The Ghost of the Mountains: Unraveling the Secrets of the Snow Leopard

by Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi

Silent, solitary and beautiful, snow leopards inhabit the rugged mountains of central Asia, so perfectly camouflaged by their silver-grey pelts that they vanish against the rocks and the cliffs.

The biologist and scientist Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi (or Kullu, as he is widely known) has spent twenty years studying these elusive creatures in the wild, exploring their daily challenges, habitat, prey and population, and developing a profound understanding of their lives – with every snow leopard encounter bringing renewed meaning and purpose.

Living for months at a time in some of the most remote places on earth, Kullu has pioneered new research that shines fresh light on these charismatic and vulnerable animals, showing how their fate is entangled with the local people and how their survival is central to preserving an austere, delicate ecosystem, increasingly under threat from development and intensifying climate change.

Full of groundbreaking science and exhilarating storytelling, The Ghost of the Mountains offers a window into a majestic and endangered world, and gives an intimate view of the snow leopard’s precarious existence.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Nature, Memoir, Biology, Environment

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2026

Reviews

[Kaitlyn Cotton]

Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi’s book is a beautifully written and deeply immersive journey into the world of snow leopards, blending scientific rigor with vivid storytelling. What makes this work particularly compelling is how seamlessly it weaves the author’s personal and professional evolution—from his early days as a master’s student to his current role in conservation—into the broader narrative of studying one of the most elusive and majestic creatures on Earth.

The descriptions of the landscapes are especially striking. Suryawanshi captures the stark, rugged beauty of high-altitude environments with a poetic touch, making the reader feel the cold air, vast silence, and awe-inspiring scale of the terrain. His portrayal of snow leopards themselves is equally powerful—mysterious, graceful, and almost mythical, yet grounded in careful observation and research.

Another strength of the book is its insight into the realities of fieldwork and conservation. The reader gains a clear sense of the challenges, dedication, and collaboration required to study and protect these animals. By following the author through various studies and programs over time, the book offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the progression of wildlife research and conservation efforts.

The only drawback is that the narrative can feel somewhat disjointed at times, occasionally jumping between different time periods or topics without smooth transitions. While this structure reflects the breadth of the author’s experiences, it can momentarily disrupt the flow of the story.

Overall, this is a captivating and thoughtfully written book that will appeal to anyone interested in wildlife, conservation, or simply the beauty of the natural world. Despite its minor structural shortcomings, it leaves a lasting impression and deepens appreciation for both snow leopards and the people dedicated to protecting them.

Thank you to Riverhead Books for providing this book for review consideration via Edelweiss+.

[Serene]

3.5 / 5

Something I think needs to be understood before going into this book is that it is a very personal work. It is less about snow leopards than it is about the author studying snow leopards. And I think that is a wonderful thing. As a social scientist myself, I do think his explorations of scientific method and engagement with the communities across Asia who live beside snow leopards to be really exciting. I think it is really enlightening to see how much work goes into doing this work, and how much risk and personal sacrifice is undergone to do so. At the same time though......... I do kind of wish I got to learn something substantial about snow leopards that I did not know before. I understand that they are very elusive and that's like.. the entire book. But I just found it to be a bit disappointing to have specifically gone into the book seeking that insight only to not get any.

[Andy Weston]

Dr Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi travelled across the snow leopard landscape of the world for his doctoral dissertation. He is a scientist at the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) Bengaluru, and director of the India programme of the Snow Leopard Trust. He has studied the animal for two decades. In 2006 having become an accomplished mountaineer, Suryawanshi joined the Wildlife Biology and Conservation course at NCF and moved to Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh to study blue sheep.. a way in, as blue sheep are a chief part of the leopard’s diet.

Conservationists may do vital and interesting jobs in some of the world’s most inaccessible places, but few are able to write well about their work as well. Jonathan Slaght immediately comes to mind with his recent books on the Blakiston Fish Owl and the Siberian Tiger (both of which are exceptional), but Suryawanshi aspires here to reach the same heights.

