Snowleopards Ladakh
Ladakh in early march is a rather chilling experience if you are not accostumed to the temperatures.
This Ibisbill feels absolutely at home in these arctic conditions and stalks through the sidewater of the Indus River in search of food.
We fork off from the Shan valley and enter the Hemis National Park.
Growing vegetables in winter at 3’800 m without any heating thanks to very simple and ingenious greenhouse technology. What an astonishing experience!
Golden Eagles are circling and playing with their prey by dropping and recatching it while the majestic Bleu Sheep give us a performance of their climbing abilities.
After the mandatory two days of altitude aclimiatization we arrive at the Ulley Snowleopard Lodge and as by appointment we get to see the elusive and rare Snowlopard through a drizzle of fresh snow. They are a highly endangered species with a population of about 5’800 at the last counting. Thanks to the efforts by our guide Gulzar and his friends the numbers started to rise again as they found a way to help the locals to protect their livestock. The developing Snowlepard-tourism brings income to the remote area that is the habitat of these shy cats. The sheperds now earn money as spotters putting to use the skills they have developed earlier as hunters.
Himalayan Ibex roam the mountainsides. They are among the prey of the Snowleopard but due to their size they are a formidable adversary for them and not easy to catch.
On the flight out of Leh to Delhi we gawk at the fantastic and rugged landscape of Zanskar and the western Indian Himalaya. Nun (king) and Kun (queen) set their mark. With an altitude of more than 7’000m they stand out quite noticably.
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