India begins its first high-altitude wildlife safari focused on helping tourists and conservation groups follow snow leopard trails in Ladakh. The initiative is designed around the difficulty of spotting snow leopards, which blend into the mountainous terrain and can be hard to observe from a distance.

The programme, coordinated through the Snow Leopard and High-Altitude Nature Conservation Society with local forest departments, maps safari routes through major wildlife areas including Hemis National Park and Changthang. Ladakh’s lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena highlights coexisting with wildlife while pursuing development, while the administration frames the safari as linking tourism, conservation, and local livelihoods. Reports also stress community involvement and the focus on tracking and safeguarding snow leopard habitats through structured routes rather than ad hoc viewing.