Avoiding overreliance on scientific data, this fascinating book is more akin to an informative adventure novel as it gets up close to these creatures and their habits. It is strong also on the process of conservation and the sort of problems that stand in the way. The local people and others involved in his project play important roles and are well described also.

[Jake Taylor]

I don't do a lot of nonfiction, so I'm very selective when I do venture into it. For some reason, this one caught my eye. I am so glad it did. It was a beautiful ode to the snow leopard as well as the region and the people that are directly impacted by the elusive snow leopard. The writing is vivid and detailed. The insights are perfectly explained. I've come to love and admire the snow leopard, a creature I knew next to nothing about before reading this book. The audio is fantastically done as well.

No notes!

[Randall T]

In recent years, I have been diving deeper and deeper into the beautiful world of science and nature writing, reading books that manage to be both lyrical and technical by authors such as Ben Goldfarb, Peter Godfrey-Smith, and David Quammen. With The Ghost of the Mountains, I would add Kullu Suryawanshi to this esteemed list.

It is notable that Kullu is first a researcher and scientist, and then a writer. As such, I managed my expectations going in, only to be pleasantly surprised again and again during the journey from the Himalayas to Mongolia’s Tost Mountains. This is not simply a chronological account of research expeditions and snow leopard sightings. It is a tender, candid, and often revealing account of the author’s own growth, failures, discoveries, and changing understanding of conservation.

As much as this is a book about snow leopards, it is also a book about human beings: the remarkable people who have devoted their lives to conservation, the communities who live alongside these animals, and the complicated relationships, incentives, and conflicts that determine whether conservation actually succeeds. Kullu resists easy answers, and the book is much richer for it.

There is a third thread running through the pages: mountains themselves, and their beauty, attraction, and danger. As a mountaineer, I particularly enjoyed the intertwining of climbing, field research, adventure, and the irresistible lure of snow-clad peaks. The mountains are not simply a backdrop to the story; they feel like one of its characters.

I have long had my own fascination with snow leopards, including a dream of someday seeing one in the wild. When I learned about this book before its publication, I signed up to be notified the moment it was released. I was not disappointed. If anything, after reading it I am more determined than ever to see a snow leopard in the wild. But Kullu has also made me ask a more difficult question: “At what cost?”

The nuances of loving an elusive wild animal to death are real, and the book’s exploration of tourism, research, conservation, and our desire to encounter the wild is one that will stay with me.

This book deserves to be read by far more people than it probably will be. I am simply grateful to have spent these pages sharing twenty years of research, adventure, failure, discovery, mountains, and passion with Kullu. I could not put it down.

[Michi P]

Ich habe vor dem Buch absolut keinen Bezug zu Schneeleoparden oder den Himalaya gehabt und es einfach aus Interesse mitgenommen.
Das Buch hat mich dann wirklich begeistert: Es nimmt den Leser über knappe 300 Seiten mit in die unberührten (und auch nicht so unberührten) Teile des Himalaya, der Wüste Gobi und in die Berge Kirgisistans. Immer auf der Spur der majestätischen Schneeleoparden, die kaum jemand jemals zu Gesicht bekommt.
Für ein Sachbuch ist "The Ghost of the Mountains" überraschend packend und es kommt wirklich keine Langeweile auf. Ganz nebenbei lernt man eine Menge über Schneeleoparden, Biologie, Naturschutz und jede Menge mehr. Es ist auf jeden Fall kein Durchschnittsbuch und wird mich in Gedanken noch länger begleiten.

