Ladakh to soon introduce India's first high-altitude wildlife safari

Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena just approved the launch of India's first high-altitude wildlife safari in Ladakh. Managed by the newly established Snow Leopard and High-Altitude Nature (SHAN) Conservation Society, the project introduces structured eco-tourism designed to safeguard the region's delicate mountain ecology while creating sustainable local livelihoods.

Tourist visits will be modelled after safaris in major national parks like Kaziranga and Ranthambore where the Forest Department will operate guided tours using specially designed open-back vehicles driven by trained local drivers and naturalists. Potential routes span Hemis National Park, Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary and biodiversity-rich regions like Nubra, Zanskar, Sham, Kargil and Drass.

Ladakh holds India's largest snow leopard population — housing 477 of the country's estimated 718 individuals. The safari will not only focus on this elusive cat but also aims to provide regulated sightings during peak winter viewing seasons.

Beyond the big cat sightings, local youth are being trained in bird identification, equipped with binoculars and 10 dedicated birdwatching hides are being built across major avian hotspots. Ladakh hosts 38 mammal species, including the Himalayan brown bear, Pallas’s cat, Tibetan wolf, Eurasian lynx, Tibetan wild kiang, ibex and blue sheep (bharal).

The administration directed all agencies to finalize routes, vehicle specifications and guide training before the winter snow-leopard sighting season begins. Local residents will share direct economic benefits through roles as guides, drivers and wildlife souvenir creators, aiming to simultaneously eliminate wildlife disturbance. The official jeep safari framework is intended to replace unguided and unauthorised off-road driving, which has caused soil erosion and habitat disruption in recent years.

Alongside the safari routes, 300 color-coded waste segregation bins will be installed across 40 local villages to prevent littering along eco-tourism corridors and promote a plastic-free initiative. A priority for the SHAN Society is installing predator-proof enclosures across rural Ladakhi villages. This reduces livestock losses to snow leopards and wolves, directly curbing retaliatory killings by local herders.

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