Hemis National Park

Hemis National Park is one of the largest protected areas in South Asia, a vast expanse of high-altitude Trans-Himalayan terrain best known internationally as one of the most reliable places to spot the elusive snow leopard in the wild. The park's extreme, sparsely vegetated landscape, sitting largely above 3,000 metres, also supports blue sheep, Ladakhi urial and a range of high-altitude birdlife adapted to the thin air and harsh winters.

Winter, when snow leopards descend to lower elevations in search of prey, has become the peak season for dedicated wildlife tourism here, with specialist trekking operators running multi-day expeditions specifically focused on tracking and spotting the animal. The park's association with the historic Hemis Monastery, one of the region's most significant Buddhist institutions, adds a further cultural dimension for visitors combining wildlife tracking with the area's Tibetan Buddhist heritage.

Established in 1981 and later expanded, Hemis National Park has grown into one of the premier snow leopard research and conservation sites globally, its scale and remoteness having helped preserve a genuinely wild, largely undisturbed high-altitude ecosystem.

Roughly 40km from Leh, reached by road with onward trekking required to reach the park's interior.