Birding in Qinghai and Tibetan Region is a life unforgettable experience,you will be amazed by the scenerary you see, some 4000 metres high, snow-capped mountains,beautiful and endless grasslands,the largest inland saltlake of China,and numerous wild lifes,Pallasi's Cat,Tibetan Gazelle, Tibetan Ass, Wolves, Tibetan Fox,etc.Our adventure begins from Xining, the capital city of Qinghai province,then go to the remotest regions of the area to look for a large number of endemics or very localised species. the daily new species might not be high as you expected, but the quality of the birds we get daily are quite high. the tour covers most of the famous birding sites of Tibetan Region,like the Koko Nor Lake, Rubber Mountain,Chaka, Er La Pass(5000 metres high at the top), Yushu and Kande Shan,etc. some highlights birds are Himalayan Snowcock, Tibetan Sandgrouse,Tibetan Eared Pheasant,A La Shan Redstart,Pink-tailed Finch,several Rosefinches include Tibetan Rosefinch,etc.

Tibetan Rosefinch

Foods

Qinghai province is located in northwest China,on the Tibetan Plateau,most local people eat food made of Wheat, but rice is also available in most of the areas. For breakfasts, we will try some Chinese bread,Steamed Buns and Fried Twisted Stick Bread,We will also buy some western style Bread whereever available, as well as Peanut Butter, Jam, Coffee, Tea(Both green tea and black tea), Hot Water,Milk, Yogurt,Seasonal Fruits. we will also try hotel breakfasts where we stay longer time or nearby the birding sites.we will also try some dumplings whenever possible for Lunch. Dinner will be in hotel or local popular restaurants, a few packed picnic lunches will be prepared wherever neccessary.   

Accommodation

Qinghai is relativly a less developed areas in China,a lot of hotels we are staying are not very good ones compare to our tours in other parts of China,but we will arrange to stay at some good hotels in the city areas, and some guesthouse standard hotels in the mountainous regions,the guesthouse nearby Erla Shan is very basic,the good thing is we only need to stay there for a short time. in General. the accommodations are comfortable and nice.

Transportation

2 China domestic flights included in the tour, for land transportation, we will use SUV or Mini Van depend on our group size, for a group of 8 people, we will arrange a Van with 18 seats, so we will have enough space for luggages and each one can have a spare seat for cameras and telescopes. for a small private group of 2-3 people, we may arrange a SUV with 7 seats. Most of the road conditions are very good,even in the mountains and Valleys.

Guide

We will arrange a Professional Birding Tour Guide to accompany for the whole trip, we might also arrange some local guides when we have the news that some local people have found some important species where they know exactly where to take us to.


Access (How easy is the tour)

We can drive to access to most of the birding sites,only a few places are physical challenging, like Erla Shan,we can drive to around 4500 metres,but we still needs to climb up to almost 4800-5000 metres for Himalayan Snowcock and Tibetan Rosefinch,it is very cold on the top and you may feel a little bit difficult to breathe due to altitudes, most of people are ok,but if you have the uncomfortable feeling,you may choose to stay low with driver or birding around bus.

Shopping

We will not particularly arrange time for shopping, but we will stop in some big cities to buy some supplies for picnic meals, where you may find some souvenirs made in China from supermarkt.

Tour Highlights:

Tibetan Partridge
Tibetan Snowcock
Himalayan Snowcock
Tibetan Eared Pheasant
Przevalski’s Partridge
Daurian Partridge
Blue Eared Pheasant
Black-necked Crane
Ibisbill
Tibetan Sandgrouse
Pallas’s Sandgrouse
Mongolian Lark
Tibetan Lark
Robin Accentor
White-tailed Rubythroat
Siberian Rubythroat
Siberian Bluetail
A La Shan Redstart
Grandala
Tibetan Blackbird
Tibetan Giant Barbax
Brown-cheeked Laughingthrush
Crested Tit-warbler
Pink-tailed Finch
Pale Rosefinch
Spotted Great Rosefinch