2.Bishkek lies at the northern edge of the Ala Too Range, an extension of the Tian Shan. This Soviet era city has many green spaces, wide boulevards, and parks besides imposing Soviet style architecture. It is a fun city to explore on foot with its many monuments, and institutions.

We’ll explore the central Ala Too square, with the houses of Parliament, the President’s office, a sculpture garden, and witness the changing of the guard.

We’ll also visit the Snow Leopard Foundation, the Snow Leopard Trusts’ Kyrgyz partner to get some key insights into snow leopard conservation and the challenges faced by scientists and conservationists today.

Central Asian feast tonight. All meals included. Overnight at the Orion.

3.We’ll depart Bishkek early to kick off the first part of our snow leopard expedition to Kyrgyzstan. We’ll drive East, eventually turning off the highway to Issyk-Kul and steadily gaining altitude.

Our home over these four days will be a small ranger out-post in this reserve. The ranger station simple and rugged. It has 3 bedrooms and a cozy dining space. The bedrooms will be shared by guests while our expedition team will pitch tents next door.

4-6. Our snow leopard trackers will scan the surrounding mountains and valleys for signs of snow leopards. Trackers will split up across a few different sectors with high powered Swarovski spotting scopes and radios. Our Kyrgyz field team knows these mountains like the back of their hands, while our Ladakhi spotters have tracked these elusive cats for over 20 years. A winning combination. Our highest chances of spotting snow leopards are at dawn and dusk. If one of our spotters finds a snow leopard, they will report it on the radio, and we’ll converge to their location, if we aren’t already nearby. The days are spent looking for a wide variety of wildlife including ibex, wolves, fox, and lynx. While the spotters do their job, we will help scientists from the Snow Leopard Trust with their field work. They will set up camera traps, look for signs of snow leopard such as scat, marking rocks, and more. The days will mostly consists of hiking. All meals cooked by our expedition team.

7.We’ll say goodbye to this reserve and set-off for the lake-side town of Karakol today. On the 3 hour drive to Karakol, we’ll stop and visit Arstan, a good friend of ours in the small village of Bokonbaev. Arstan is a traditional Kyrgyz bürkütchü, a falconer who uses golden eagles to hunt small prey. We will see the his eagles, learn about his life and how he learned the skills from his father (a Kyrgyz legend), over lunch. We will also understand how this tradition fits in with the challenges of conservation today. Hunting with eagles is a traditional form of falconry found throughout the Eurasian Steppe, practiced by the Kazakhs and the Kyrgyz in contemporary Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Western Mongolia. After lunch, we’ll continue to Karakol. Karakol, near the great lake of Issyk-Kul, is a quaint mix of old Russian architecture and modern Kyrgyzstan. It is the burial place of the famous Russian explorer Prezhvalsky. Overnight at a guest house here. All meals included.

8. After departing Karakol, we’ll slowly gain altitude as we drive about 6 hours to the remote village of Ak-Shirak. This will be our gateway to the wildlife reserve of Sarychat- Ertash and the 2nd half of our snow leopard expedition to Kyrgyzstan. The village has several active community based conservation programs managed by the Snow Leopard Trust. Communities like Ak-Shirak inhabit the frontlines between the last wild places on our planet and slowly encroaching human habitation. Well run conservation programs can greatly mitigate human-wildlife conflict at such places. After arriving at Ak-Shirak, we’ll spend time meeting with the community and learn about how they co-exist with the snow leopard. Also learn about the Snow Leopard Trust’s work here through community members. Overnight at home-stay. All meals included.

9-12. After saying goodbye to the village, we’ll drive into Sarychat-Ertash Reserve and to our camp. A 1 room building serves as a remote ranger station here. We’ll pitch our camp next to it. This will be home-base for day trips that explore the surrounding valleys. Voygr will provided all necessary expedition equipment. High-end expedition tents, camp mattresses, expedition grade sleeping bags. We’ll be warm, well-fed, and in prime snow leopard habitat. With an expert crew of trackers and spotters, we’ll explore the reserve on day trips on horseback to track and see snow leopards. You will spend these days exploring different valleys with your expedition guides and snow leopard experts. While spotters work their magic and try to find a snow leopard, or a herd of argali or ibex in their scopes, you’ll get a chance to see how research is conducted using camera traps to monitor and count various animals. You’ll stop by rocks frequently visited by snow leopards to leave scent markings on and help the Snow Leopard Trust retrieve camera trap footage or install new camera traps. Each day will start and end with your spotting team scanning the ridges for movement as snow leopards like to walk ridges so they can peer for prey on both sides of the mountain.

13. Return to Bishkek via a long 10 hour drive and enjoy a hot shower at the Orion. Celebrate your epic journey with your team! Overnight at the Orion Bishkek. All meals.  

14.We’ll drop you to the airport for your flight home. OR fly to Mongolia. Our Snow Leopard Tour To Mongolia starts right after this one. Fly with your expedition leader and lead tracker to Mongolia to also try tracking snow leopards there!