Inala’s Mongolia. Search for the Snow Leopard: birds, mammals, culture and amazing landscapes 8-21 August 2024

Inala’s Mongolia 3-16 August 2022

Trip report ( includes main tour and extension ): Dr Tonia Cochran, Inala Nature Tours August 2022.

Arrival day. Wednesday 3 August 2022.
Most of the group arrived at Ulaanbaatar airport from ICN Seoul this morning at around 10:45 this morning and were met by Uugan after clearing customs. We transferred to our hotel in Ulaanbaatar in a gaily decorated bright yellow bus and saw our first Upland Buzzards perched on powerlines along the road en route. After checking in, we regrouped for lunch at a nearby café where Uugan ordered enough food for a group twice our size-it was delicious! We then took a walk along a nearby river and local park until around 16:00. Common Merganser, Grey Wagtails, White-crowned Penduline Tit and Olive-backed Pipit were seen in and along the riverbank, and we had good views of Great Tit and Eurasian Magpie which also occur in Europe. We also saw a very obliging and photogenic black-pelage Red Squirrel and our first Tolai Hare for the trip. On our return to the hotel, we converted some currency to local Tögrög at a nearby bank before returning to the hotel around 17:00. We walked to a nearby restaurant for a light dinner after our big lunch. 

Day 1. Thursday 4 August 2022. Ulaanbaatar to Manul Mountains. 
We gathered at the hotel for breakfast and then packed our bags for our two night stay at the Manul camp. We met Sandor, our bird and wildlife guide before Uugan and his fellow drivers collected us in our convoy of 4WDs which we used for this part of the tour. We spent the morning exploring the fields about 10km (6 miles) east of Ulaanbaatar while waiting for some guests flights to arrive. Highlights of the morning included good views of Demoiselle Cranes (one pair with two almost-grown chicks), Common and Pacific Swift and our first views of huge flightless Mongolian crickets (Deracantha onos) – the females recognizable by their long, fearsome-looking spiny ovipositors. Wild Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum), Mongolian Thyme (Thymus mongolicus) and Statice (Limonium bicolor) was growing everywhere. We had lunch at the airport before heading westwards to Manul ger (yurt) Camp (named for the Pallas’s Cat which is found here), located about two hours’ drive from Ulaanbaatar. This remote ger camp was purpose-built for this tour and is situated in steppe grassland and low mountains with sparse rocky outcrops.  We did well with raptors today, with Booted and Steppe Eagle, Cinereous Vulture, more Upland Buzzards, Common Kestrel, Amur and Saker Falcon added to the list. We also saw Isabelline Wheatear, Eurasian Tree-sparrow and several lark species (Horned, Mongolian and Asian Short-toed Lark and Skylark). Argali and Corsac Fox were also sighted. Various members of the group went for a wander before dinner and briefly sighted a Pallas’s Cat before it shot off. We quickly discovered that the toilet block had been commandeered by a colony of Mongolian Silver Voles who during our stay dragged vegetation into the toilet and amused us with their antics. After dinner we retired to our gers for our first camping experience of the trip.

Day 2. Friday 5 August 2022. Manul Mountains.
This morning after breakfast we headed out in the vehicles to explore the surrounding hills. After a quick tyre change and return to camp for lunch, we then once again headed out to look for Argali and Grey Wolves near camp. We sighted some Argali Sheep, Mongolian Gazelle, Red Fox and Tolai Hare and had good views of three Red Deer stags silhouetted on a rocky hillside watching us. Bird species included Common Snipe, Pallas’s Reed Bunting, Common Whitethroat, Common Rock-thrush, Steppe and Golden Eagle and our first views of Black-eared Kite, Northern Wheatear, Richard’s Pipit, Isabelline Shrike, Mongolian Finch and Rock Sparrow. Ken also found a Mongolian (Siberian Sand) Toad which was surprising given the distance from water, but it seemed quite at home as it half-buried itself under a bush after photos were taken. We saw several wildflowers including succulents from the genus Orostachys (Family Crassulaceae), and grasshoppers were everywhere. After our late afternoon return, the group walked to the rocky hills behind the camp to the area where the Pallas’s Cat was sighted the evening before. We found the lair which was surrounded by bones and were told that the cats had successfully raised kittens that were still in the area. A guest saw a cat walking up the gully which was out of site of the rest of the group, and it once again disappeared (probably into a marmot hole) before he could photograph it. We had great views of several Eurasian Hoopoe in one of the few trees in the area and returned to spend a second night at camp.

