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Wildlife / Snow leopard tour
Small group · fixed departures
Six field days on the high grassland of Sanjiangyuan in Yushu prefecture, Qinghai, worked in the first and last light for snow leopard — with everything else the plateau carries between the cats.
Ask about this itinerarySnow leopard at rest among the rocks · the Yushu highland, Qinghai
Day 01 arrives, Day 07 flies out
first and last light are when the cats hunt
the largest town on the trip; you acclimatise here first
an international-travellers group
Why this route
Six field days on the Sanjiangyuan highland, in the prefecture that holds some of the densest known snow leopard country in China. The days start at six or seven in the morning because the cats hunt in the first and last light; the middle of the day belongs to tracks, scrapes and the patient work of deciding which ridge was used last night.
The plan is fixed in shape and flexible in fact. Each departure carries a day-by-day schedule, but the actual ground changes with the season — access and restrictions move it — so the working plan is sent when you sign up, and may still change after that. Every change is made for sighting chance, weather or safety, not for the itinerary's sake.
More than one vehicle travels together, so a day can split by interest, and night drives run at some locations. And the honest part, said up front: a good week is not a guaranteed cat. The blue sheep are close to certain. The leopard is the reason the week is long.
The route
In and out of Yushu by air, with the days between spent on the high ground around it. Three stages, one moving plan.
Day by day
Day 01 is arrival and acclimatisation, Day 07 is the flight out, and the five days between are the trip. Each departure's detailed plan is sent after sign-up; the shape of it is below.
Arrive Yushu
You land at Yushu by midday and your guide meets you at the airport. If the day allows, the first outing is direct — nearby ground that carries pika and alpine musk deer, and a first chance of cat before the trip has properly begun.
Yushu is the largest town on the route, which makes it the place to prepare: the trip briefing happens here, along with any shopping the highland will ask for. The night is spent at 3,680 metres, which is the point — the acclimatisation day is not a formality, it is the trip being won or lost.
The highland · Sanjiangyuan
From this day on the plan follows the season. Access and restrictions decide where the trip actually goes, so the working schedule is sent after you sign up — and it may still change after that, in sequence, timing and overnight places, each change made for sighting chance, weather or safety.
The rhythm is constant even when the ground is not. Days start at six or seven in the morning, when the light is best and the cats are busiest; some days pause at midday to save the late afternoon; more than one vehicle travels together, so a day can split by interest; and at some locations a night drive runs. The rest is scanning — binoculars and scopes working the slopes for whatever the plateau turns up.
Why the plan bends
The cats are real and resident. They are not on a schedule.
Sanjiangyuan · why the working plan can change after you sign up
Depart Yushu
A drop-off at Yushu airport and the trip ends. The flight connection is yours to book; we will advise which departures pair cleanly with the road out of the highland the evening before.
Species odds
The highland divides its animals honestly: the grazers are close to certain, the predators are the reason the week is long.
Sanjiangyuan highland · what most weeks deliver
The blue sheep are not filler — the cats follow them, and reading the herds is most of the fieldcraft of the week.
the reason the week runs six field days
Fieldwork in one valley of this prefecture has identified 85 individual snow leopards — a world-class density that still guarantees nothing. A good week is not a guaranteed cat, and we would rather say so now than explain it on the last evening.
Chances are field estimates for a week's scanning, not a survey result. The species move with the season, and the plan moves with them.
Fixed departures
The snow leopard season on this ground is short, and the departures sit inside it: three consecutive weeks each June, in both 2027 and 2028, all at the same price.
| Departs | Per person | Choose a departure |
|---|---|---|
| 14–20 Jun 2027 | USD 2,3201,820 six months ahead | |
| 21–27 Jun 2027 | USD 2,3201,820 six months ahead | |
| 28 Jun–4 Jul 2027 | USD 2,3201,820 six months ahead | |
| 14–20 Jun 2028 | USD 2,3201,820 six months ahead | |
| 21–27 Jun 2028 | USD 2,3201,820 six months ahead | |
| 28 Jun–4 Jul 2028 | USD 2,3201,820 six months ahead |
If none of these weeks fit, ask anyway — we will say honestly what else the season allows. How that works
What's included
The most complete list we run: once the trip starts in Yushu, almost everything is paid for.
Arranged and paid for before you arrive.
An English-speaking guide
A local wildlife guide with years of work on this exact ground.
Entry tickets and permits
Everything on the route, arranged ahead.
Private transfers with a window seat
Every traveller rides with a seat — and an operable window — of their own.
All meals
From the arrival day to the last morning: no meal budget to carry at altitude.
Six nights' accommodation
Twin share throughout, booked by the trip.
Visa assistance
The paperwork and guidance for the China visa.
Arrangement and logistics
The moving plan itself, and everything behind it.
Yours, or yours to ask us about.
Flights
International flights, and the domestic flights into and out of Yushu.
Tips for guide and driver
Optional, at your discretion at the end of the trip.
Single room supplement
A room to yourself is quoted with the booking.
Personal expenses
Everything from drinks to extra batteries.
Ask about any line above and we will answer it in writing, with a price where there is one.
Enquiry
Tell us which departure you are looking at and how many of you there are. We will come back with availability, the season's working plan, and a written outline.
Read next: The Sichuan mammal tour · Snow leopard: Sanjiangyuan and Angsai · The herd carries the forest · How to read a snow leopard valley · A day in the field, hour by hour
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