Our prize-winning Snow Leopard Wintertime Quest has just scored again! A phenomenal sighting has just occurred on KarmaQuest's fourth snow leopard WinterQuest. The 2011 winter group spent an entire day observing a female snow leopard in Hemis National Park, Ladakh. Here is what trip member Sibylle Noras, Founder and Publisher of "Saving Snow Leopards" blog/website had to say (February 27, 2011):

"We watched her through a (spotting) scope and... were able to see her eyes and whiskers... Jigmet (SLC-India Field Program Coordinator Jigmet Dadul) thought maybe she had just had a kill and eaten it or perhaps she had been mating...the team is overjoyed and loving every minute of it."

Snow Leopard Conservancy Director and international snow leopard ecologist Dr. Rodney Jackson responds to the latest sighting: "This is wonderful news and is confirmation that the excellent work of the SLC-India team, with the close support of villagers and the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Department, is paying huge dividends for the conservation of snow leopards... Hemis National Park is truly the Snow Leopard Capital of the world." (photo right: Snow Leopard Conservancy)

Traveling with KarmaQuest is much more than a holiday adventure. It is experiencing a new culture and way of life from the inside out. It is helping to conserve the natural environment, endangered wildlife, and our world's rich cultural heritage by supporting conservation and sustainable tourism. It is about learning from studied and local experts in the field and on location.

KarmaQuest specializes in Custom Designed trips and Travel Consultations, helping you plan a one-of-a-kind travel experience. We operate a wide range of trips, from treks and mountaineering expeditions to cultural tours and educational programs. We are expert in Himalayan trekking, overland Tibet caravans, horse-back trips in Central Asia, and special interest tours to Central, South and SouthEast Asia. Please look inside at our scheduled trips, and see some of our favorites highlighted below. Or share your dream destination with us, and we'll be happy to design an itinerary to suit your own time schedule, interests and abilities. Please read on about some of our more popular trips.

A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity: KarmaQuest's Wintertime Quests for the Snow Leopard have added 15 more Westerners to the few dozen foreigners who have seen a snow leopard in the wild. Inquire NOW! about our 2012 and 2013 Winter Quest trips.

Summertime Quest for the Snow Leopard and the Ancient Buddhist Culture of Ladakh. A trip to benefit the snow leopard, and the Ladakhi people who conserve its habitat. KarmaQuest has teamed up with the Snow Leopard Conservancy and Ladakhi partners in ecotourism to offer this eco-trek through snow leopard country in Ladakh, India. Your visit will help encourage local farmers to protect these endangered wild cats, generate income for their children's education and create seasonal jobs in these remote mountain villages. In addition to the wildlife-viewing trek, you'll experience the rich culture and traditions of Ladakh, in village homes and at some of the best preserved Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. Some were built in the 10th century and still actively functioning today.

Nepal is back on travelers' radar, and KarmaQuest's decades of experience in Nepal enable us to offer unique travel experiences that also help disadvantaged Nepalis. Our "Cultures, Arts and Wonders of Nepal Benefiting Paropakar Orphans (October 2011)" takes you to some of our favorite spots around the Kathmandu and Pokhara Valleys, including several World Heritage Sites, and on a mountain flight for a bird's eye view of Mt. Everest. A highlight of the trip is a visit to Paropakar Orphanage in Kathmandu. KarmaQuest has a long-standing relationship with Paropakar and Virtue’s Children Nepal, a charitable organization that will oversee the delivery of your generous educational scholarship funds to some of Nepal's neediest children. Sign up soon for the trip, as space is limited.

KarmaQuest organizes cultural excursions, ecotourism, educational and adventure trips to Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan (China), Nepal, Sikkim, India, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan. Please request a copy of our travel catalogue or email us if you do not see the destination of your choice on our website.

KarmaQuest is a proud member of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), where we support the TIES Principles of Ecotourism. See if you can find us on the Ecotourism Explorer world map (hint: Half Moon Bay is just south of San Francisco, California).

KarmaQuest is also a founding member of the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce & Visitors’ Bureau Coastside Eco-Tourism program. Please visit the website to learn more about how your visit to the Half Moon Bay/San Mateo coast (California) -- our home town -- can help support local businesses that are conserving the area's unique cultural heritage and fragile ecosystem. Coastal Elegance, offering Coastside eco-tour adventures, is one.

For more information
and a detailed itinerary... please contact
KarmaQuest Ecotourism and Adventure Travel
Tel: (650) 560-0101/
Fax: 712-8164
699 Spindrift Way, Half Moon Bay,
California 94019 USA
KarmaQuest@earthlink.net
Website: www.KarmaQuests.com