In the company of local experts, guides and Nick Garbutt, we hope to enjoy repeated rewarding encounters and sightings of Pallas’s cat, an intriguing and often expressive feline.
Perhaps, more than any other country, Mongolia epitomises the notion of wilderness: this region of Central Asia has captivated the psyche of explorers for centuries. Even today, when Western culture and lifestyle has infiltrated most corners of the globe, much of Mongolia remains steadfastly untouched, with a traditional nomadic and pastoral ways of life the norm outside the capital city Ulaanbaatar. More specifically, these vast, virtually uninhabited lands, with seemingly endless landscapes, have captivated biologists and naturalists looking for something different.
Our itinerary focuses on the eastern and central regions of Mongolia, renowned for great rolling grasslands or steppes home to many herds of ungulates, including Przewalski's horse, Mongolian gazelle and Argali sheep, and being one of the strongholds of Pallas’s cat, which we hope to have plenty of opportunities to photograph.
Pallas’s cat have incredibly dense fur and are superbly camouflaged, so can be elusive. However, we will be working with local scientists and field guides, at sites and locations where cat densities are relatively high, so we should hopefully have repeated rewarding encounters and sightings with this intriguing feline - because of its scowling expression, sometimes called the world's ‘grumpiest’ cat.
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK
Today we depart the UK on overnight flights to Mongolia.
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Day 2:
Arrive Ulaanbaatar
We arrive into Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city, where we're met on arrival and transferred to our accommodation in city.
Accommodation: Kempinski Hotel, 1-night
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Day 3:
Transfer to Hustai National Park
After breakfast, we depart our hotel and transfer to the Hustai National Park.
We should arrive in Hustai during the afternoon, and we have time to settle into our accommodation before beginning our exploration of the park. We should hopefully have some rewarding encounters with Przewalski's horse, Mongolian marmot and Argali sheep.
Accommodation: Hustai Tourist Ger Camp, 2-nights
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Day 4:
Explore Hustai National Park
We have the full day to explore the national park in search of photographic opportunities with the wildlife and landscapes that we come across. Our key target species is Przewalski's horse, also known as the Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse.
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Day 5:
Travel to the Eastern Mongolian Steppe
Today is a long day on the road, as we travel from Hustai National Park past Ulaanbaatar and onward to the great grasslands and plains of the Eastern Mongolian Steppes. We will be driving for much of the day stopping for lunch and to stretch our legs.
We should arrive at our next ger camp by early evening, and we have time to freshen up before dinner.
Accommodation: Manul Yurt Camp, 8-nights
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Days 6-12
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Photograph the wildlife of the Eastern Mongolian Steppe
Over the course of the next seven days, we head out on excursions from our camp to explore the Eastern Mongolian Steppes. Working closely with local guides, we concentrate our efforts on sightings and photographic opportunities of Pallas's cat or Manul, an intriguing and photogenic subject.
These felines can be elusive, so we spend long periods out in the field to increase our chances, particularly concentrating our efforts around dawn and dusk when Pallas's cats are more active. This trip has specifically been timed to tie in with the peak of the Mongolian summer which coincides with the breeding season of Pallas's cat, so individuals should be more active and visible as they hunt for long periods of time to feed their kittens.
The steppes are known for large herds of ungulates, so we may also come across Mongolian gazelle whilst exploring this immense ecosystem as well as a number of other species including, after dark, corsac fox and steppe polecat.
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Day 13:
Return to Ulaanbaatar
Today, we travel back to Ulaanbaatar, where we spend our final night in Mongolia.
Accommodation: Kempinski Hotel, 1-night
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Day 14:
Departure & arrive UK
This morning we transfer to the airport for our return flights to the UK arriving later the same day.
Please note: With the remoteness of the locations we visit, the simplicity of the ger camps, extended hours in the field scanning for wildlife and for photography, and walking over uneven terrain, you will need a reasonable level of fitness to get the most out of this trip.
