Six specially designed vehicles will initially operate in Rumbak, Shang and Uley, areas known for snow leopard sightings. Trained local drivers and wildlife guides will accompany visitors, with routes planned for other wildlife-rich areas across Ladakh.
BY PC Bureau
October 7: India’s first high-altitude snow leopard wildlife safari was launched in Leh on September 7, with Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena flagging off six vehicles for the Ladakh Snow Leopard Safari.
The safari is being operated by the Snow Leopard and High-Altitude Nature Conservation (SHAN) Society in partnership with the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, UT Ladakh. The administration had announced the initiative on August 5 and put it into operation within about two months.
The first safari routes will cover Rumbak, Shang and Uley, areas known for frequent snow leopard sightings. Visitors will travel in specially designed open-back vehicles accompanied by trained local drivers and wildlife guides, offering guided access to the region’s flora and fauna.
Plans are also being developed for routes across Hemis National Park, Changthang and the Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary, as well as Nubra, Zanskar, Sham, Kargil and Drass.
The initiative is aimed not simply at promoting wildlife tourism but at bringing visitor movement under tighter regulation, curbing illegal off-roading and reducing disturbance to fragile habitats. The administration has also emphasised community participation, with local residents being positioned as partners in conservation and direct beneficiaries of tourism.
Saxena said the objective was responsible, regulated wildlife tourism rather than a race to increase tourist numbers. Wildlife, he said, should not be protected at the cost of people, just as development should not come at the cost of wildlife.
He cited examples of the model envisaged: a local guide earning from a snow leopard sighting, a woman generating income through conservation-linked handicrafts and a village benefiting economically from protecting its wetlands.
Ladakh is home to an estimated 477 snow leopards, out of a national population of around 718, according to figures cited by the administration. The region also supports more than 38 mammal species, over 340 bird species and about 1,800 species of vascular plants.
The administration said regulated visitor numbers, designated routes and trained local personnel would help reduce pressure on the ecosystem while creating employment and income for local communities. Visitors would be welcome, it said, but activities damaging Ladakh’s fragile ecology would face action.
The safari was launched during Wildlife Week 2026 at Choglamsar Protected Forest in Leh under the theme “Connecting Habitats, Thriving Wildlife”.
The administration also announced a series of conservation and livelihood initiatives.
Twenty local youths are being trained in bird identification, birdwatching and spotting and will receive binoculars. Bird-watching hides are planned at major hotspots, with the programme expected to create opportunities for wildlife guides, bird guides, nature interpreters and eco-tourism entrepreneurs.
A Wild Animal Felting Programme involving 50 women from Turtuk, Photoksar, Sangrah, Chushul and Shargole was highlighted as another effort to link traditional skills and local wool with conservation-based livelihoods. Saxena called for greater attention to design, branding, market access and e-commerce to expand these women-led enterprises.
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Cheques were also handed to the Chief Education Officers of Leh and Kargil for 50 schools, supporting conservation education through Eco Clubs backed by SHAN Society. Certificates were presented to winners of poster-painting, quiz, wildlife and nature-conservation reel-making and logo-design competitions.
An AI-based Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Device, developed by the Wildlife Division, Kargil, in collaboration with the University of Ladakh’s Kargil Campus, was inaugurated. A brochure detailing wildlife tourism packages offered by SHAN Society was also released, while the second edition of the Ladakh Black-necked Crane Festival was announced.
Saxena called for a broader shift towards high-value, low-impact and knowledge-based tourism in Ladakh, with carrying capacity, visitor numbers, wildlife disturbance, waste and plastic pollution kept under strict regulation.
The underlying message was clear: tourism must adapt to the ecosystem rather than the ecosystem to tourism. The administration argues that connected habitats support wildlife, thriving wildlife can support local communities, and communities that benefit from conservation have a stronger incentive to protect it.
For Ladakh, the challenge will now be to ensure that the safari succeeds without turning the snow leopard’s habitat into another mass-tourism destination.
