Day 01: Arrival Day.

Today is the rest and acclimatization day. One needs to get used to in the thin air and sub-zero temperature of high Himalaya. Later half of noon we will pay a visit to Leh Palace and Shanti Stupa.

Day 02: Acclimatization Day

Today will be another acclimatization day. We will spend the 1st half of the day on birdwatching nearby Indus river. In case your itinerary match a date with the festival, we can enjoy photographing the colorful culture of Buddhist Ladakh.
Tracking Snow Leopard & other wildlife – 06 to 12 days:
Based on time available in your itinerary we will move to one or 2 destinations inside Hemis National Park for tracking snow leopard. The destinations are majorly villages inside the national park, within a distance of 60-80 km from Leh. Stok, Husing; Rumbak Valley; Ulley; Likir; Yangthang; Hemis Shukpachan and Phyang are the hot spots. We will stay in village homestay or will set up camp based on the availability of accommodation and team size. 6-12 days are good time work on the spot. On daily bases, multiple spotter /guide will help you to spot wildlife using telescopes.
Departure Day:
Say goodbye to Leh. Start for your next destination.

Area and Topography:

Hemis National Park (or Hemis High Altitude National Park) is a high altitude national park in the eastern Ladakh region of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. World famous for being the best place to see the snow leopard in the wild, it is believed to have the highest density of snow leopards of any protected area in the world.The park is bounded on the north by the banks of the Indus River, and includes the catchments of Markha, Sang Sumdah and Rumbak, and parts of the Zanskar Range.The park lies within the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion, and contains pine forests, alpine shrublands and meadows, and alpine tundra.The park was founded in 1981 by protecting the Rumbak and Markha catchments, an area of about 600 km2 (230 sq mi). It grew in 1990 to 4,400 km2 (1,700 sq mi) and is the largest national park in South Asia.

Fauna:
The park is home to a viable breeding population of about 200 snow leopards, especially in the Rumbak catchment area. The prey base for the apex predator in the Central Asian Highlands is primarily supported in Hemis by Argali (Great Tibetan Sheep), Bharal (Blue Sheep), Shapu (Ladakhi Urial), and livestock. A small population of the Asiatic Ibex, is also present in Hemis. Hemis is the only refuge in India containing the Urial or Shapu.
The Pallas’ cat, Tibetan wolf, the Eurasian brown bear (endangered in India), and the red fox are also present in Hemis.Small mammals include the Himalayan marmot, mountain weasel, and the Himalayan Hare.
The park is a good place to study Himalayan and Trans-Himalayan birds of prey. Among birds of prey noted here are the golden eagle, the lammergeier or bearded vulture, and Himalayan griffon vulture.
The Rumbak Valley offers good opportunities for birdwatching, including several Tibetan species not common in other parts of India. Birds present here include brown accentor, robin accentor, Tickell’s leaf warbler, streaked rosefinch, black-winged Snowfinch, chukar, Blyth’s swift, red-billed chough, Himalayan snowcock, and the Fire-fronted serin.
16 mammal species and 73 bird species have been recorded in the park so far.

Flora:
This region is in the rain shadow of the Himalayas and does not receive much precipitation. Hence, dry forests of juniper, Populus – Salix forests, subalpine dry birch – fir are present at lower altitudes. You will find alpine and steppe trees predominantly at Hemis High National Park. These trees and shrubs are spread across the valley bottoms. Since the upper mountain slopes are moist, this area is characterized by alpine vegetation including: Anemone, Gentiana, Thallctrwn, Lloydia, Veronica, Delphinum, Care.x and Kobresia. The other parts of the park support steppe vegetation which is dominated by Caragana, Artemisia, Stachys, and Ephedra, present along the lower river courses. A study conducted by CP Kala reports 15 rare and endangered medicinal plants growing in the Hemis National Park, which include Acantholimon lycopodiodes, Arnebia euchroma, Artimisia maritima, Bergenia stracheyi, Ephedra gerardiana, Ferula jaeschkeana, and Hyoscyamus niger.