Wild Giant Panda and Rural Study Tour
27th November to 10th December 2008
12th March to 25th March 2009
2nd April to 15th April 2009
From £3250 per person inclusive from UK.
This is a special interest tour to gain privileged insight into the Giant panda and its long term conservation
Few people have had the opportunity to see pandas in the wild but the chances are very good in winter time with the efforts of experienced trackers and expert researchers.
Go backstage at the Panda Breeding Centre in Chengdu.
Enjoy traditional rural life in a little-changed part of the country.
Tour helps fund panda conservation in regions visited.
Track wild pandas and explore China’s rich traditional rural heritage in unexplored mountains.
This tour to Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces aims to give a privileged insight into two panda reserves, which up until now have had little tourism. The itinerary allows unique viewing and trekking opportunities to track and view wild pandas in their natural habitat, as well as meeting with traditional rural communities, still practising their ancient agricultural methods, and meeting with the individuals fighting to ensure the survival of wilderness in China.
The Reserves of Foping and Changqing were established in the late 1990s as two of eight contiguous reserves set up for Giant panda protection in the Qinling Mountains, south of Xian, and as such hold some of the best high altitude primary forest and flora to be seen in China. Around 220 species of birds and other endangered mammals including Clouded leopard, Takin, Goral and Tufted deer also inhabit the park.
Under the guidance of wildlife experts and researchers you will have a very good chance of seeing pandas in the winter time in these mountains, tracking them through thick bamboo forests and mountainous valleys with snow on the ground, as well as seeing other animals at this time.
Furthermore explore traditional agricultural practices, enjoy local cuisine, visit ancient cultural sites, stay in traditional rural towns and experience a local homestead with an optional home stay. Offering a range of accommodation options from a park research station to comfortable local hotels and optional camping, this trip will give you an alternative view of China that few travellers witness in a rapidly changing country. Finally ed with a day in Xian to see the Terracotta warriors and the great walled city of Xian.
This is a challenging tour programme, and you should be reasonably fit and capable of walking and trekking in mountainous terrain to gain the greatest enjoyment.
Make an Enquiry & learn more
PANDA TRACKING
Though we make no guarantees that you will see pandas on this tour the chances are quite good, with as much as a 60 % chance given the length of time you are in the field. Some wild pandas are comfortable in the presence of humans and it is not unknown for them to go to sleep while being watched! During the early spring trips, if you are lucky, you can hear and watch small gatherings of pandas as the males jostle and even fight for a female’s attention! It is though challenging terrain so you need to be reasonably fit and healthy to trek in these mountainous forests.
Costs
Nov 2008 and 2009
From £3250 per person on twin share basis fully inclusive from the UK
This is based on a minimum of 6 people travelling in the group, maximum eight people. We do reserve the right to charge a supplement for running the trip at below this minimum number.
Single supplement
We do not charge a single supplement if you are willing to share and we are unable to find you a suitable room mate. If you require a guaranteed single room the cost is £200 per person.
Includes
All international economy flights from London Heathrow, domestic flights, all accommodation and optional camping, all food as per itinerary, transport in private minibus, government taxes and park fees, an expert tour leader, English-speaking interpreter throughout and local guides and experts at sites. Contribution to WWF China (Shaanxi province).
Excludes
Travel insurance, visas, vaccinations, alcohol and items of a personal nature, plus gratuities.
The tour aims to help fund Giant Panda conservation in the Qinling Mountains through local partners in Xian and the ongoing research of the tour leader in Changqing Nature Reserve.
Field Expertise
Christine Watts
Christine Watts is an Australian ecologist and primatologist and has spent the last three years in rural China, undertaking her doctorate as a field researcher into the Golden Monkeys in Changqing Nature Reserve.
Furthermore under an Australian funding arrangement she became the project leader of the Giant Panda Ecotourism Project, assisting the development of ecotourism in the Qinling Mountain region, particularily the Changqing Reserve. Her intimate knowledge of the areas visited, her conversational Chinese and love of the people you meet on this tour will help give you a privileged insight into this rural part of China and its wildlife.
Christine Watts, is an Australian ecologist and primatologist by training and has spent the last three years in rural China, undertaking her doctorate as a field researcher into the Golden Monkeys in Changqing Nature Reserve.
Furthermore under an Australian funding arrangement she became a project leader of the Giant Panda Ecotourism Project, assisting the development of ecotourism in the Qinling Mountain region, particularily the Changqing Reserve. He intimate knowledge of the areas visited, her conversational Chinese and love of the people you meet on this tour will help give you a privileged insight into this rural part of China and its wildlife.
This wildlife study has never been done before and therefore there is no feedback yet. It has been carefully planned and set up after an extensive reconnaisance of the area in October 2006 by Julian Matthews in cooperation with each Park’s staff