Big Cats of India

Spend your days exploring the park on private morning and afternoon game drives. Gir National Park is a vitally important protected forest that is home to the last remaining wild population of the Asiatic lion in the world. This iconic big cat once ranged across India, the Middle East and Turkey, but was hunted down to just 20 animals in the early 20th century. Since then, conservation efforts in the park and wider sanctuary have seen numbers return to over 650 in 2017. Locals, many living within remarkable proximity with the lions, are fiercely proud of their feline neighbours and the Asiatic lion is the state animal of Gujarat.

Distinguishable from its African cousins by a fold of skin running along their bellies and slightly shorter manes on the males, they are muscular cats ambushing prey such as deer, nilgai and boar in the dry teak and acacia forests of the sanctuary. Prides are small, usually containing a couple of females and cubs, with males protecting small territories.

Other wildlife to be spotted in the park on your game drives here include leopard, striped hyena, honey badger, chinkara gazelle, porcupine, pangolin and jungle cat. Mugger crocodiles and monitor lizards can be found beside rivers, lakes and reservoirs within the park and birdlife is prolific with some 300-species recorded here.

Nestled in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh one of India’s most remote and sparsley populated areas, a land of snowcapped mountains, vast barren plateaus and deep turquoise lakes. The capital, Leh, is the main gateway to the region, sitting at the literal crossroads of an ancient trade route between Tibet to the east, Kashmir to the west, the Indian plains to the south and China to the north. It's also a spiritual place where Mahayana Buddhism dominates and the town is dotted with monasteries, stupas and chains of fluttering prayer flags. The centre of town and its bazaar is geared towards tourists, but a short walk down the countless paths will lead to barley fields and houses seemingly stuck in time.

Set out on a guided tour through the ancient bazaar and alleys of Leh town. In the afternoon visit to Sankar Monastery and wrap up the day program with a visit to Shanti Stupa built on a hill overlooking the town below, arriving in time to enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of the sun-drenched Indus Valley before the sunset.

Spend today discovering some of the most scenic Gompas in the Indus Valley. Gompas are ecclesiastical complexes somewhere between a fortification, a monastery and a university and are typical of Tibetan Buddhism. First is the architecturally impressive and spectacularly situated Thiksey with its twelve-story complex housing many items of Buddhist art such as stupas, thankas (a painting on cotton or silk) statues, wall paintings and swords.

Next is Shey Palace and Gompa which was once the residence of the royal family. The palace, built in 1655, is now mostly in ruins while the monastery is known for its giant copper with gilded gold statue of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha, the largest of its kind.

Last up is Hemis Gompa, the wealthiest, best known and biggest Gompa of Ladakh, which dates to 1630. Its popularity stems from the major annual festival held here in summer held festival is in honor of Guru Padma Sambhavaa. It also has the largest thanka in Ladakh which is unfurled only once every 12 years.

Drive west on the road to Kargil and Srinagar, generally following the Indus River. You pass through the small town of Nimmu – one of the most important in Ladakh, where the Zanskar river meets the Indus. After a little over an hour you head north on a road into snow leopard country. The landscape here is even bigger, more expansive and open, until you turn off onto a dirt road, winding up a narrow valley, following a stream called the Ulley Chhu. Smaller valleys intersect and the guides have their heads craned all the time, scanning the hill sides and the skyline for any silhouette. This is excellent Ibex country and there are few more evocative sights than a magnificently horned male Ibex standing vigil on some impossibly narrow outcropping over a plunging cliff.

The plan for your time here is flexible and guided by maximizing the chance to see snow leopard. Generally, spotters head out at the crack of dawn to try and find signs of the almost phantom-like feline in the surrounding landscape. The chief spotter will meet you over a hearty breakfast and share the morning’s findings and lay out the day’s plan, which may involve hiking straight from the lodge or driving to distant valleys to then trek up to vantage points. Hot lunches will be served in the field as you continue to scan the landscape, returning to the warm lodge for in time for dinner. Sightings are by no means guaranteed, but the incredible landscape and other wildlife make it a unique experience even if the cats are not seen.

Snow leopards are high altitude specialists which hunt bharal blue sheep and ibex in what seems like an otherwise inhospitable environment. They survive the bitter winters in the Himalayas due to their amazing thick (and perfectly camouflaged) fur coats, huge feet covered in this insulating fur that act as snow shoes, and long tail which helps to maintain balance in the rocky terrain. The tail is also very thick due to fat storage which allows the cat to use it like a blanket to protect its face when asleep. Like their other leopard cousins, snow leopards are solitary except when with cubs or mating, and very hard to spot. Although it is of course these magnificent felines that are the main attraction here, other predators you may see include Eurasian lynx, red fox, golden eagle and the Tibetan wolf.

Explore Ranthambore National Park on morning and evening game drives with plenty of time to relax and unwind at your luxury lodge between. With its population brought back from the brink late last century to over 50 by 2015, Ranthambore’s tiger density makes it one of the most popular places to get close to these remarkable animals. Ranthambore’s forest is also alive with the alarm calls of chital and sambar deer, galloping nilgai, leopard, striped hyena, loping sloth bears and wild boar. The lakes are also brimming with crocodile and a huge draw for some 272 species of bird.

Spend the rest of the day relaxing at this charming family owned palace. Whether relaxing by the pool, exploring the grounds and its working farm, birdwatching or perhaps boating out on the lake, life is unhurried here.

You will be transferred close to JAWAI where you will board a jeep for an introductory drive to the camp.

Explore this remote corner of Rajasthan on a variety of beguiling activities. Morning and evening you, will be taken out to track leopard with the camp’s experienced trackers and drivers, travelling in customised 4x4 safari jeeps. While taking the jeep drives and other than searching for leopards, you will see what is known in the India as “Gaudhuli” or the cow dust hour, a name which is result of the dust raised by cattle leaving or returning home at this hour. It is a magical time to be out in the countryside. Sunrise and Sunset are considered auspicious times in India, and as you drive through the village you will see small rituals performed to welcome in the night and to ward off the dark spirits, a rare opportunity to see life in rural India. There are 170 species of birds here including flamingos to spot and you can take strolls with the local shepherds or more challenging treks. You can also visit nearby temples and forts, take mountain bikes out to discover the landscape or relax with yoga sessions in wonderfully secluded locations.