Mammals of Tibetan Plateau

Tibetan Plateau

For generations of naturalists, the awesome Snow Leopard was an almost mythical creature, stalking the remote high mountains of Asia which were accessible only to expeditions. Whilst a spirit of adventure is still required to enter the domain of the Snow Leopard, modern communications have made it feasible to finally observe this specialised predator in the wild and in recent years China Wild Tour is proud to have organised a number of successful tours in Tibetan Plateau.

Sightings of the charismatic Snow Leopard will be the main focus of the tour but in addition we will hope to see other inhabitants of the high mountains such as Blue Sheep and Asiatic Ibex together with a small but interesting selection of birdlife. Quite apart from the wildlife, Yushu is a fascinating and unusual destination steeped in Buddhist history and the itinerary permits time to admire some of the ancient architecture in and around Yushu.

Tour Highlights

itinerary：

Xining – Huzu beishan - Koko Nor Lake - Rubber Hill – Chaka – Gonghe – Er La Pass – Nanqian – Qumalai– Golmud –  Xining

BEST TIME：

Spring / Autumn

GROUP SIZE:

1-10 persons

TOUR PRICE:

Please contact us for the latest tour price.

ITINERARY 行程

Day 1 Xining - Huzu beishan

Arrive Xining, and one hour drive to Huzhu and overnight.

Day 2 Huzu beishan - Xining

Full day birding in Huzu beishan to search Gansu Leaf Warbler, Crested Tit-Warbler, Blue Eared-Pheasant, Chinese Hazel Grouse, Przevalski’s and Chinese Nuthatch. And back to Xining for overnight.

Day 3 Xining - Koko Nor Lake - Heimahe

Early morning leave Xining to Koko Nor Lake. Black-necked Crane, Ground Tit, Mongolian Lark, Small Snowfinch, Hume's Short-toed Lark, Tibetan Lark, Pallas's Gull, Pine Bunting, Black-necked Grebe and other waterfowls are our targets. Overnight at Heimahe Town, where is near the lake side.

Day 4 Heimahe - Rubber Hill -Chaka

We’ll spend more than half day at Rubber Hill to search Pink-tailed Bunting, Tibetan Partridge, Lammergeier, White-winged Redstart, Ala Shan Redstart, Chinese Beautiful and Pink-rumped Rosefinch, snowfinches and accentors etc.. Then 1 hour drive to Chaka to looking for Pallas’s Sangrouse, Mongolian Ground-Jay, Blanford's Snowfinch, Desert Finch and Mongolian Finch, Daurian Partridge etc. Overnight in Chaka.

Day 5 Chaka - Gonghe

 We leave early to another side of mountain to findAla Shan Redstart, Desert Finch and Mongolian Finch and Daurian Partridge. We have another chance to exploring the desert area around Chaka in the afternoon, before we move to Gonghe. Overnight in Gonghe.

Day 6 Gonghe

We’ll spend the whole day to visit outside the city in search ofPale Rosefinch, Rusty-necklaced Partridge, Desert Finch and Mongolian Finch, Lesser Whitethroat , Pine Bunting, Common Pheasant, Meadow Bunting etc. Overnight in Gonghe.

Day 7 Gonghe – Erla Pass – Maduo

Today we’ll drive to Erla Pass in the early morning, where we’ll find Tibetan Rosefinch, Tibetan Snowcock, White-winged Redstart, Brandt’s Mountain Finch. If lucky, we maybe find Tibetan Sandgrouse on the top of the summit. Overnight in Maduo.

Day 8 Maduo  – Nangqian

We’ll spend the whole day driving to Yushu, and we will stop several places for birding. We can expect to see many Upland Buzzards and Sakers, Black-necked Cranes, kiang and Tibetan Gazelles along this grasslands. Overnight in Nangqian.

Day 9 Nanqian

We’ll spend the whole day in Kanda Gorge, where we search Tibetan Bunting. Other target birds are Tibetan Partridge, Yellow-billed Chough, Tibetan Snowcock, Grandala, White-tailed Rubythroat, Pink-tailed Rosefinch, Buff-throated Monal Partridge, White Eared-Pheasant etc.

Day 10 Nanqian

We’ll spend another whole day in Baizha Forest, where we will look for Buff-throated Monal Partridge, Giant Laughingthrush, Ibisbil, Crested Tit-Warbler, White Eared-Pheasant, Blood Pheasant, Tibetan Babax etc. Overnight in Nanqian.

Day 11 Nanqian  – Qumalai

Today is a travel day as we make our way across the plateau for an overnight stay in Qumalai.

Day 12 Qumalai  – Golmud

We continue across the plateau today to join with the main Qinghai-Tibet highway at Budongquan. Here we can stop to look again for Tibetan Sandgrouse at another site if we haven’t already seen them at Er La. Mammals are conspicuous along this road, and along with large numbers of Kiang and Tibetan Gazelle we hope to encounter small groups of Tibetan Antelope along with an outside possibility of wild Yak.

Night in Golmud.

Day 13 Golmud  – Xining
Today is a travel day as we make our way across the plateau for an overnight stay in Xining.
 
Day 14 Xining

Departures from Yushu.

Tour End.