In March 2017, I visited India. My main goal was: searching for tigers and snow leopards in the wild.
I have always been impressed by the beauty and power of tigers. Furthermore, the snow leopard is almost a mythical creature, only living in extreme remote areas on very high altitudes. Peter Matthiessen's classic book 'The Snow Leopard' has been an important source of inspiration to me.
First, I travelled to the jungles of central-India via Nagpur. Tadoba - Andhari Tiger Reserve is an exciting place, with numerous deer, monkeys, birds, mugger crocodiles, sloth bears, leopards, and tigers. It's an amazing place. I felt extremely happy that, ultimately - after some efforts- I was able to see many beautiful mammals in the jungle, in particular 3 tigers, 2 leopards and a sloth bear.
Then I travelled to The Himalayas in northern India, the Tibetan-Buddhist region of Ladakh, bordering Tibet. I did hardly see any other tourist during my visit to Ladakh in March. The Ladakhi people (and Tibetan refugees) I met were extremely kind, open and sincere. I was also impressed by their respect for the fragile nature of Ladakh, including predators like snow leopards and Tibetan wolves. We (local guides, a Frenchman and me) hiked on 4,000 - 4,500 m, searching for snow leopards. The views were stunning, wildlife was superb and I enjoyed the complete silence. I am very grateful that we managed, again after quite some efforts, to spot 4 snow leopards: 1 male and 1 female with 2 cubs.
I had prepared my journey very well, to maximize chances for spotting tigers and snow leopards in their natural habitats. It was a wonderful journey. Particularly thanks to the excellent local guides, arranged by Wildnest Travel & Photography in Tadoba, and Lynx Expeditions in Ladakh. Without these guides, with their well-trained ears & eyes, I would have missed it all.
This movie is about my personal impressions of these 2 exciting areas in India. It finishes with my impressions of Delhi, with its numerous highly interesting historical sights and diverse religious communities.
For a brief impression of just my visit to Ladakh, searching for snow leopards, please check: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5jocwn_snow-leopard-ladakh-india-2017_travel
