29 Jun 2022
Tags: snow leopard, Snow Leopard Journey, snow leopards, the mountain company, Himalaya, Himalayas, Karakoram, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, India, Himalaya Trekking, Trekking, nepal trekking, Bhutan Treks, Responsible Travel, Sustainable Travel, Dolpo, The Himalayas, Trekking In Nepal, Nepal holidays, Tours to Nepal, Dolpo Pa, Dhaulagiri Circuit, Dhaulagiri, everest, Mount Everest, Everest Base Camp, Everest Region, everest base camp trek, Kathmandu, Kathmandu nepal, wildlife travel, Great Himalayan Trail, Great Himalaya Trail
Devon, UK: our recent Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trekking group in Nepal was very fortunate to see a snow leopard for over 20 minutes --->> view an incredible video uploaded by one of our trekkers to his YouTube channel.
The snow leopard is an elusive cat, known as the mountain ghost, and is very rarely seen in the wild. Having such a long sighting is exceptional as normally a snow leopard will quickly move away from a human presence.
Our international leader, Jason Day, was the first to spot the cat from one of our camps during the trek. As you can see from the YouTube video, the snow leopard was only 100m away from our tents and then moved away to a nearby cliff. This snow leopard has a light brown coat and blends in very well with the landscape. Well done to Jason for spotting the snow leopard. We are delighted that our trekkers had such an exceptional wildlife experience.
Many of our Himalayan treks pass through snow leopard territory. Yet, in practice, it is very unlikely that you will see one. That being said, we have had fleeting glimpses over the years. Our groups have seen snow leopards on the Lunana Snowman trek in Bhutan, Kanchenjunga to Makalu GHT trek in Nepal, and on Ladakh Sky Trail GHT trek in India. Other groups have seen pugmarks and scat on the Everest High Passes trek in Nepal and K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La trek in Pakistan.
Our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trip is 30 days from arrival in Kathmandu and includes 25 trekking days. The itinerary crosses a number of high passes with the most challenging called the Kang La at an altitude of 5,380m. This pass is from Phoksundo Lake to Shey Gompa where we enter the Upper Dolpo region. The Himalayan journey finishes at the town of Jomsom on the Annapurna Circuit in the Kali Gandaki valley.
Upper Dolpo is a remote region of Nepal along the border with Tibet and located in the Shey Phoksundo National Park. It is inhabited by the Dolpo-pa people and is one of the last enclaves of pure Tibetan culture. There are also Bönpo (shamanistic pre-Buddhist) monasteries including the important Shey Gompa. Pilgrims come to walk a religious circuit known as a kora around the nearby Crystal Mountain.
David Snelgrove wrote about the Dolpa region in his book "Himalayan Pilgrimmage". More recently Peter Matthiessen wrote "The Snow Leopard". Eric Valli filmed his superb movie “Himalaya” in Upper Dolpo.
Since 2010, The Mountain Company has organised five successful treks to the Upper Dolpo region in mid-west Nepal. Our next Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trek is from 6th May 2023 to 4th June 2023.
Trek on!
- ENDS -
Media: Roland Hunter | Managing Director | 01647 433880 | roland@themountaincompany.co.uk
About The Mountain Company
The Mountain Company is an award-winning team of holiday experts to the Himalayas and Karakoram. We organise treks, expeditions, and tours in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, and India (Ladakh and Sikkim). Our passion is for exploring very remote regions including sections of The Great Himalaya Trail.
Winners of AITO's Tour Operator of the Year in both 2018 (Gold) and 2015 (Bronze). We are members of AITO, ABTOT and hold an ATOL license.
We have offices both in the UK and in Nepal so during peak season we offer unique on-the-ground support from Kathmandu.
Founded in 2004 and still managed today by Roland Hunter FRGS. Roland has led groups on most of our trips throughout the Himalayas and the Karakoram. He has also summited Mount Everest (8,848m) and Mount Makalu (8,463m).
Our website is at https://www.themountaincompany.co.uk/