[oysterie]

[4.5 stars rounded up]

This is a fantastic book chronicling the author’s career as a snow leopard researcher starting in 2o08 through the present day. Dr. Suryawanshi is the Director of the India Program of the Snow Leopard Trust and a scientist for India’s Nature Conservation Foundation. We meet him in the Trans-Himalayas of North India, the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, and the mountains of Kyrgyzstan as he follows these rare big cats. It is a wonderful compilation of dangerous mountaineering adventures, conversations with locals about living in the mountains alongside snow leopards, complaints about Indian governmental bureaucracy, and wonder at the lives of the snow leopards.

This is very much a memoir of his career and experiences in the mountains where these cats live rather than strictly just facts about the snow leopard. This is a good thing as Dr. Suryawanshi has had a remarkable career that I am so glad he decided to share with us in writing. It is fascinating to read about his experiences climbing in the mountains and living in these remote communities. He meets so many people throughout his career from other scientists and researchers to park rangers to locals living remote, sometimes nomadic lives alongside the snow leopards.

I am so happy about some of the topics that Dr. Suryawanshi decides to focus on. My favorite part of the book by far was Part 2 where he explores the people living in the same habitats as the snow leopards. These are small mountain communities in North India and Nepal as well as nomadic herders living in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert. He talks to these people to research what their views on snow leopards are and what it is like to live alongside them. He comes across as very caring to these people and understanding of their viewpoints, even when negative towards the snow leopards. Despite the fact that there are zero deaths and only a handful of attacks on humans by snow leopards, these are people whose livelihoods of animal herding can be severely damaged if a leopard gets into a pen with their sheep/goats. I was surprised but very glad that he went so deep into this area of interest. Dr. Suryawanshi also spends a lot of time discussing the ecology of the herbivores (wild goats and sheep) that make up the majority of the prey of the snow leopards, the complexities of conservation (solar power is good, but large solar farms trying to be established in the Himalayas is bad, put simply, among other questions), and other topics. I can see how some readers might get a bit frustrated with these “tangents” (in quotes because they are still very relevant to the conservation of snow leopards) that he goes on but I found each of these topics so interesting and well explored that I never wanted to complain.

I think my only criticisms of this book are that it had a bit of a slow start and that I wasn’t the biggest fan of some aspects of his writing style. I think the slow start worked out by the end and created a good point for him to call back to while in the mountains (though it was still quite slow to read through the first time). Also, there were plenty of pretty cliché descriptions of environments or feelings that felt like filler sentiments that should have been swapped out for something more unique, if that makes sense. However, I felt that Dr. Suryawanshi found his voice after the first half and this stopped being a noticeable issue (not that it was a big deal at all in the first place).

This is such a great book to sink yourself into if you enjoy books about the outdoors and conservation. I also really enjoyed the chance to finally read some ecology nonfiction from a non-western author (something that I have been slacking with, admittedly) and see how researchers from the global south see the same questions and concerns that I have read about in other books by authors closer to me. This is such a great look into such a rare and almost deified animal by one of the most recognized experts in the field.

[Brady Hanson]

The snow leopard has captivated my imagination since I read Peter Matthiessen’s book of that name when I was a college student studying conservation. Matthiessen’s book was more of a personal journey of exploration (both external and spiritual) and ends with him not seeing a snow leopard, but in awe of its grip on his imagination and its driving force for him embarking on a truly exceptional journey with famed biologist George Schaller. My aha moment in reading that book of course was appreciating that seeing the snow leopard was never the point. And I have often reflected on Matthiessen’s journey and words when profound awareness hits me on the way to some “end”. My own spiritual moments have never come at the top of a peak or holding a trophy catch, but along the way to those things.

Kullu, as the author is apparently known, has produced a work that any wildlife and nature lover will greatly appreciate. Its a an engaging catalog of his work and career, but it’s his experience, explorations, and field research that I found most fascinating. Especially from his geopolitical and cultural perspective. Much of our picture of the snow leopard and its habitat has been shaped by a western viewpoint. And it’s a good reminder that “desk research” can produce incredible data and results, but it’s still the actual field research that gives us the true picture. This “boots on the ground” research and perspectives is what really captures our imagination. But what’s more, is the importance of diversity in perspective - even when it comes to conservation. At one point the author references a famed Nigerian writer whose TED Talk stressed that a single story creates stereotypes - which may be somewhat true, but is incomplete.

