Tracking the firefox of the cloud forest
Nepal holds a few hundred red pandas, mostly in the mid-hill bamboo forests. Seeing one takes patience — and the right guide.
Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) are listed as Endangered. They're shy, mostly arboreal, and active at dawn and dusk in dense bamboo-and-fir forests at 2,500–3,800m. You don't just hike up and see one — you walk slowly for several days with someone who knows the forest.
We partner with the Red Panda Network's community-based forest guardians in Langtang and Mai Pokhari. They live on the forest edge, monitor the population year-round, and have an uncanny sense for fresh tracks.
Realistic sighting odds
Sightings are not guaranteed — anyone claiming otherwise isn't being honest. Red pandas are shy and arboreal; the right guide and the right day matter more than any percentage we could quote.
Impact
{{RED_PANDA_GUARDIAN_FEE_USD}}per trekker goes to community forest guardians via the Red Panda Network's conservation program. Current figure and audit status on /about/ecotourism.
Where we go
Langtang National Park and the community forests around Mai Pokhari in Ilam District. Both are mid-hill bamboo forests at 2,500–3,800m with established guardian networks.
Our wildlife trips
Bird and Red Panda Expedition — Eastern Nepal
A 16-day expedition through four eastern-Nepal habitats — Phulchowki above Kathmandu, Sindhuli Gadi, the Koshi Tappu wetland, and the Ilam hills — tracking red panda (Ailurus fulgens, IUCN Endangered) alongside resident and migratory birds including Sultan Tit (Melanochlora sultanea). Naturalist-led, small group, starts and ends in Kathmandu. Red panda sightings are not guaranteed.
Rhododendrons of Milke Danda
A 16-day botanical walk from Basantapur to Tumlingtar along the Tinjure–Milke–Jaljale ridge in east Nepal's Koshi hills, topping out around 3,200 m on Milke Danda. Expect rhododendron forest in bloom — Rhododendron arboreum among them — and mid-hill cloud forest, not megafauna. Small group (min 4), naturalist-led, walking through Basantapur, Chauki, Gupha Pokhari, Milke Danda, and Khandbari.
Nepal Wildlife — Chitwan & Bardia
A 12-day naturalist-led tour through Chitwan and Bardia National Parks — Nepal's sal-lowland and riverine-forest terai. Game-spotting is on foot, by jeep, and by dugout canoe, never on captive elephants. Max-12 group, full-board lodges next to the parks, and a park-licensed naturalist on every drive and walk. Bookended by the Kathmandu Valley and a half-day at Lumbini.
Snow Leopard Tracking — Nar Phu Valley
A trans-Himalayan expedition of 18 days into the Nar Phu valley behind the Annapurna massif, tracking snow leopard (Panthera uncia, IUCN Vulnerable) and its blue sheep prey (Pseudois nayaur). Naturalist-led, with a community wildlife tracker on every expedition. Nar Phu is a restricted area; passes here sit above 5,000 m. Sightings are not guaranteed — come for the landscape, treat the cat as a bonus.
Red Panda Tracking — Eastern Nepal
An 11-day naturalist-led wildlife trip from Kathmandu into the Ilam tea-garden belt and the temperate broadleaf forest around it (2,200–3,600 m), tracking red panda (Ailurus fulgens, IUCN Endangered) on foot alongside Himalayan Monal and Satyr Tragopan. We track with a local community tracker who works these forests year-round, and sleep in tea-garden home-stays.
Chitwan National Park
A 3-day jungle safari in Nepal's first and largest national park — UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984, home to 694 one-horned rhinoceroses (the world's second-largest population), 128 Bengal tigers, sloth bears, gaur, and gharial crocodiles. Jeep safaris, walking safaris with armed guides, dugout canoe trips, and stays in family-run lodges among the Tharu villages of Sauraha.