Searching for Red Panda and Lady Amherst's Pheasant in Labahe
Within 4 hours drive from Chengdu, Labahe is by far the most reliable place to try the spectacular Red Panda. Besides, by visiting this place, we can find some unique parrotbills and other interesting species such as Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Brown Parrotbill, Fulvous Parrotbill, Golden-breasted Flvetta, David's Flvetta, Sichuan Leaf Warbler, etc. Although very slim, there is a possibility to encounter a wild Giant Panda in the breeding season in Labahe as it did happen in our previous trips.
Tour Info Sheet
| Highlight Birds | Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Brown Parrotbill, Fulvous Parrotbill, Sichuan Treecreeper, Speckled Wood Pigeon, Yellow-browed Tit, Fire-capped Tit, Pere David's Tit, Black-browed Tit, Aberrant Bush Warbler, Chinese Cupwing, Pygmy Cupwing, Ashy-throated Warbler, Sichuan Leaf Warbler, Grey-hooded Fulvetta, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Black-faced Laughingthrush, Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Golden Bush Robin, etc. |
|---|---|
| Numbers of Species to Expect | 50-70 |
| Ease of Birding | mostly easy birding with a few tricky species |
| Highlight Mammals | Tibetan Macaque, Red Panda, Sambar, Chinese Goral, Red and White Giant Flying Squirrel, etc. |
| Other Attractions | wild panda habitat, delicate food |
| Photography Opportunities | birding focused but with very good photography chances |
| Habitats Covered | subtropical forests, woodlands |
| Expected Climate | see details in the "pre-trip briefings" |
| Physical Requirements | mostly easy, demanding but optional in certain parts |
| Accommodation | comfortable with good location for birding |
What makes this trip irreplaceable?
1. Nice chance of the rare Red Panda.
2. Some unique parrotbills and forest species.
3. Experienced bird guide with great knowledge about local mammals and birds and rich experiences of guiding travelers from different countries.
4. A short program with more flexibility. This trip can be customized to meet your needs and preferences better.
5. Years of working as a local partner for some prestigious western companies specialized in birds and wildlife.
6. A strong logistic team in the office to ensure our trip goes smoothly and every participant has a comfortable and memorable journey.
Gallery
Dates & Prices
| Dates | Booking Status | Price | Single Supplement | Group Size | Guide | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Year Round | Space Available | 1,190USD/pax | 95USD/pax | Departure from 2 | Local Guide | Customizable |
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The cost includes the following:
1. Private transportation throughout the trip, including pick-up and drop-off at the hotel or airport.
2. All meals from lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 4.
3. All the entrance tickets for places listed in the itinerary including cable cars and shuttle buses.
4. Hotel stays from the first day to the last day, two clients occupy one twin-bed room on a sharing basis at nice 3 or 4-star hotels in big cities and local best guesthouses in remote areas.
5. Bottled water and snacks throughout the trip.
6. Simple western breakfast whenever possible.
7. Service charges of a professional and experienced local guide throughout the whole trip.
8. China domestic travel insurance.
9. Service of all logistic supports.
The cost does not include the following:
a. Drinks during meals.
b. Extra charges due to changes in the itinerary from the client's side or factors beyond the control of AlpineBirding such as natural disasters or government policy changes.
c. Discretionary tips to guides and drivers.
d. All personal expenses such as laundry service.
e. ANY AIRFARE.
f. Any program not listed in the itinerary.
* Please be aware that the price is inapplicable during any Chinese official holidays including but not limited to Chinese New Year, Labour Day, National Day, etc. Please contact us to confirm the price if your trip date covers any Chinese holidays.
Itinerary
Tour Map
Day 1: Chengdu to Labahe via Qinglong Lake.
Meet your private bird guide and driver in Chengdu, either at your hotel or at the airport. We will have a short visit to Qinglong Lake in search of Chinese Bamboo Partridge before driving to the Labahe area. Besides the partridge, we can find some urban and special resident birds such as Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Chinese Bulbul, White-browed Laughingthrush, Red-billed Leiothrix, Japanese White-eye, Chinese Blackbird, Chinese Grosbeak, Collared Finchbill, Long-tailed Shrike, Fork-tailed Sunbird, Hoopoe, etc.
