China Ultimate Snow Leopard Expedition (12 days)

Begin in Yushu, the cultural heart of the Tibetan Plateau and gateway to Sanjiangyuan National Park. Meet your trip leader in the hotel lobby for a visit to the Jiegu Monastery, where you’ll be introduced to the Buddhist culture of Yushu, followed by a detailed introduction to the upcoming expedition before gathering for a welcome dinner with fellow travelers.

Spend a full day exploring Yushu’s cultural treasures. Start at Xinzhai Mani Stone City, where you can carve your own Mani stone and place it on the world’s largest pile. In the afternoon, head to Leba Valley to pay homage to the ancient Wencheng Princess Temple, and visit the largest sky-burial platform in Yushu. Return to your hotel by early evening to rest before the wildlife adventures ahead.

Spend the day immersing yourself in the wild ecology of the high-altitude grasslands. Set out early for Jiatang Grassland, the “Land of Rainbows,” where Tibetan foxes, gazelles, and pika roam across endless open plains. Watch foxes hunting and learn how small carnivores shape this fragile alpine ecosystem.

After lunch, continue to Batang Grassland in search of highland pheasants like the blood pheasant and white eared-pheasant. As evening approaches, visit Xianggu Monastery to hear stories of the Tibetan blue bear and how local communities navigate life alongside wildlife.

Return to your hotel in Yushu for dinner and rest.

From today onward, your snow leopard expedition follows real-time updates from our Snow Leopard Information Network. Routes may change as we move toward the best wildlife activity of the day.

Begin with a supply stop in Yushu before driving into true snow leopard country. By afternoon, settle into the high valleys and start scanning for snow leopards, wolves, blue sheep, and soaring Himalayan vultures. As night approaches, get familiar with the terrain and the slow, patient rhythm of wildlife observation.

You’ll stay at herders’ home alongside local herders, with basic facilities but unmatched access to the heart of the plateau’s wilderness.

Spend the next three days deep in snow leopard country, exploring highland valleys, shrub forests, and open grasslands. Drive through prime habitat in search of snow leopards, wolves, Tibetan foxes, white-lipped deer, argali, and alpine musk deer, while raptors like golden eagles and bearded vultures circle overhead.

With real-time updates from our local spotters, each day’s route adapts to wherever wildlife is most active, ensuring the best possible viewing experience.

You’ll stay at herders’ home alongside local herders, eating warm Tibetan meals and waking each day surrounded by the silence of the high plateau.

Start before sunrise for another morning of wildlife watching, scanning the valleys for snow leopards, wolves, Tibetan foxes, and high-altitude ungulates as the first light reaches the mountains.

By afternoon, continue to Longbao Wetland, one of the plateau’s most important bird sanctuaries and the famed “hometown of the black-necked crane.” Here, bar-headed geese, ruddy shelducks, and countless migratory birds gather across glittering wetlands.

After five days in the wild, return to Yushu in the evening to enjoy a hot shower, warm food, and the comfort of city life once more.

Spend the day exploring Nangqian, one of the richest wildlife regions on the Tibetan Plateau and a key stronghold for snow leopards. As you drive toward the high valleys, keep an eye out for blue sheep, musk deer, and soaring vultures.

By midday, enjoy a quiet break in the open wilderness before continuing deeper into Nangqian. Spend the afternoon searching for Eurasian lynx and Pallas’s cat—two of the plateau’s most elusive predators—until nightfall. You’ll overnight at Juela Camp, surrounded by the wild silence of the mountains.

Real-time updates from our local spotters guide the day’s route, ensuring the best chances of sightings.

Spend the day in Juela’s high mountain valleys tracking some of the plateau’s most elusive predators. Today’s focus is the Eurasian lynx and Pallas’s cat—masters of camouflage that blend perfectly into rocky slopes and earthen mounds. Stay alert and patient as you scan the terrain, with blue sheep, musk deer, and circling vultures adding to the day’s wildlife encounters.

You’ll return to Juela Camp for a simple, warm meal and a night surrounded by the quiet of the highlands.

After breakfast, make one last outing into the high-altitude valleys to search for snow leopards, Tibetan foxes, and gazelles, your final chance to spot the wildlife of the plateau.

In the afternoon, follow the Lancang River back to Yushu. After a well-earned rest, enjoy a farewell dinner and look back on the unforgettable encounters of your journey.

The guide will bid you farewell at the hotel and see you off to your vehicle for the transfer to the airport, marking the end of our unforgettable wildlife journey.