Day 3. Saturday 6 August 2022. Manul Mountains to Ulaanbaatar.
This morning we took pre-breakfast walk back to the Pallas’s Cat site behind camp, deciding to watch from a different location where we could see the gully and surrounds where the cat was sighted yesterday. The group separated into two groups. Endangered Tarbagan Marmots were busy around their burrows, and just before the group were due to head back to camp, we heard the excited call of “Manul, Manul (Pallas’s Cat)” from Sándor. At the same time, our local scout Gana called out that he had sighted a pack of 6 Grey Wolves. Unfortunately, both had disappeared before the group got onto them, but it inspired us to drive back to the same place after breakfast for another try. We then headed out in the vehicles to try to track the wolf pack and then returned to camp for lunch and to pack up and say goodbye to our scout Gana and our camp staff. After a group photo session, we headed back to Ulaanbaatar, stopping en route at a rocky canyon where Uugan spotted a Little Owl the day before. We had more success with the owl today, also adding White Wagtail, more Steppe and Golden Eagles and good views of Saker Falcon to our list. We also saw more Demoiselle Cranes flying as we approached the city. Our drivers danced and weaved amongst the traffic in their vehicles, somehow managing to avoid collision and safely depositing us back at our hotel. Once again, we walked to the nearby restaurant for dinner, before heading back to our hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

Day 4. Sunday 7 August 2022. Fly Ulaanbaatar- Khovd and travel to foothills of the Altai Mountains.
This morning we repacked our luggage in readiness for our flight to Khovd. Due to the luggage restrictions, some bags were left in storage at the hotel while we took the essentials (cameras, binoculars, spotting scopes and a few clothes) for our six-day adventure in the Altai Mountains. Our flight had been rescheduled to late afternoon, so we spent the morning birding and wildlife viewing at a wetland near Ulaanbaatar. Waterbirds in the lake here included Ruddy Shelduck, Gadwall, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Eurasian Coot and Great-crested Grebe with Common and Wood Sandpiper, Black Stork, Grey Heron, Great Cormorant and Grey and White Wagtails along the shorelines and tussocky islands. We also saw a Common Crane and a Siberian Wood Frog here. We then headed to Ulaanbaatar airport to eat lunch at a traditional Mongolian restaurant, before checking in for our two-hour flight to Khovd. On our arrival at 17:45, we were met by our new drivers Soronzonbold, Byambadorj, Gansukh and Tsend with their 4WD vehicles and transferred directly to the Altai ger Camp located in the foothills of Jargalant Khairkhan Mountain, an isolated extension of the Mongol Altai Mountain range, located two-hours’ drive south-west of Khovd. We met our interpreter Alta and the rest of the camp support team while being serenaded by a nearby group of Bactrian (Mongolian) Camels who were tended by a nearby herder and ate a late (21:00) dinner before heading to bed before lights out when the generator stopped at 22:00.

