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Giant Panda Expedition: 6 - 16 Nov 2010 (11 days)
offered by supplier M18965 (view this supplier profile)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 11
day(s)
Group Size: 1
- 8
people
Destination(s):
China
Specialty Categories:
Wildlife Viewing
National Parks
Season: November
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: Yes
Minimum Per Person Price: 3550 US Dollar (USD)
Maximum Per Person Price: 3550 US Dollar (USD)
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Our search for the iconic Giant Panda will take us on an epic journey into one of the world’s most spectacular natural areas, the Qinling Mountains in the heart of the Chinese countryside. These temperate forests hold the largest remaining population and the highest density of Giant Panda in the world! Until very recently, seeing Giant Pandas in the wild was just a fantasy for wildlife enthusiasts but now, as part of a conservation project to save the Panda and promote ecotourism in the area, it is, for the first time, a reality.
To access the interior of Panda territory we will venture deep into the magnificent fairy-tale Qinling Mountains. These legendary mountains, covering an impressive 52,000 km², their jagged peaks towering to a frigid 3,800 meters, are cloaked in some of the planet’s most biologically rich temperate forests. These forests are home to a variety of rare, endemic and endangered mammalian, avian and botanical treasures. We will journey on foot through steep, and occasionally rugged, terrain to the ecological paradise of Foping Nature Reserve in the Qinling for it is here that Panda numbers reach a density of one Panda per 1.4 km²! From the Sanguanmiao research station, we will trek into the bamboo forests in search of Giant Pandas; this requires much patience and luck, but with dedication and perseverance we stand a good chance of locating one the world’s rarest and most charismatic mammals.
Many other mammalian gems inhabit these forests and an impressive 51 mammal species have been recorded in the reserve! We may see Golden Takin - a shaggy, golden fleeced mountain goat-antelope that can weigh up to 1,400 pounds! Common Goral can be seen foraging as it negotiates the steepest of precipices whilst the dense forests host Forest Musk Deer, Mainland Serow and Wild Boar. Asiatic Black Bears, closely related to the American Black Bear, can be viewed as can one of the world’s finest looking squirrels, the Red-and-white Giant Flying-Squirrel; a remarkably patterned creature with a striking chestnut and white pelage and a very mischievous face!
One of the rarest primates in the world, the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey can also be viewing during the colder winter months. Birds are also a feature here and we will spend time looking for such jewels as Golden Pheasant, the rare Temminck’s Tragopan, the glorious Firethroat and the Chinese Crested Ibis, only recently rediscovered in the area in 1981 and previously considered extinct! We will also take some time to visit the marvelous Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum - a world cultural heritage site and certainly one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.
On this remarkable journey with us, we take you to a magical place where time has stood still, a place of overwhelming scenery, and a place that is home to the fabled Giant Panda! You will leave knowing that by having embarked on this ultimate mammal voyage you have actively contributed to their conservation and taken part in a unique, and very special adventure.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Rates are based upon group tariffs; if the tour does not have sufficient registration, a small-party supplement may have to be charged.These costs are subject to major foreign exchange fluctuations and unforeseen increases in tour related costs and may have to be adjusted as a result.
Also see tour packages in:
Asia
China
Nature & Wildlife
Wildlife Viewing
National Parks
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, ext: 18965
