amazing scenery , saw snow leoaprds on 3 consecutive days , also other wildlife. Tough going on occasions and lots of concentration required walking on frozen rivers, snowy icy paths or loose shale .

With the pandemic, I had to wait 4 years to go on this adventure. My expectations had a long time to build up and yet they were all exceeded. This trip combines incredible cold mountain desert terrain in the heart of the Himalayas with unique wildlife and crossroads of many cultures. Thanks to the hard work of the spotters who go out at 6 am every morning, a cook (Johnny) who kept our bellies full and a truly inspiring leader (Val), we saw 6 snow leopards, 2 wolves, 1 fox, countless mountain goats, golden eagles and so on. Combined with the amazing frozen landscape and culture, this makes for a truly unique experience and long lasting memories. Thanks to the whole team for something really special.

Watching snow leopards on a TV in the comfort of your living room may get you close but you cannot feel the environment. By simply being there you can start to feel, appreciate and understand the very essence of the environment they live in and the remarkable way the local population and wildlife interact. 'in Search of the Snow Leopards' is the title of the trip but it is also a trip in search of many things. If ever there was one journey where the multifaceted aspects of geography came together - this is it. The sightings of the snow leopards being the pinnacle.