Day 5. Monday 8 August 2022. Altai Mountains: Jargalant Khairkhan Mountain.
This morning several members of our group explored the area around camp before breakfast to photograph the camels and the Pallas’s Pika that were so abundant around the camp. Several of us also found they were sharing their gers with wildlife; Tonia’s ger had been constructed over a Pallas’s Pika burrow and the inhabitant used the ger as an extension of its home,  depositing piles of  unwanted stones from its burrow on the floor, hanging out under the wash basin, sunbaking in the early morning sun streaming through the open door and letting out a shriek of disapproval at any sudden movement. After breakfast, the group drove to the top of Jargalant Mountain (over 3,000 metres - around 10,000 feet) with our local support team to scan for Snow Leopards where we spent the day. Our hosts are volunteer rangers who are recognized by the local authority and partners of the WWF Snow Leopard project. One of the three scouts (local herders who are part of this local community organization) spotted a Snow Leopard across the valley, which was unfortunately obscured from the group by some large rocks. The leopard then moved position to a nearby rock shelter and after the scouts and local team worked out its position aided by intel from a local shepherd, we relocated by vehicle to another vantage point near the herder’s camp where we could view the sleeping Snow Leopard with the aid of scopes and a guests huge camera lens. As dusk approached, most of the group decided to return to camp to avoid driving the rough terrain back to camp and to recharge camera batteries. Some guests stayed for an extra 30-45 minutes, during which time the leopard woke up, relieved itself in the corner of the rock shelter and then headed off to hunt. During the day, several raptors were sighted including Steppe and Golden Eagles, Bearded Vulture (Lammergeier) and Cinereous Vulture, Upland Buzzard, Saker Falcon, and Common Kestrel. Several Black-eared Kites showed great interest in our chicken soup lunch, wheeling around our vantage point and putting on a fine display. Red-billed Chough, White-winged Snowfinch, Northern Wheatear, Horned Lark, Northern Raven and Isabelline Shrike were also seen en route to and on top of the mountain.

Day 6. Tuesday 9 August 2022. Altai Mountains: Altai Camp and lowland semi-desert steppes.
Rain and low cloud this morning prevented us returning to the top of the Mountain today for another chance of seeing the Snow Leopard. It was decided instead to spend the morning around camp, ducking out between showers to photograph the Pikas and Jirds (Gerbils) around camp.

After an early (midday) lunch, we headed out instead to the lowland semi-desert area below the camp where the highlight of the afternoon was a group of several Pallas’s Sandgrouse and Asian Desert Warbler as well as several Desert Wheatears. We returned to camp late afternoon where several of our group showered before being entertained by ‘Eggie’, the daughter of one of our hosts rounding up Billie the goat who had been rescued as a kid and hand-reared by the camp team. During our stay, Billie had the run of camp, sleeping inside with her adopted family at night and visiting all the gers and welcoming scratches under the chin during the day. A beautiful double rainbow then appeared over the camp in the late afternoon sun. We were then privileged to attend a performance by three local students from Khovd University who were dressed in traditional costumes; two performers demonstrated the amazing Tuvan throat singing techniques accompanied by traditional instruments, while the third performed some traditional dances. Our group were mesmerised during the performance.  One of our drivers Byambadorj (affectionately known by the group as “Bimba”) also performed a solo to great applause by the group. Those who had travelled with him in ‘car 2’ were treated to some of his performances while driving during the trip (and also appreciative of the secret cooler compartment in the central console of his vehicle where water could be kept ice cold).

Day 7. Wednesday 10 August 2022. Altai Mountains: Durgun Lake.  
Today the scouts on the mountain reported that there was no sign of Snow Leopard on the upper slopes, so the group once again headed to the lowland semi-desert steppes and Durgun (Dörgön) Lake around 40km east of the Jargalant Khairkhan and Bumbag Hayrhan Uul Mountains. Durgun is a huge 305 square kilometre saltwater lake (around 4% salinity) and a remnant of a prehistoric lake within the Great Lakes Depression. En route the group were treated to several mirages. A stop was made at the township of Chandman for fuel and supplies, before returning to camp around 18:15.  Waterbirds seen today included Greylag Goose, Whooper Swan, Ruddy Shelduck, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Red-crested and Common Pochard, Mallard, Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Northern Lapwing, Little Grebe and Black-throated Loon, as well as Demoiselle Crane, Kentish and Great Sand Plover, Temminck’s and Red-necked Stint, Common Snipe, Green and Wood Sandpiper, Caspian (Mongolian) Gull, Caspian, Little, White-winged and Common Tern, Eurasian Spoonbill, Grey Heron and Great Egret. We also had our first views of Western Marsh Harrier, Mongolian Short-toed Lark, Western Yellow Wagtail and Sand Martin, and our only views of Long-legged Buzzard on the trip. Mammal sightings included Long-tailed Ground Squirrel (Souslik), Tolai Hare, and Corsac Fox with the highlight being the critically endangered Saiga Antelope. Around the camp the group spotlighted for Northern Three-toed and Siberian Jerboas, tiny kangaroo-like rodents that hop around looking for insects.

