Come February, Uttarakhand Tourism will Organise First-ever Snow Leopard Tours for Visitors

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | January 12, 2021 | News

Uttarakhand Tourism Snow Leopard Tours

Starting February 2021, the Uttarakhand Tourism department is all set to organise snow leopard tours for the first time in the State. Snow leopard tours are being planned in Harsil, a village on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, to promote conservation of biodiversity.

The first batch of tourists to avail of the tour will be chosen on first-come, first-serve basis. The Tourism body took to Twitter to make the announcement.

As per media reports, Rajiv Bhartari, head of the first force (HoFF) has said that a pilot project tour will be organized in Uttarkashi district of the State in February 2021 and depending on the response, it will be extended to other regions of the State where the elusive cat is found. 

The initiative is part of the Secure Himalaya Project - securing livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems. Led by the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project aims to ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in the high Himalayan ecosystem, while enhancing the lives and livelihoods of local communities.

For the snow leopard tours, GEF, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, UNDP India, and Uttarakhand Forest Department have also partnered with the State Tourism Board. In August 2020, Uttarakhand had announced India’s first Snow Leopard Conservation Centre in Uttarkashi.