Snow Leopard
- Duration: 12 Nights / 13 Days
Overview
We met Mr. Vince Martin, then President of Wild Foundation somewhere in 1996 in Delhi. He had plans to adopt Spiti which couldn’t go successful that time but his inspiration and influence created interest to understand wild of this region. In 1998, we found a pair of Snow Leopard cubs in Jispa and later it starting appearing in Spiti valley.
Snow Leopard in Spiti
Visiting Spiti valley in winters is a complete experience in itself. It is all snow covered and there are sheer possibilities that your mobile phones will also stop working. But life goes on surrounded with high mountains, ancient monasteries, spiritual vibes and Snow Leopard.
We reach Shimla and then get into Kinnaur valley with Inner Line Permits (foreigners) and then drive far away to Spiti valley which shares boundaries with Tibet, Lahul, Kullu and Changthang valley in different corners. It is 450 Kms one way and we stay at home stays and guest houses which ensure warm rooms with Bukharis and firewood.
Package Itinerary
-
Day 1Arrive Delhi, our office staff meets and takes you to your hotel.
-
Day 2Delhi to Shimla drive, 350 Kms through Chandigarh and Kalka takes about 8 hours to reach.
Himachal Pradesh
-
Day 3Shimla to Kalpa drive, 225 Kms
We start this morning driving Kufri and Narkanda on Old Hindustan Tibet Road. Situated at an elevation of 2708 Meters, Narkanda offers wonderful slopes for skiing and spectacular views of snow ranges all around. After having tea, we drive down to Rampur which is situated at the banks of River Sutlej and it was once the capital of the Princely State of Bushare. Further we drive to Kalpa which is a beautiful and main village of Kinnaur. Across the river faces the majestic mountains of the Kinner Kailash range. Kalpa is surrounded by picturesque villages and was once the favorite haunt of Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor General of India.
-
Day 4Kalpa to Tabo drive, 160 Kms, spend good time in the monastery called Ajanta of Himalaya
Spiti - The middle land
-
Day 5Tabo to Kaza (if roads are open we will take you to Dankhar or Lalung monasteries) , 45 Kms.
-
Day 6Visit Kibber – the habitat of Snow Leopard, 18 Kms, we stay in a homestay which is cozy with Tibetan fire place
-
Day 7Treks, walks and waiting for Snow Leopard
-
Day 8Treks, walks and waiting for Snow Leopard
-
Day 9Treks, walks and waiting for Snow Leopard
-
Day 10Drive back to Tabo
-
Day 11Drive to Kalpa through Nako village
-
Day 12Kalpa to Shimla drive
-
Day 13Shimla to Delhi drive (We have option of train journey too from Shimla)
• Administrative coordination with local authorities wherever necessary
• Airport transfers on arrival & departure
• All transportation as per the itinerary (4 WD cars)
• Hotels from Delhi to Delhi with breakfast
• Camps with all meals (if included in the itinerary)
• Experienced guide / escorts
• Supporting vehicles wherever necessary
• Any kind of government fees, visa fee
• Air travel
• Insurance
• Personal gears, clothing & tips
• Monument entrances
• Sleeping bags
Insurance – click here to get yourself insured
What can you book on additional cost/ rent?
• Insurance for your expedition.
• Oxygen cylinders and masks
• Solar battery chargers
Payment can be made through cards/ online and wire transfer to our bank.We charge 25% of the total tour cost at the time of booking and rest 45 days prior to your arrival in India.
If cancellation is made before 60 days, full amount will be returned after deduction of applicable taxes and 5% processing charges. If cancellation is made before 45 days, we refund you 50% of your deposit and if the cancellation is made before/during 30 day prior to arrival, the whole payment deposit will forfeit.
No refund, cancellation or compensation will be paid back to the client in case of any reason caused by natural disaster, war, terrorism, weather etc.
Change in the itinerary
If you make any changes in the itinerary after booking of the tour, additional cost will be charged wherever and however necessary. This will imply even the itinerary is changed because of bad weather, cancellation of connecting flights, road blocks or any other natural / man- made situation.
Medical, rescue and evacuation
You must get your insurance done well in advance. In case of any land/ air rescue/ evacuation services provided by us will be charged from you. It may include hotels, transportation, food, doctors, helicopters, porters, hospital service etc. We don’t take any responsibility of your baggage and other belongings.
Your fitness and health
It is your responsibility to undertake our adventure services after examining your fitness at required level.
Your details are highly secure with us
We don’t share your contact details with anyone so whenever you communicate with us through query forms or while making online payments, rest assured about your data security.
Liability form
Before leaving for the adventure, we require your consent and signature on duly filled liability and responsibility form which declares that you book the adventure for your own leisure and experience and take all responsibility of your health and your belongings.
Our hotels
We provide 4/5 star hotels in Delhi and 3 star hotels in Bagdogra, Darjeeling, Ziro, Rishikesh, Nainital, Manali and Leh. The hotels in Uttarkashi, Almora, Gangotri, Zanskar, Kargil and other places will be mixture of best available hotels/ guest houses/ home stays. These are the cities and towns on the way to 90% of our journeys.
Our food
The hotels in Delhi will be offered on room+ breakfast basis and hotels in Himalayan cities will be offered on room + breakfast + dinner basis and in remote areas it will include all meals. The camping days will offer all meals. (We provide base camp food for 5- 7 days to the groups on climbing expeditions and all meals at BC to LO and cook + kitchen helper during such expeditions). Our cost includes food for the porters and horse/ mule handling persons too during trekking. Our cooks are trekking for more than 20 years with our groups and they are expert in serving you delicious and nutritious food during trekking. We have made certain experiences with Himalayan Herbs which keep the body warm at high altitude and the cooks offer you variety of cuisine, cakes and breads. If you have any special choice of food, you are welcome to send the list before the tour. If you need gluten free diet or any special requirement, kindly convey well in time.
Our transportation
We use different kind of transportation in different cities/ terrain starting from large and small AC coaches to Tempo Travelers, Toyota Innova cars and other 4WD cars. We offer powerful support vehicles for your luggage and our camping gears wherever necessary.
Cargo Management
We have good experience of handling Cargo in India if you are planning to send equipment and food in case of big groups and expeditions from your country.
Porters / ponies/ horses
Our porters are trained in carrying trekking/ expedition material. Our High Altitude porters are experienced in climbing up with the teams and fix ropes. Low Altitude Porters carry your equipment and food till Base Camp. Every Low Altitude Porter group is led by a captain to avoid any kind of inconvenience during the trekking period. Horse- men are also experienced in the mountains and when there were no emails and phones in our region, they never forgot to reach to the loading points conveyed to them one year ago by the departing group tour leader.
Equipment checklist
Kindly click here to get whole list, you can consult your climbing instructors in your country and email us to finalize the list of equipment according to your expedition.
Guides and escorts
Our escorts and guides are passionate and trained. Trekking guides and exploratory trip escorts understand your requirements and at same time climbing guides and mountain Sherpas add all possible scope of success in your expeditions. Our climbing guides remain occupy in Indian peaks and Nepalese peaks equally so if you are not planning an alpine style expedition, it is always advisable to book you guide well in time.
Community support
We enjoy a great community back up and support in entire Himalayan region because we belong to these mountains and have best references everywhere. This community support works a lot in any last minute requirement, natural hazards or passing communication.