Conservation is more complex these days than its founding theorists could have ever predicted. When talking about a cat, who lives in the remotest mountain regions of the world, it can be surprising how many stakeholders are involved. From remote goat and yak herders, to multinational mining corporations, to political elites and nature lovers the world over it’s a small miracle any consensus can even be made at all - and often isn’t. Which is reminiscent of the wolf reintroduction efforts here in the States.

I often find myself frustrated by the counterproductive “progress” we humans are so blindly committed to. Progress which steamrolls that which makes us human and life so worth living. As if in our unceasing drive to conquer we forget the point. A point made in a later chapter when the author compares the people who dwell among the snow leopards, who are often bafflingly tolerate of the creatures and don’t see a need to gawk or conquer the animal or its treacherous mountain habitat, and a crowd of tourists, who have spent small fortunes to travel in comfort to a range once only accessible by incredible feats of persistence and toil only to quickly snap some photos of a mother and cubs and then turn away from the sight to post the prized photo on Instagram. Not to diminish the later experience, but it seems to lack the power to transform you as a person.

This book, and the author’s experiences and perspective, was a fantastic journey, and I highly recommend it. It’s a good reminder too of why conserving and protecting wild animals like snow leopards is so critical to the preservation of our shared human experience on this incredible planet.

[Ula Tardigrade]

What a fascinating book! I picked it up because I was interested in snow leopards, these most mysterious mountain creatures, but I learned so much more.

Most of the English language publications about wildlife are written from the Western perspective, even when they cover other regions of the world. So it was illuminating to read an account from an Indian scientist and conservationist. He is very candid about the challenges that he faced from the start (but also currently, as an administrator of an NGO) and has a deep understanding of the Himalaya realities and culture. As he writes:

When I had begun my career in wildlife research and conservation, I had thought that I was leaving the world of social problems behind me and entering a place of unadulterated nature. What I was beginning to understand was that wildlife research and conservation do not happen in isolation, away from the rest of humanity. Rather, they are intricately bound up with the lives of the people who live in these far-flung places.

I love how he combines enthusiasm for mountains and wild creatures with a clear-eyed understanding of the practical aspects of effective conservation projects. And he has a knack for fascinating details and anecdotes, like that one:

KP eloped with his childhood sweetheart. His bride’s father knew that we had encouraged the couple and helped them escape, so he screamed at KP’s friends and called us a pack of wolves. “She is the most beautiful girl in Spiti, and men with big cars were asking me for her hand. And now you made her run away with a good-for-nothing guy who works for an NGO and looks for snow leopard poop all day. You are like wolves that eat their prey alive.” Secretly, we were thrilled to be called wolves, but this was another indication of what people thought about carnivores, carnivore researchers, and careers with NGOs.

Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in the Himalaya region, nature conservation and wildlife.

Thanks to the publisher, Riverhead, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Shruti Sharma]

The book speaks in a language that probably only a few can understand, appreciate and connect. And by that, I do not mean to say that the language is difficult to comprehend. On the contrary, one of the most interesting aspects of reading this thick non-fiction book was that the storytelling is spot on. Even with all its scientific studies, references, statistical surveys, experiments, and interspecies correlations, the book flows flawlessly. The descriptions of snow leopard spotting, from the first one to the last (with his daughter Tara) are equally vivid and never miss a beat.

There aren’t many non-fiction books that have blown me away and this is definitely one which has swept me off my feet.
In summary, the book moves through the Snow leopard habitat and Kullu takes us on a journey with him through Mongolia, Nepal, India (Spiti and Ladakh) which are three of the twelve snow leopard range countries. He is one of the world’s renowned Snow Leopard scientists and therefore the book spans through his early years in the field as a Masters student and how his research evolved the snow leopard conservation across the world.

