Industry & Tourism

Nepal counts its snow leopards for the first time — and finds 397

In a landmark for one of the planet's most elusive cats, Nepal has produced its first national snow leopard estimate: 397, concentrated in Dolpo and…

By Laxman Rawal · Jun 10, 2026

Read the full story

The snow leopard is called the "ghost of the mountains" for good reason — almost no one ever sees one. So it is a genuine landmark that Nepal has, for the first time in its history, produced a national estimate of how many it has: 397 . For trekkers headed…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Counting a ghost

Estimating snow leopards is fiendishly hard — they are solitary, superbly camouflaged and live across vast, near-inaccessible terrain. Nepal's first national figure, produced with WWF and conservation partners using camera traps and genetic sampling, puts the…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

A wider conservation win

The cat count sits within a remarkable run of Nepali conservation success. The country has gone 774 consecutive days without a single rhino lost to poaching, marking its tenth "zero-poaching year" since 2011 — a feat almost unheard of in global wildlife…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Plan your trek

Upper Dolpo Trek — 22 Days

NMA-certified guides · permits sorted · 5,000+ treks since 1998.

From $4950

Plan this trek