Ancient Tracks

Ancient Tracks is a Ladakh-based outfit specialising in birding, wildlife and trekking expeditions across the Indian high Himalaya. Operating in the zone where the Palearctic meets the Indo-Malayan region, their guides cover the full Ladakh circuit — Hemis and the Rumbak Valley, the Changthang plateau lakes of Tsokar and Tsomoriri, the Nubra Valley, Zanskar and the remote Hanle Basin — chasing the roughly 310 species recorded in the territory. The company runs four distinct birding itineraries of varying length and combines them with cultural visits and high-altitude trekking. Their conservation ethic draws on the work of pioneering Ladakh ornithologist Otto Pfister, and trips emphasise low-impact, slow-paced exploration of the region's monasteries, alpine lakes and remote valleys.