Travel style
Wildlife and birds
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: KennyOMG · 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.
We use local trackers and naturalists, and say plainly that sightings are never guaranteed.
Trips
Wildlife and birds trips
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Comfort
Kashmir in autumn: saffron, chinars and Aru
Private car with driver
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
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Commons
Comfort
Tirthan, Naggar and Manali by private car
Private car with driver
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Saver
Valley of Flowers and Hemkund by bus
UTC and GMOU buses, shared jeeps and walking
Photo: Krishan09 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Kumaon birding: Sattal and Binsar
Private car with driver
Photo: Skalvanov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Kumaon lakes family holiday
Private car with driver
Photo: Travelling Slacker · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Saver
Almora, Binsar and Jageshwar on a budget
Shared taxis and jeeps, with two shared private-cab legs
Photo: Travelling Slacker · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Kasar Devi and Binsar, slow and private
Private car with driver
Photo: Auli Raha (অলি রাহা) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Sittong, Takdah and Kalimpong villages
Private car with driver
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Lava by shared jeep
Shared jeeps, one short reserved car
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Central Bhutan to Bumthang, 12 nights
Private car with driver
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Saver
Bhutan saver with Phobjikha farmhouse, 7 nights
Shared jeep or bus to Jaigaon, then shared vehicle with licensed guide
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Signature
Bhutan by Amankora lodges, 8 nights
Private car with driver
22 places
Where to go
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Aru Valley
Trailhead village for Lidderwat, Kolahoi and Tarsar
Photo: Nadeem Hassan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Dachigam National Park
Home of the hangul, 22 km from Srinagar
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
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Commons
Tirthan Valley and GHNP
Trout river, timber villages and a UNESCO national park
Photo: Pranav perspective · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Key Gompa and Kibber
Spiti's largest gompa and the village where snow leopards winter
Photo: Timothy Gonsalves · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pin Valley and Mudh
A national park of ibex, blue sheep and Nyingma villages
Photo: Alok · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Chopta & Tungnath
Meadows, rhododendron forest and the highest Shiva temple
Photo: Original: Rohit Sharma Derivative work: Unpeti… · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Valley of Flowers & Hemkund
A UNESCO hanging valley that blooms in the monsoon
Photo: Krishan09 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Bhimtal and Sattal
Kumaon's quieter lakes, oak forest and the best birding near Kathgodam
Photo: SudiptoDutta · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Binsar
An oak sanctuary on the Chand kings' summer hill
Photo: Ashish Gupta from Noida, India · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Munsiyari
Panchachuli up close and the winter home of the Johar traders
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Aru to Lidderwat along the stream
A long but steady walk of about 10 km each way leads from Aru village through fir forest and meadow to Lidderwat, where…
Photo: Irfanaru · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Tarsar and Marsar lakes trek from Aru
From Aru, this trek climbs via Lidderwat and Shekwas to Tarsar, a deep blue lake below steep peaks at about 3,800 m, th…
Photo: Oliver139 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Meet the herders' camps above Aru
From June to September, Gujjar and Bakarwal families camp in the meadows above Aru with goats, sheep and horses. A slow…
Photo: Jyoti Chaurasia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Morning wildlife walk in lower Dachigam
Lower Dachigam is a broad, gentle valley floor of forest, orchards and meadow along the Dagwan. A guided morning walk o…
Photo: Tahirshawl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Listening for the hangul rut in autumn
In autumn, hangul stags bugle across the forested slopes of Dachigam during the rut. Hearing their calls at dawn, and w…
Photo: Jyoti Chaurasia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Birding along the Dagwan river
The Dagwan river and the mixed forest of lower Dachigam are good for birds, especially in spring when summer visitors a…
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 …
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Ksuryawanshi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Kibber homestays
Kibber, on a plateau above a deep gorge at about 4,270 m, has a good number of family homestays. In summer they ar…
Photo: This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Mudh homestays, Pin valley
Mudh, at about 3,800 m where the Pin valley road ends, has a cluster of family homestays and small guesthouses. Th…
Photo: Original: Rohit Sharma Derivative work: Unpeti… · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
GMVN Tourist Rest House, Ghangaria
The state tourism corporation's rest house in Ghangaria, the base village for the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sa…
Photo: SudiptoDutta · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Budget
KMVN Tourist Rest House, Binsar
The government rest house inside Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, run by Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, sits high on the rid…
Photo: SudiptoDutta · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Luxury
Mary Budden Estate
A restored 19th-century estate inside Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, named after its last known resident, Mary Budden.…
Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Budget
WBFDC Lava Eco Tourism Centre
Forest cottages run by the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation among tall pines near Lava bazaar, at about …
Hive by hive