The hardest mammal sighting in the world. Two weeks of −20°C patience, with the best naturalists in the Himalaya. Worth it.
February, in the valleys around Rumbak, when the blue sheep come low and the cats follow them down to where a spotting scope can reach. Days are spent glassing scree in deep cold, which sounds worse than it is right up until it isn't.
Sighting rates have climbed sharply since local families began working as spotters — they know which gullies the animals use and when. Two weeks is a realistic booking; a long weekend is a lottery ticket.
Stay with us
A Rumbak village homestay, the last warm room before the spotting.
