The snow leopard is the most beautiful of the big cats and one of the most mythical animals in Asia. It is high on the list of many animal lovers and animal photographers and is also a very tough animal to spot! Luckily, we at Tours To Pakistan run an excellent programme to see snow leopards in Pakistan and we offer a seven day tour to track snow leopards with the leading snow leopard experts in Pakistan and Afghanistan. You’ll be spending a full week from the morning until the evening with our team lead by Mr. Ali who has over 4 decades of experience researching snow leopards.

During the period of May to October we’ll be following the leopards down the valleys of Boibar and Shahkatar. We will go by 4 x 4 and during our stay we will be camping and bringing a cook with us who will cook our daily meals while we are out looking for marks and tracks. While we’re out looking for snow leopards, we’ll also be looking for brown bears, wolves, ibex, fox, and many other animals that we will likely cross during our week.

Seven days is the minimum you need to have a high chance of seeing a snow leopard, although ten days of course is better (extending is possible). We have had people who were lucky to see a snow leopard within the first three days and even on the first day, although there is no guarantee and you need to be mentally prepared you might not see one at all! So, come with a positive mindset, enjoy the beauty of northern Pakistan and the other animals you will see and enjoy camping and connecting to nature. If we happen to see a snow leopard, see it as a beautiful bonus. We have the best people in all of Pakistan and who have the most experience in all of Pakistan and Afghanistan tracking snow leopards, so this is your best bet. It’s not because some countries such as India, Mongolia or Kirgistan have more snow leopards this automatically means the snow leopards tours are more successful. It all depends on how good the guides are in tracking down snow leopards. Because you might have all the luck in the world and be in an area with the highest concentration of snow leopards in the world .. if you don’t have an experienced expert with you, you will not see them.

A part of what you’ll be paying for your snow leopard tour in Pakistan will be going to educational programmes which are run by our team in the neighborhood: at the local community and the local schools to raise awareness and to find solutions on how to work together in preserving snow leopards in Pakistan. So, know that if you choose to work with us, you’ll be contributing to these local projects, contrary to many other tours such as India where 100 percent of the money flows into the pocket of the travel agency. We make a healthy contribution per customer to this project as we believe that responsible tourism is an important key to conservation. Below are some pictures of our projects.

8-day itinerary:

Day 1: Pick-up from Karimabad in the morning and drive to the Valley. Followed by afternoon snow leopard spotting.
Day 2 – 7: Six full days of snow leopard tracking from the morning until the evening with camping.
Day 8: Transfer back to Karimabad

There are flights from Islamabad to Karimabad, but you can also drive for one and a half days as they are often canceled. Please, let us know if you’d like us to arrange transport in between.

Includes:
– Camping with local meals.
– Daily park fees
– Two licensed professional snow leopard trackers who speak English who will be with you every day and cooking staff
– Transport in a 4×4 during your stay
– A contribution to the educational programmes in the region to raise awareness about snow leopards and work around prevention.
– Transport to and from Karimabad

Price:
4.799 USD for one single person.
3.299 USD per person for two persons sharing
2.599 USD per person for three persons sharing

Our wildlife experts:

Mr Ali is THE snow leopard authority of Pakistan and has been actively researching and tracking snow leopards in Pakistan for over four decades. He lives in Sost which is close to the home of snow leopards and is out tracking snow leopards every day together with his son Abul. Together they have helped numerous researchers, wildlife photographers and wildlife enthusiasts successfully finding snow leopards, but also other animals such as wolves, foxes, ibex, urials, markhors, etc. From 2007 to 2015 he worked with the WCS in conservation and he also worked as conservator in the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan.

Abul is 24 and from Sost near Khunjerab National Park. As he’s the son of Ali he has been in contact with wildlife his whole life. He has been actively tracking and learning the trade from his father since 2018 and is already a skilled spotter with a lot of knowledge on snow leopards and other wildlife of Pakistan.