Rumbak Valley in the high altitude Hemis National Park in Ladakh, has plenty of opportunity for you to spot the Elusive Snow Lepard and get enthralling insights into local folklore, as well as learn about their customs and traditions. The very name evokes all that is most wild, mysterious and elusive in nature - for this is an animal that comes cloaked not just in the subtle beauty of its own coat
but also in all the high drama of the harsh and magnificent environment that it dominates. The chances of actually seeing a snow leopard, especially in a relatively short period, are slim indeed. The reclusive nature of the animal, the inhuman scale and vertical topography of the habitat, the relative sparseness of snow leopards on the ground all combine to frustrate the seeker. But the snow leopard does not occupy this environment alone, it sits at the apex of a rich and diverse pyramid and in searching for this master predator you will be exploring its environment and all that live in it in some detail. The diverse and rare assemblage of fauna includes the blue sheep or bharal, the staple of snow leopard diet, ibex, kiang or wild ass, long-tailed and Himalayan marmots, Tibetan hare, the pika or mouse hare, wolf, wild dog and fox. The skies are patrolled by golden eagle, bearded vultures, hobbys and kestrels while on sunny hill-slopes plump Tibetan and Himalayan snow c***s and chukor partridge feed warily.
