Wild Snow Leopards - Kyrgyzstan

Your chances of seeing a snow leopard are good, but we do not have a 100% success rate. The wildlife in the Reserve are completely unhabituated and wild - this is very different to other snow leopard destinations where the wildlife has become habituated to vehicles and the presence of humans. This makes our location completely unique and special, and previous guests are always blown away by how remote and wild we actually are.

In places like Ladakh in India, we can almost guarantee snow leopard sightings (several a day in some cases), but there is more emphasis on pure wildlife sightings than adventure and exploration. Learn more about our Ladakh trip here.

On our Kyrgyzstan expeditions, you will be an integral part of the spotting team, working hard to spot wildlife and track snow leopards wherever we encounter tracks with a maximum of 5 other guests. To date, we have always had the Reserve exclusively to ourselves, and the locations you’ll travel to rarely see tourists. The wildlife you'll see are truly wild.

As with any snow leopard trip, you should expect to view a snow leopard predominantly through scopes or high-powered focal lenses as sightings can easily be 1km away. This is also true of snow leopards trips to habituated groups in India, for example. You will be provided with top-end scoping equipment during the expedition and we recommend everyone brings a good pair of binoculars.

Our base camp in Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve sits at around 3,000m. Generally people don't suffer with altitude symptoms until they reach 2,800m, so you will be just above this threshold.

Most guests experience light symptoms, such as mild headaches, and some breathlessness when being physically active. After a day or two these symptoms generally disappear as your body adapts to the new altitude. This is very normal and we encourage guests to drink plenty of water and get a good night's sleep.

The first few days in the Reserve are a 'reduced effort' itinerary which includes getting to know the area, meeting your horse and learning about snow leopard spotting. This gives your body time to adapt before we set off on some of the expedition elements of the trip.

We have never had a guest with persistent or severe altitude sickness symptoms, however, we have thorough procedures in place and our staff are appropriately trained should the need arise.

You can take a look at the full expedition kit list here:

www.wildexpeditions.info/kyrgyzstan-kit-list

We’re always happy to provide further advice and recommendations.

We have a wealth of experience photographing and filming in our destinations. We’re currently developing a blog to give advice specific to Kyrgyzstan - check back here soon for more info!

You're free to bring a drone on our expedition, however, we do have strict controls on flying drones near wildlife.

We, and the Snow Leopard Foundation, do not permit guests to fly drones near predators such as bears and snow leopards. Flights around prey animals, such as argali and ibex, may be permitted on a case-by-case basis, depending on the experience of the drone pilot and the scenario at the time.

You are free to fly drones for landscape photography purposes.

For our Kyrgyzstan expeditions, you’ll be able to check into your hotel by around 2pm on the first day of the expedition. We’ll aim to have dinner as a team that evening and go over kit and safety briefs.

You can depart anytime after 11pm on the last day of the expedition. However, a single night in a hotel is provided for you in Bishkek, so most people will fly the following morning in case of delays.

You will be provided with all accommodation, food and transport from dinner on the first day of the expedition, until dinner on day 10. Airport transfers from Manas Airport to your hotel in Bishkek are included.

Exclusions: visa costs, flights, personal expenses like drinks other than water, tips for local staff, any costs outside the expedition dates.

Kyrgyzstan offers free visas on arrival for most passports. However, you must check the requirements yourself before departure. If you require a visa before arrival, we can recommend an agent to process this for you.

Please ensure you also check vaccination and COVID-19 information carefully before departure as these can be subject to change.

You are required to have travel insurance covering you for the duration of the expedition and for all the activities you will be undertaking. This includes horse trekking and trekking/hiking up to 4,000m, as well as helicopter medical evacuation.

You will be asked to provide your insurance information closer to departure.

Previous guests have noted World Nomad, BMC and Endsleigh as providing sufficient cover.

We strongly recommend that you take out cancellation and curtailment insurance (including Covid-19 cancellation) as part of your cover as soon as you have booked one of our expeditions to protect against cancellations.

Our expeditions are remote so we need to make sure the trip is appropriate for you.

Upon booking, you will receive a medical form from us which needs to be completed fully and honestly. We review all medical forms thoroughly. Please ensure you're completely honest when completing the form. It doesn't necessarily follow that you cannot join us if you have a medical issue, but it may mean adapting elements of the expedition, or ensuring we have appropriate medical supplies on site.

Yes. No matter your experience or background riding horses, it is required that you wear a helmet at all times while riding during the expedition.

You will be provided with a British safety standard-riding helmet.

In order for us to meet our obligations under our company insurance, you will also be required to sign a helmet disclaimer form. This is required by all guests.

You don’t need to be super fit to join our expeditions!

You will need to be comfortable in 4x4 transport for long periods of time as our locations are very remote.

You will need to be comfortable riding on horse back for up to 4 hours (with breaks).

You do not need to be able to ride at speed, or be able to hike long distances at altitude.

Due to the expedition’s remoteness, you will need to be free of any medical concerns that require regular medical attention.

Tips for local staff are completely at your discretion. All our staff are paid fairly for their work. Tips are welcomed in either Kyrgyz SOM or USD.

Giving tips at the end of your trip is a wonderful way of showing your gratitude for their hard work. If you plan to give tips, we can provide guidance on this, just get in touch.

You will be offline for the majority of the expedition. You will have wifi in your hotel in Bishkek, but it may be slow. You can buy a sim card and data in the airport just after passport security. This will provide some connection on the way to the park, but in the Reserve you will not be able to get signal.

We will hold a sat phone for the duration of the expedition. This is strictly for emergency use only.