Into the realm of the snow leopard

Welcome and pick up from airport and drive to hotel. Depending upon arrival time, drive to Swayambhu (Monkey Temple) for evening walk and dinner. Swayambu is one of UNESCO world heritage sites in Kathmandu, well known among tourists as Money Temple where numerous Rhesus macaques reside in forest around the temple. This is the day when lead ranger and snow leopard scouts are starting scanning in Site I, Site II and Site III which is locating snow leopard to maximize encounter of snow leopard.

A day of sightseeing, including visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Sites; Boudhanath, Bhaktapur (Durbar Square) and Swayambhu (Monkey Temple) in the Kathmandu Valley. The sightseeing has been set considering long travel to Nepal as well as to give you an experience of Nepal’s heritages and during travel, interaction between Nepalese cultures

You will be pick up form your place and drive to Besisahar which takes about 6-7 hours (172.9km). Upon arrival in Besisahar, check into hotel/resort in Beshisahar. Free at Leisure and Over Night Stay in Beshisahar. During this section of travel, a traditional Nepalese village will be visited and walk over suspension bridge will be made.

After breakfast at the hotel in Besisahar, you will be driven to Chame, Manang, the district headquarters of Manang. The journey follows an off-road route, passing through several beautiful locations, including Ngadi, Chamche Waterfall, Octopus Waterfall, Tall Village, Dharapani, and Timang Village. Along the way, you will get stunning views of the Manaslu Himalayan Range, with Timang Village offering the best vintage point. The jeep will stop at various locations to ensure you have a memorable experience. As you drive toward Chame, the landscape changes significantly, making the journey diverse and refreshing. After approximately 4–5 hours of driving from Besisahar, you will arrive in Chame. Upon arrival, you will check in at Hotel White Stupa, where you will have dinner and stay overnight. From here, you can enjoy views of Lamjung Himal and sections of the Manaslu Range. A morning or evening walk around Chame is highly recommended, as it offers a great opportunity to explore the area. Your stay in Chame will also help with acclimatization, which is crucial before traveling to higher altitudes. Here, you will truly feel that you are in the heart of the mountains.

After breakfast at the hotel and a health check-up, you will be driven to Bharatang, where your 2–3 hour trek to Pisang begins. During the trek, you will pass through alpine forests, the natural habitat of the endangered musk deer, and begin to experience the transition from the Himalayan to the Trans-Himalayan region. Upon arrival in Pisang, you will check into Hotel Manang Marsyangdi. Later, you will hike to Green Lake, where you can enjoy breathtaking views of the Himalayas. Dinner and overnight stay in Pisang.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will begin your trek to Manang via the upper trail. The total trekking time is approximately 5–6 hours. You will trek for 2–3 hours before being driven to Manang. Along this route, both while trekking and driving, you will enjoy unobstructed views of the Annapurna Himalayas (Annapurna II, III, and IV), Pisang Peak, and Julu East and West Peaks. The upper trail offers a panoramic view of the entire Annapurna Himalayan Range. This region receives significantly less rainfall, creating a distinct landscape. Manang Village is situated at an altitude of 3,519 m/ 11,545 ft. Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel Yeti, Manang. Manang is located just back of Annapurna Himalaya Range which is the shortest distance from Kathmandu and other major cities of Nepal to the back of Himalaya. From Pokhara, we see the Annapurna Himalaya northward. In Manang, the Annapurna Range from the Neshyang valley from south side. That means, you will see Annapurna Range on the south of Manang.

Breakfast at your Hotel. Hike to Snow Leopard Camp and breakfast familiar with snow leopard habitat.

Welcome to Snow Leopard Haven, checked in, freshened up and then briefing on snow leopard with their name and go through all albums of snow leopard footages captured in Manang in Manang valley by BIOCOS NEPAL. Lead ranger and scout share their stories with snow leopard encounters, their journey of research and money more.

you will be guided to follow snow leopard trail. During trail follow, you will be given a transparent paper where you will trace pugmark and we it frames it for you to take home. Additionally, you will see urine spray sites of snow leopard and characterize them. Discuss with ranger about this in more details. Back to Snow Leopard haven for lunch – rest Evening time 16:00 on ward – you will be escorted to kill sites of snow leopard following the codes and conducts. By this time, scouts are scanning the terrain for snow leopard.

Setting camera trails to support local youths and conservation area management committees (CAMC) – and interacting with Yak herders; while this time scouts are keeping terrain scanned.

Alpine Bird watching/ Blue sheep as well as yak will be counted; the Blue sheep will be counted in different pastureland located in the catchment of Thorngla River. Day-I (In Snow Leopard Haven): Blue Sheep will be counted as well as scanning of terrain in SITE I

Alpine Bird watching/ Blue sheep as well as yak will be counted; the blue sheep will be counted in different pastureland located in Site II Day-II (In Snow Leopard Haven): Blue Sheep will be counted from Snow leopard haven to SITE II

Thorough scanning of terrain and collecting cameras to check snow leopard footages (SITE I and SITE II) or may have to visit site III depending on the encounter of snow leopard.

1 hour trek down and drive to Besisahar