The snow leopard, or irbis, is not just a rare predator hiding among the snow-capped ridges of Central Asia. For Kyrgyzstan, it has become a symbol of untouched nature, national pride, and a key to developing ecologically and socially responsible tourism.
###### February 6, 2026
In many countries, including India, Mongolia, China, and Pakistan, observing the snow leopard has become a sought-after direction in ecotourism. Inspired by these examples, the Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan successfully completed the project ‘Snow Leopard Tours — Key to Preserving Local Nature’ in 2023, with support from the Small Grants Programme of the GEF UNDP.
The project became the foundation for developing ethical tourism in the Sarychat-Eertash Reserve. Training sessions were conducted for rangers and residents of nearby communities, and necessary equipment was purchased: from tents and yurts to solar stations and pack bags. All this allowed for organizing comfortable and ecologically safe conditions for wildlife observers.
Today, such tours take place from mid-autumn to the end of winter. Over two seasons after the project completion, about 10–12 groups (approximately 60–70 people) visited the reserve and adjacent border areas, including the Zhangart and Ak-Shyyrak gorges.
‘Unlike other nature tours, in our snow leopard tours, we consider the capacity of the reserve and local nature. The group size does not exceed 6 people, and the reserve is not visited by multiple groups simultaneously’ – notes Zhumabay uulu Kubanychbek, director of the ‘Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan’.
Since 2025, each tourist contributes $100 to the local community’s nature conservation fund. These funds go towards supporting rangers, developing infrastructure, and stimulating nature protection. Under sustainable tourism flow, the contribution is expected to reach up to $7,000 per year — significant help for remote regions.
Income from each tour amounts to $3,000–4,000, with services provided exclusively by local residents: rangers, guides, cooks, and guesthouse owners.
It is important to note: this is about careful and non-intrusive observation of wild animals in their natural habitat. In such tours, tourists seek to capture rare shots of the snow leopard, as well as other predators — wolves, bears, Pallas’s cats, and large scavenging birds. Predators like wolves and foxes, previously considered ‘harmful’ by locals, have become valuable and attractive objects of local tours.
The tours have allowed the reserve to improve infrastructure while raising the level of service and tour costs. Now, protected areas benefit well even from a small number of tourists. Rangers and local guides have become more experienced, and statistics show that the probability of seeing a snow leopard during a tour has reached 90% — a unique indicator even by world standards!
The Small Grants Programme of the GEF (SGP), implemented by UNDP, supports local community initiatives aimed at solving global environmental problems and improving people’s lives. By funding projects in biodiversity, climate, land and forest management, water resources, and chemicals, SGP proves: local actions have a global impact.
