Day 02: Leh
Spent the day in and around Leh. Is is wise to avoid exertion we shall only make short walks. You will get our first taste of the colorful and fascinating Tibetan Buddhism on a visit to the small but picturesque Gompa (monastery) of Sankar. At the office of Snow Leopard Conservancy, an NGO. We’ll be briefed on the status and life history of Ladakhi snow leopards. Dinner and overnight at the guesthouse.

Day 03: Leh & Indus Valley
Most of the day we’ll be touring the Indus Valley visiting a number of Buddhist monasteries, while enjoying the wintry Himalayan l¬andscape. Dinner and overnight at the guesthouse.

Day 04 - 13: Snow leopard safari
After breakfast cars will take us to beginning of our trek. Poster will be waiting for us and after arranging our luggage we’ll start off into the mountains, climbing steadily along isolated hamlets.

Ten days we’ll be exploring the high, remote valleys where snow leopards live. We camp most of the time and after two to three days we shift camp to another location, from where we can see the glimpsing of the shan, as the Ladakhi call it.

With trained snow leopard trackers, who will let us know the snow leopards behavior well.

Snow leopards are an endanger species, the last thing we want is to disturb the animals and thereby affect their survival chances. We take utmost caution to prevent this. On our explorations we pass little Ladakhi villages where the picturesque is little frozen Shangrilas with their warm-hearted inhabitants are bound to leave an un-erasable impression on you. To get more tasty of the Ladakhi village life, one should taste solja, salty butter tea. Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, but very functional: it warms you up and gives you energy to burn.

But don’t worry: we’ll have our own cook along. He’ll prepare a tasty mix of Indian and western food that will really be something to look forward to at the end of a long day in the snow.

Day 14: Leh
A full day in Leh to enjoy the comforts of a guesthouse, buy souvenirs or make excursion by jeep or on foot at your own initiative.

Please note: if dates coincide you will be able to visit a Buddhist monastery festival, known for their so-called cham dances. Monks dressed up as demons, gods and mythical figures – notably Guru Rimpoche, the great apostle who spread Mahayana Buddhism through the Himalayas in the eight century. These festivals are typically held in the winter, and though they are purely religious by nature, they are happy, almost village fair-like gatherings.

Dinner and overnight at the guesthouse.

Day 15: Flight Leh – Delhi
After breakfast transfer to the airport to board the flight to Delhi, where the tour ends.

Extension of program
It is very well possible to extend your stay in Ladakh with a number of days, for instance in order to witness one of the colourful monastery festivals that happen in the winter. Also, if you want to do sight seeing in Delhi we can arrange that. Apart from regular car-based sightseeing we can also arrange bicycle tours through Old Delhi, a delightful and safe way to explore the buzzing maze of alleys of this ancient place. Trips further afield, for instance to Jaipur or Agra, site of the famous Taj Mahal, can be arranged as well.

Please contact the JTI office: info@jungletravelsindia.com.