Work in Progress: Snow Leopard Trail – A Review

The Snow Leopard Trail is the lighthouse project for our joint venture “Fair Trails Himalayas”. “Fair Trails Himalayas” is a joint program with our partner www.ennovent.com and is funded by the Austrian Development Agency www.entwicklung.at (official agency for development cooperation of the Republic of Austria).

In November 2018, the first major exploration took place on the Snow Leopard Trail. A route in the remote Naar Phu region was explored. There were representatives from ENNOVENT, the Snow Leopard Conservancy and two trail scouts from the Trail Angels (Josef Essl and Raimund Napetschnig). The exploration was accompanied by Tashi R. Ghale, a renowned nature photographer and proven snow leopard expert.

The second exploration served three main purposes:

1. Evaluation of the possibilities of a unique, technically well-founded nature experience around the topic “snow leopard”
2. Extension of the Snow Leopard Trail over one of the high passes west (between Manang and Mustang) to allow future guests a longer trekking experience
3. Fixing of the program and outline of further milestones for “Fair Trails Himalayas” in a workshop in Kathmandu.

Exploring the Snow Leopard Trail: Trails Angels CEO and Nepal expert Günter Mussnig (at his “base camp”, Tashi Ghale’s lodge in Manang)

This time, the exploration was carried out alone by Trail Angels CEO Günter Mussnig, as always organized in an exemplary manner by our trekking agency Himalaya Sherpa Nepal. The reconnaissance can be considered a complete success and has produced the following results:

1. The design for the Snow Leopard Trail could be fixed
2. The company of the snow leopard experts from Global Primate Network will offer future customers of Fair Trails Himalayas a truly unique nature experience. The excursions with Tashi R. Ghale around Manang, in the northern Annapurna region, were simply breathtaking.
3. Various ways of supporting snow leopard conservation funded from future booking revenues have been discussed and will be finalised.
4. The extension of the trail over the Thorong La (5,420m) can be offered as an option
5. The other milestones for Fair Trails Himalayas, organized by our fair Trails project manager Saurabh Bhattarai, were developed in a very successful workshop in Kathmandu.

Trail scouting can also be exhausting: Trail Angels Günter Mussnig on the wintry ascent to the Thorong la Pass (5,420m).

What’s coming up now: 1. Intensive work on the Snow Leopard Trail going live on our booking platform www.bookyourtrail.com 2. Research for a short list of the next Fair Trail in the Himalayas and the associated preparation for the next exploration tour in autumn 2019 3. Fixation of the Fair Trail criteria and certification of the first trekking agencies in Nepal

Successful Fair Trails workshop in Kathmandu (from left to right): Tapas Neupane (ENNOVENT Nepal), Saurabh Bhattarai (Fair Trails Himalayas), Raj Gyawali (Social Tours), Günter Mussnig (Trail Angels), Nawang Tshering Sherpa (Himalaya Sherpa Nepal)

The “Fair Trails Himalayas” program is a project close to the heart of the Trail Angels and we are convinced that it opens up new perspectives for the development of sustainable hiking tourism in the Himalayas and subsequently beyond. We will keep you up to date at this point!

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