Travel style · Ladakh
Wildlife and birds in Ladakh
Snow leopards, red pandas and black-necked cranes
Winter snow leopard trips in Ladakh and Spiti, red pandas in Singalila, cranes in Bhutan's Phobjikha and Arunachal, hornbills in Namdapha and the birding ridges of Kumaon. Timed to the season, with trackers who live there.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon Canon EOS REBEL T4i · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsMountain wildlife is shy and seasonal. Snow leopards come down to lower valleys in February and March, cranes arrive in Phobjikha around late October, and the Kumaon forests are loudest with birds in spring.
Ladakh is a high-altitude desert on the Indus, reached by air to Leh (3,500 m) or by road over Zoji La or the Manali highway. Go June to September for open passes. Rest 48 hours in Leh before you climb higher. A saver trip runs ₹2,000–3,500 a day.
Trips
Wildlife and birds trips in Ladakh
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Signature
Nubra, Pangong and Tso Moriri with a guide
Private SUV with driver and a private naturalist guide
2 places
Where to go
Photo: Bernard Gagnon Canon EOS REBEL T4i · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Hemis
Ladakh's great Drukpa monastery and the snow leopard national park
Photo: John Hill · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tso Moriri
A Ramsar lake at 4,522 m, home of the Changpa herders
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Bernard Gagnon Canon EOS REBEL T4i · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Hemis Monastery courtyard and museum
Ladakh's richest monastery, hidden in a gorge above the Indus. See the courtyard where the festival is danced, the pain…
Photo: Sundeep bhardwaj · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Snow leopard tracking in Hemis National Park
In late winter, snow leopards follow their prey lower into the valleys of Hemis National Park. Guided trips with local …
Photo: Stanzin1945 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Rumbak village walk and homestay night
A short trek into Hemis National Park from the Zingchen road head to Rumbak village, with a night in a family homestay.…
Photo: Steve Hicks · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Korzok monastery and village at 4,522 m
A slow walk through Korzok, the only permanent village on Tso Moriri, up to its monastery of around 400 years, with vie…
Photo: Vinay Goyal, Ludhiana · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Birdwatching on the Tso Moriri wetland
Tso Moriri's marshes are the only Indian breeding ground of the bar-headed goose and a summer stop for black-necked cra…
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Tso Kar salt lake and kiang plains
A detour to Tso Kar, a smaller saline lake with white salt crusts, on the way to or from Tso Moriri. The open plains ar…
Wildlife and birds elsewhere