Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
What Will I See?
On the road out to Mt Kailash, it is not unusual to see herds of fleet-footed Tibetan
gazelles
(gowa
in Tibetan
),
antelope
(tso)
and wild asses
(kyang),
particularly along the
northern route. During the breeding season antelope converge in groups numbering several
hundred.
Trekkers might conceivably see the Himalayan black bear or, if they're exceeding lucky,
the giant Tibetan blue bear searching for food in the alpine meadows. Herds of blue sheep,
also known as bharal
(nawa na),
are frequently spied on rocky slopes and outcrops (al-
though the dwarf bharal is much rarer), but the argali, the largest species of wild sheep in
the world, now only survives in the most remote mountain fastnesses of western Tibet.
Wolves of various colours can be seen all over the Tibetan plateau. Much rarer than the
all-black wolf is the white wolf, one of the sacred animals of Tibet. Smaller carnivores in-
clude the lynx, marten and fox.
Marmots
(chiwa
or
piya)
are very common and can often be seen perched up on their
hind legs sniffing the air curiously outside their burrows - they make a strange birdlike
sound when distressed. The pika
(chipi),
or Himalayan mouse-hare, a relative of the rabbit,
is also common. Pikas have been observed at 5250m on Mt Everest, thus earning the dis-
tinction of having the highest habitat of any mammal.
A surprising number of migratory birds make their way up to the lakes of the Tibetan
plateau through spring and summer. Tibet has over 30 endemic birds, and 480 species have
been recorded on the plateau. Birds include the black-necked crane (whose numbers in
Tibet have doubled over the last decade), bar-headed goose and lammergeier, as well as
grebes, pheasants, snowcocks and partridges. Watching a pair of black-necked cranes, loy-
al mates for life, is one of the joys of traipsing near the wetlands of northern and western
Tibet. Flocks of huge vultures can often be seen circling monasteries looking for a sky
burial.
Two of the best places to go bird-watching are Yamdrok-tso and Nam-tso; a section of the
latter has been designated a bird preserve, at least on paper. April and November are the
best times.
