More details about this and other tours to Russia from InteractiveRussia travel you can find here: Travel to Russia
We take this tour to visit Khanka Reserve, home to an astonishing variety of birds. Located on and around Lake Khanka, the reserve gives summer shelter to 350 species of birds. This is not surprising because the lake has the biggest surface area of all lakes on the Asia Pacific. It is a shallow lake, with depths not exceeding 30 ft in the deepest spots, but still very rich in fish and other food for water birds. This makes the shores of Lake Khanka ideal for bird watching. Cranes and herons nest at the lake, 12 different species of ducks and other water birds, bittern, woodcock and other species come to Lake Khanka to breed. You will have an opportunity to watch all these rare birds at different times of the day, and hear their morning and nocturnal songs.
On the way we will also stop at a Siberian tiger research facility to see a family of tigers which roam a small patch of enclosed wilderness to facilitate research of their habits. Siberian tiger is a rare animal that has been brought back from the verge of extinction over the past 50 years. The tiger population was depleted by hunting to less than 30 by 1947. Total ban on tiger hunting and great efforts of conservationists restored the numbers of Siberian (Amur) tigers to over 400. This is enough to support a self-sustaining population, but tigers roam the vast tracts of Primorsky wilderness, and are very hard to track and see. We offer you a rare opportunity to see Siberian tigers in the semi-wild - a fenced patch of woods, where three adult tigers and two cubs live.
DAY 1
EARLY MORNING - 8:30 a.m.
After breakfast, we board a bus in the morning for a three-hour trip to the Khanka Lake. We arrive by noon, to meet Khanka Reserve ornithologists who will guide us to the best birdwatching locations for this time of the day. Guides will help you see the most elusive rare species without disrupting the birds' daily lives. The guides will ask you not to wander from the path they select, because some of the birds nesting in the Khanka area are endangered species.
AFTERNOON - 2:30 p.m.
After three hours of birdwatching, we have a picnic lunch in a glade. You will have barbecue meat, salad of fresh and marinated vegetables and a side dish of your choice. After lunch, we take a 30-minute ride to the Tiger Research Center to see and take snapshots of this elusive animal. After one hour or more of tiger watching, we drive back to the Khanka Reserve.
EVENING - 6:00 p.m.
Our birwatching guides will show us birds of other species that are active at night-time. We will hear the chilling voice of bittern and other species, some of which are almost exclusively found at Lake Khanka at this time of the year. We take a typical countryside dinner of wholesome and nutritious food.
OVERNIGHT
Accommodation is available in cabins at Khanka Reserve or at a hotel in the nearby town of Spassk.
DAY 2
EARLY MORNING - 6 a.m.
After a light breakfast, we go back to Khanka Lake to see and hear birds at the break of day. Our guides will show you the species which are most visible at or just after dawn. You will have to rise early to make the most of this opportunity. It is amazing how the last cries of night-time birds die away, only to make room for the sounds of morning birds waking up to greet the rising sun.
NOON
We take a lunch of borsch cabbage soup and pelmeni before we start on our ride back to Vladivostok.
INCLUDED:
- transport
- interpreter guide
- ornithologist guide
- reserve entrance fee
- 1 night accommdation on the tour
- full board on the trip
Base price from USD 103
|
|