Full review here- https://theearthbookclub.substack.com...

[Elisa]

Reading this book feels like being there: hidden in the snow, waiting for wildlife to appear. Blending two of my favorite subjects—animals and Himalayan climbing—it is both informative and approachable. Suryawanshi has devoted his life to studying one of the world’s most elusive creatures: the snow leopard, including its diet, reproduction, and, most importantly, conservation. The book blends memoir with popular science. I’m not usually drawn to memoir, but the author’s experiences are so unique and compelling that I was completely engrossed. The content is also heartbreaking, especially in showing the damage humans can cause to the environment, animals, and one another. At the same time, it is uplifting to see Suryawanshi fight for the survival of these animals. As with many conservation books, there is a fair amount of politics. Those sections are necessary, but they slowed my reading. Still, the chapters focused on snow leopards and the other creatures that share their habitat were fascinating. Overall, this is a very solid read.
I chose to read this book, and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you to NetGalley and Riverhead Books.

[Jennie]

I have officially decided that I need to know EVERYTHING about snow leopards. 🐆
This was such a fascinating book! I loved getting a look into these incredibly elusive animals and the people who dedicate their lives to studying and protecting them.
And let’s be honest…snow leopards are already pretty amazing. But learning about how difficult they are to find, study, and track made me appreciate them even more.
What I really loved was that this wasn’t just “look how amazing this animal is.” It also gets into the complicated reality of conservation and the relationship between wildlife and the people who live alongside them.
The descriptions of the Himalayas were beautiful, and there were so many moments where I felt like I was right there in the mountains.
A few sections were a little slower for me, but overall I found this incredibly interesting.
If you love animals, nature, science, or just learning about something completely outside your everyday life, definitely pick this one up.
Also…can we PLEASE talk about how gorgeous snow leopards are?! 😍

[Marilyn]

If you have a fascination for snow leopards or intricacies of ecosystems, you may enjoy this book (and get educated at the same time!). This book is the work of Dr. Suryawanshi, a native of India who became fascinated with climbing and ecosystems of the Himalaya, starting with the "blue sheep" (actually a goat). He began with blue sheep and then realized he was even more interested in their main predator, the snow leopard. He led some work at the Snow Leopard trust which aims to protect the snow leopards. Suyawanshi writes about how this was not ivory tower science, but field work that required working across borders, involving local herding people, and collaborations with many of scientists with that trained younger students, helped develop new strategies or led data analyses. I found it compelling, although a little slow at times - but being a scientist myself I know research is not only "Aha!" moments. Like so many others, I too am fascinated by snow leopards.
Thank you to the author and Net Galley for providing me a copy to read.

[Ned Frederick]

When we query google for some obscure fact about one of nature's less well-known creatures we tend to not be interested in how that fact became a fact. Take the Snow Leopard and how many of them there are in the natural world (rather than in Zoos), for example. Turns it took a couple of decades, a decent bit of treasure, and a huge network of dedicated wildlife biologists to come up with an accurate number. While this book is about Snow Leopards, ostensibly, it's also about the life of a prominent and persistent biologist, known as Kullu by his colleagues, and whose picture belongs in the dictionary next to the word "indefatigable". I enjoyed it as much as an adventure as for its revelations about the Snow Leopard.

[Rigo V]

This book brought to light how much I’ve yet to learn about the world we live in.

What I thought would be a book primarily focused on the snow leopard, turned out to also be a reminder of the sacrifices we are willing to make to do what we love. The author turns statistics into emotions. I felt joy, anger, sadness, and hope. I found some things a bit repetitive, but I’d say that’s what research is and it’s fitting. Overall, I find myself inspired on doing more for our wildlife and planet. Pick this up if you enjoy snow leopards, conservation, mountaineering, and science. 5/5.

