Snow leopard and Pallas’s cat are among Asia’s most prized felines. This innovative tour visits the Altai mountains and the edge of Hustai National Park, offering the unique opportunity to see both.
From two comfortable ger camps, rented from local families, we explore two hugely contrasting landscapes in the west and centre of Mongolia. In addition to snow leopard and Pallas’s cat, we hope to see a host of exciting mammals including Asiatic ibex, argali, Mongolian gazelle, goitred gazelle, saiga antelope, Altai wapiti, tarbagan marmot, long-tailed suslik, Siberian jerboa, Pallas’s pika, tolai hare, corsac fox and steppe polecat.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK
Fly from the UK to Istanbul and on to Ulaanbaatar.
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Day 2:
Ulaanbaatar
Arrive in Ulaanbaatar and visit a local birdwatching site in the afternoon.
Accommodation: 4* hotel, 1-night
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Days 3-9
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Khovd Region
We spend seven nights in the Altai mountains, near the city of Khovd, camping in traditional gers, searching surrounding valleys by day for snow leopard and other montane and steppe-desert wildlife.
We generally make two half-day trips each day, returning to camp for lunch, though on some days, depending on the site that we're visiting and what we find, lunch may be taken with us as a picnic.
Our principal focus here is on seeing a snow leopard. In any terrain, and at any time of year, seeing a snow leopard requires both long hours of dedicated searching in the field and a great deal of luck.
Accommodation: Traditional Ger Camp, 7-nights
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Day 10:
Return to Ulaanbaatar
This morning we leave our camp and return to Khovd for a flight back to Ulaanbaatar, where we spend the night.
Accommodation: 4* hotel, 1-night
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Days 11-12
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Hustai National Park
From a second comfortable ger camp, we explore an area close to Hustai National Park where our local trackers have located a population of Pallas’s cats. The area has plentiful Pallas’s pikas, long-tailed susliks and tarbagan marmots, plus large herbivores, so it also sustains corsac and red foxes, wolf and steppe polecat.
Accommodation: Traditional Ger Camp, 2-nights
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Day 13:
Ulaanbaatar
We return to the capital Ulaanbaatar prior to our international flight the following day.
Accommodation: 4* hotel, 1-night
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Day 14:
Fly to UK
We take scheduled flights back to the UK, arriving the same day.