Day 8.  Thursday 11 August 2022. Altai Mountains: Jargalant Khairkhan Mountain.
After an early breakfast this morning, we once again made our way up to the top of Jargalant Mountain with several stops en route to view the wildflowers, beautiful scenery and 11,000+ year old Petroglyphs. The Petroglyphs of the high mountain glacier-carved valleys of the Mongolian Altai represent the most complete and best-preserved visual record of human prehistory and early history of the region at the intersection of Central and North Asia. The earliest images that we viewed, reflect a period beginning in the Late Pleistocene and lasting through the Early Holocene (about 11,000 – 6,000 years ago), when the paleoenvironment shifted from dry to forested steppe and the valleys provided an ideal habitat for hunters of large wild game. (Later images show the transition to herding as the dominant way of life and the most recent images show the transition to a horse-dependent nomadic lifestyle during the early 1st millennium BC, the Scythian period and the later Turkic period (7th and 8th centuries AD) but there were no signs of these more recent Petroglyph types at the locations we visited. Towards the top of the mountain, we had good but distant views of Siberian Ibex and then headed to the top where we spent the rest of the day scanning for Snow Leopard (alas no luck today) and photographing and watching Tarbagan Marmots and Long-tailed Ground Squirrels, before heading back down to camp early evening. Altai Snowcock, Chukar Partridge, Hill Pigeon, Black and Guldenstadt’s (White-winged) Redstart, and Eurasian Crag Martin were seen today. Jerboa watching around camp was once again an option.

Day 9. Friday 12 August 2022. Altai Mountains: foothills of Bumbag Hayrhan Uul Mountain.
Today we spent the morning in the foothills of Bumbag Mountain searching for Goitered (Black-tailed) Gazelle. We visited a spring-fed shallow waterhole where herds of horses and Bactrian Camels came to drink. We saw more Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Mongolian Short-toed Lark, Eurasian Skylark and Water Pipit, but the birding highlight was the rare, range-restricted Henderson’s Ground Jay, while the Toad-headed Agama Lizards were perfectly camouflaged against the grey gravel between the sparse low vegetation. We also saw a large-eared Daurian Pika acting as lookout on a stone cairn that the colony had commandeered for their home. After a quick tyre change, we returned to camp for lunch and afterwards watched the camp team erecting another ger for the next (larger sized) group, before spending the afternoon walking in the canyon behind the camp. We had our only view of Common Cuckoo, Greenish Warbler, Asian Brown Flycatcher and Ortolan Bunting for the trip at this location. This evening after dinner there was an impromptu volleyball match with the local camp support team with much fun and hilarity as the team players tried to stop the ball from rolling downhill and disappearing forever. Motorbikes were sometimes used to aid this process.

Day 10. Saturday 13 August 2022. Altai Mountains: Jargalant Khairkhan Mountain.
We spent another day combing the slopes of Jargalant Mountain from its summit today looking for Snow Leopard. Although we once again saw several species of bird including Guldenstadt’s Redstart, Himalayan (Griffon) and Cinereus Vulture and Steppe Eagle, there was still no luck with the Snow Leopard (although we did see more Siberian Ibex), so we left the site early (around 16:30). The group then spent about one hour walking in the canyon on the way back, finding a pair of Little Owl, Common Rock Thrush and Crag Martins whilst watching countless Pikas and Brandt’s Voles scurrying amongst the rocks and photographing wildflowers, before being collected by the vehicles and returning to base. After dinner, another volleyball match between “America vs Mongolia” was played, with the locals victorious at the end. Judging by the volume of laughter and cheering, a great time was had by all! The local camp crew then organized a campfire to celebrate our last evening there.  We all sat around the campfire and singing songs from our various countries (again I think the Mongolians had the edge on us) before retiring for the night.

