The mountains of Ladakh are most famous for their population of the rare Snow Leopard and the Ibex. The best area for trying to spot the snow leopard is in the Shang valley and the Rumbak Valley areas of the Hemis High Altitude National Park where it's density is highest. Other than these two animals, Ladakh also has a healthy population of Blue Sheep, Bharals, Wolf, Marmots, Tibetan Wild Ass, Wooly Hares and Stone Martens. Due to the vastness and inhospitable character of the terrain, it is not an easy task at all to find any of these animals.

Ladakh is also famous for quite a large variety of bird species. These include some which are quite unique to the area due to the uniqueness of this habitat. Some of these are the Brahminy Ducks, the Brown-Headed Gulls, the Great Crested Grebes, the Black Necked Grebes, the Bar Headed Geese, the Black Necked Cranes, the Redshanks, the Yellow Headed Wagtails, the Pied Wagtails, the Desert Wheatears, the Horned Larks, the Ravens, the Great Grey Shrike, the Red Mantled Rose Finch, the Black Throated Thrush, the Robin Accentor, the Spotted Flycatcher, various migrant Teal, the Red Flanked Blue Tail and the Great Nose Finch.

Ladakh also offers a thrilling variety of winged wonders to be viewed

If you are a wildlife buff, a trip to Ladakh can be combined with those enroute in the state of Himachal Pradesh like The Great Himalayan National Park, The Pin Valley National Park. A trip to some of the lakes in Ladakh like Tsokar will also provide you with excellent opportunities to see many birds and animals like the Marmots and Kjangs.