Following the exploration, we will complete a 4-hour drive to Labahe. Upon arrival, we will go birding around the hotel to look for some low elevation species including Red-billed Blue Magpie, White-capped Water Redstart, Plumbeous Water Redstart, Collared Finchbill, Elliot's Laughingthrush, etc. We may see the Tibetan Macaque around the hotel. After dinner, we will go out for a night walk, we can expect Chinese Goral, Red and White Giant Flying Squirrel, etc.
Day 2-3: Labahe Nature Reserve.
Sitting at the edge of the Hengduan Mountain Range, Labahe Nature Reserve is an important panda habitat and by far one of the best locations in China to search for Red Panda and some other stunning mammals such as Tibetan Macaque, Hog Badger, Sambar, Masked Palm Civet, Red and White Flying Squirrel, etc. The mixed alpine forests and dense bamboo understory make an ideal habitat for the Red Panda, but it still requires a good amount of hard work and patience to find one. We will walk on the paved road and search both sides and rugged mountains surrounded carefully.
Labahe is also a good birding site which is particularly good for Lady Amherst's Pheasant. We can also expect some other interesting species like Brown Parrotbill, Fulvous Parrotbill, Sichuan Treecreeper, Speckled Wood Pigeon, Spotted Nutcracker, Yellow-browed Tit, Fire-capped Tit, Coal Tit, Pere David's Tit, Black-browed Tit, Brown Bush Warbler, Aberrant Bush Warbler, Yellowish-bellied Bush Warbler, Chinese Cupwing, Pygmy Cupwing, Ashy-throated Warbler, Sichuan Leaf Warbler, Grey-hooded Fulvetta, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Stripe-throated Yuhina, Black-faced Laughingthrush, Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Golden Bush Robin, etc.
Day 4: Labahe to Chengdu.
We will spend most of the day in the forest to try our targets again. In the late afternoon, we will drive you back to Chengdu. This will conclude the services for this scheduled itinerary from AlpineBirding.
Gentle Reminder:
1. The bird species mentioned in the itinerary are just for your reference, it changes with the seasons. We may tune the itinerary according to the latest bird information to maximize our chances.
2. We are more than happy to assist with hotel booking, flight booking, etc. before or after the trip to make your travel more enjoyable and comfortable, please feel free to let us know in advance.
Guide(s)
We will arrange one of our best local guides for this trip who has rich experience of guiding tours in this region. The followings are some of our professional guides who have guided tours in this area for many years.
Bella Zhang
Bella, the director of AlpineBirding, graduated from Sichuan Agricultural University with a Bachelor's Degree. She joined AlpineBirding in early 2016 and became the director of AlpineBirding in 2018. She was born and grown up in a Bai ethnic family in Yunnan Province which boasts of the largest number of bird species in China. Her interests toward birds started with her observation of a Long-tailed Minivet in her mom's garden at a very young age. As she grows up, the interests and love toward birds become stronger and stronger. Because of that, she found AlpineBirding before graduation and joined the company for further learning of birds. Bella has guided a number of birding trips in cooperation with AlpineBirding guide in the past years, her passion, readiness to help, and detail-oriented attitude have won her lots of praise from our clients.
Linked Tours
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There are many choices to extend this trip! The followings are some birding excursions around Chengdu, you can choose them based on your preferences and schedule, all the excursions are customizable.
Reports
We don't have a report available for this tour at this stage, please feel free to email us, we are more than happy to answer any of your questions and share the latest bird information with you.
Testimonials
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Wonderful Birding trip with AlpineBirding
On November 2019 we had an amazing birding trip to Sichuan area with AlpineBirding.
We went for 6 days to Wolong, Longcanggou and Labahe, and thanks to Shay, our guide, we manage to see many beautiful birds in an incredible scenery.
One of the highlights were 4 different Red Pandas that gave us amazing view!!!
You can't go wrong with AlpineBirding and I can highly recommend to travel in Sichuan and china with them, and I hope to do that again myself.
Yohay Wasserlauf / Western Sichuan October 13, 2019
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Birding in Sichuan
Arrange a birding / hiking trip in northwestern Sichuan. Our guide Parus Yang was a good guide with excellent ornithology knowledge. We saw despite not the best season lots of birds and mammals.
Accomodation which was arranged was fine.
Mathieu W / Northwest Sichuan June 19, 2015
