Spot Light: Coming face-to-face with a snow leopard in Uttarakhand’s Niti Valley

Snow leopard in Uttarakhand’s Niti Valley

“Kerry, here’s your gift on turning 40,” quipped my friend Harry from the wheel of his Fortuner as he noticed an animal walking down the road. It was 5:20 pm on Monday and the three of us were winding up a five-day trip to Niti Valley in the northernmost region of Uttarakhand. We had just met the rare and elusive snow leopard, whose sightings are rare – and special – indeed. And we got it all, well most of it anyway, on video!

The trip to a lesser known or less explored was my friend Kerry’s idea who wanted to make it his special 40th birthday. Kerry is Nitesh Karir and he heads the Human Resources team at a top firm; Harry is Harish Soni, the CEO of a company. Both are based in Gurugram.

We had been planning for days – getting leave, a friend fulfilling his prior business commitments, shopping for woolens as we were about to hit sub-zero temperatures, and another friend dropping out at the eleventh hour.

We started our journey on the night of 8 December and checked into a hotel at Rishikesh after a five-hour drive from Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The next day began with a stroll in Rishikesh and we then headed to Joshimath which was an 8-hour drive away, including frequent breaks to admire the views as well as stoppages due to road widening work owing to landslides or road cave-ins which seem to be quite common in the state. We stayed in Joshimath for a day and then headed to Niti Valley, where the experience of our lives awaited us.

Being in this picturesque valley at a height of over 11,800 feet was one thing, but coming face-to-face with a snow leopard in the valley was the icing on the cake. The big cat is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline to about 10 per cent of that by 2040.

Here’s how it happened. As we were driving down from Niti village, the last village in the valley before the border with south Tibet, we took a break to relieve ourselves and stretch our legs.

No sooner had we got back into the car that the unexpected happened. A leopard was walking right in front of our car, in the same direction. “Guys, I can see something here. Oh man, it’s a leopard,” screamed Harry, excited almost of his wits. “Kerry, this is your gift on turning 40,” Harry composed himself and added.

Literally in shock, Kerry and I couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Kerry said that it was a snow leopard, explaining how the long and furry tail of the big cat walking ahead of us meant it could only be that.

By this time, we had grabbed our phones, and were busy recording this amazing scene. The big cat walked on the road for good three minutes, standing behind a pole for a while from where it took a good look at us. The leopard then turned and climbed the hill, standing there again for a bit as if posing for before finally disappearing into the wild.

After we shared our experience with local residents and road construction workers, they said that the animal would have probably come so low down into the valley because the movement of people and traffic is minimal at this time of the year. “All the villagers usually migrate to low lying areas during winters and all that you get to see is empty villages and locked doors,” said Gopal Singh Negi, caretaker of the homestay where we spent a night in Malari.

Malari is a hamlet which comes on the way to Niti village which by now is all empty. We checked in at Malari and then made our way through treacherous roads to Niti village which is a one-hour drive away.

“We do get to see wild animals including leopards and Thar here. But I am not sure if what you saw is a snow leopard. If that is the case, then it’s special,” Negi added.

Niti Pass was an ancient trade route between India and Tibet, and it was sealed after the 1962 Sino-Indian war. The villages in the valley include Lata, Kaga, Dronagiri, Garpak, Malari, Bampa, Gamshali and Niti. They are mostly inhabited by Bhotiyas of Uttarakhand of Chamoli district, namely Marchas, a community of Mongloid origin, and Tolcchas, both known as Rongpa.

Road trips with friends are always special, but experiences like these make them even more special. This experience is going to stay in minds forever. And we’ll probably be talking about it at every Kerry birthday party!

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