Thank you again NetGalley and Riverhead Books for the eARC. Opinions are my own.

[Amy Sugerman]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, an easily read narrative well-balanced between scientific details, political landscapes, and exciting explorations. I was and will now continue to be invested in the future of the stunning and fascinating snow leopard.

The author has accomplished such impressive conservation work!

While reading this during the final week of summer, I sort of wished I’d picked it up instead during the winter. It will appeal to readers of Owls of the Eastern Ice, a similar non-fiction narrative and one that I read a couple years ago during a snowstorm, curled up by the fireplace with a warm adult beverage. Or two.

[Daniel Allen]

A leading ecologist and conservationist recounts his experience working to find, study and protect snow leopards.

Author Kullu Suryawanshi does a commendable job of sharing his passion for nature and the big cat at this book's heart. His writing about the wildlife of the countries of Central and South Asia is matched by his recollection of his climbing exploits in the mountains that the leopard calls home. I learned a great deal about the region, the efforts underway to preserve the animal and the political wrangling that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that the leopard continues to survive in an ever changing world.

[Lydia Wagner]

The Ghost of the Mountains has a fascinating subject at its heart, and the author’s two decades tracking snow leopards in the Himalayas is genuinely impressive. But the narrative feels disjointed, jumping between time periods and topics without smooth transitions, and for a story set against such a dramatic landscape, it never quite pulled me in the way it should have. The conservation stakes are real and important, but the dry delivery kept me at arm’s length throughout. A subject this majestic deserved a more captivating telling.

[Becca Cadoff]

I absolutely LOVED this book. A must-read for anyone interested in animals, adventure, conservation, mountaineering, academics, fieldwork, and the Himalaya! This book was well written, insightful, and packed with information. Parts were fun, parts were thoughtful, parts were nerdy, parts were heartwarming. And, unexpectedly but happily, I learned about international politics in central Asian countries that I didn't know much about.

[Mary]

Is there an animal more spectacular and mysterious than the snow leopard? While around 100 people die from leopard attacks each year, only one person has EVER been documented as attacked by a snow leopard and it was a Japanese skier this year (2026!), who saw one on the slope and thought she’d try to take a selfie. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The author has studied snow leopards in the Tibetan plateau of the Himalayas for twenty years. This was an interesting book about his research.

[Jeanne Ann]

I read this book right after finishing Jill Lepore's The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, and it was a deeply appreciated corrective. This account of decent, dedicated, self-reflective people working to understand and protect wildlife was nuanced, compassionate, honest, and reminded me that the world is full of admirable people who are committed to protecting the Earth and its creatures--not escaping to other planets after this one has been paved with data centers!

[Debbie Jacob]

The Ghost of the Mountains is both a comprehensive and fascinating study of snow leopards and a chronicle of the author's dedication to this secluded and important work. It's also the story of the tug-of-war between villages and consservationists. The Ghost of the Mountains is filled with interesting scientific information, and it reads like a beautifully written novel.

[Soscha]

Very involved reading but fascinating none the less. It’s not simple work these researchers do and it’s hard to decide if you only want to root for the snow leopard, the blue sheep, the ibex but always, always the researchers.

[MM]

Fabulous book. Great storytelling from a researcher about his 20 year efforts to understand the snow leopard and its habitat. Shares his journey to understand what it takes to help people and wildlife to survive in the harsh environment of the high Himalayas and Tibetan plateau.

[Jasmine P]

Super interesting read despite knowing practically nothing on the topic. Discusses his career in conservation including the difficulties managing wildlife with varying public perceptions, government politics, and greed from hunters/businesses.

[Barbara]

Fascinating account of the authors’ career studying this elusive large cat.

[Madison]

You deserve an award for this book

[Neha]

The book is very interesting and fascinating. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in mountains, snow leopards and Wildlife Conservation work.

[Geo Forman]

I'm spoiled by John Vaillant books. This was just okay

[Foggygirl]

A great read