Day 11. Sunday 14 August 2022. Altai Mountains to Ulaanbaatar.
This morning we said our farewells to our local support crew and headed towards Khovd. We stopped en route at a valley to see more amazing and beautifully preserved Petroglyphs, depicting local wildlife including Siberian Ibex, Argali Sheep, Red Deer, Grey Wolf and Fox, Aurochs (ancestral extinct cattle) and hunters with bows and arrows. One of them possibly depicted a Snow Leopard and a more recent petroglyph depicted a Bactrian Camel showing the move towards herding. We then visited a nearby cave where we saw 40,000-year-old rock paintings, before visiting a nearby lake for our final birdwatching in the area. White-headed Duck, Bar-headed Goose, Whooper Swan, Black-winged Stilt and Northern Lapwing were added to our list. Common Redshank, Whiskered Tern and Black-headed Gull were also new for the trip, and we saw our second Western Marsh Harrier. We then travelled to a local hotel for an early dinner of assorted pizzas, before travelling to Khovd airport to check in for our evening flight. We finally arrived back in Ulaanbaatar late evening, where a weary but cheerful Uugan once again greeted us and supplied us with much appreciated drinks of juice and water, fruit and yoghurt. We checked into our hotel at Ulaanbaatar and finally got to bed at 01:00am.

Day 12. Monday 15 August 2022. Hustai National Park to Ulaanbaatar.
This morning we left early (at 06:45) to make the most of our day trip to Hustai (Kustain Nuruu) National Park. Uugan arrived with breakfast packs which we ate on the bus en route. On arrival at the park, we were greeted by several groups of Tarbagan Marmot who were sunning themselves outside their burrows in the early morning sun. The big target today was Przewalski’s Horse (Takhi or Mongolian Wild Horse), and they didn’t disappoint. We had several close views of some herds of at least 6 individuals, some with foals and prolonged and quite close views of a group of 3 stallions. Przewalski's horse (with 33 chromosome pairs) differs genetically from and is a distinct species to modern domestic horses (with 32 chromosome pairs) apparently diverging about 45,000 years ago, long before the domestication of the horse. This wild horse species has been successfully reintroduced into the Park and is home to most of the 2,000 remaining individuals. We were also lucky to see a large herd of Mongolian Gazelle and more Red Deer here. The biggest win bird-wise was a family of Daurian Partridge where all the group clearly saw the parents with around 4 chicks quite near the road.  Other notable species were more Demoiselle Cranes, Steppe and Golden Eagle, White Wagtail and our only sighting of Rook on the tour. We had a lovely picnic lunch in the park under the shade of the Elm trees by a dry riverbed and some of the wildflowers such as Edelweiss (Leontopodium ochroleucum) and Clustered Bellflower (Campanula glomerata) were spectacular. We left late afternoon and returned to the hotel around 19:35 after our drivers once again skilfully and successfully negotiated the crazy Ulaanbaatar traffic. Traffic negotiation was the most stressful part of the whole tour (for us- the drivers seemed not to mind at all), but the big positive is that we estimated around 70% were Prius hybrid vehicles, apparently purchased cheaply from Japan. We had a late final dinner at our nearby restaurant, said our farewells to those either staying on or leaving early and then headed to bed.

Day 13. Tuesday 16 August 2022. Depart Ulaanbaatar.
The group were scheduled to depart on a 12:40 flight back to Seoul, so Uugan kindly offered to collect us at 08:00 and visit a local park en route to the airport. Here we picked up three new bird species: Eurasian Collared-dove, Northern Goshawk, Daurian Jackdaw, with good views of Azure Tit (which some members of the group missed on our arrival day) and Carrion Crow (which we were able to compare easily with the far larger Northern Raven which we saw almost every day of the tour). We then headed to the airport for our onward flights home, saying a brief farewell in Seoul.

During the tour we saw 23 species of mammals, 116 species of birds, many different species of plants and some interesting reptiles and amphibians. It was also amazing to see Bactrian Camels, Yaks and Cashmere goats being herded by expert horsemen for which Mongolia is renowned. Many thanks to everybody who joined the tour and to our ground crews at each camp for making this wild and remote experience possible.