Russia & Mongolia From Altai Snowcocks to Henderson’s Ground Jays
Member Savings
Sign in to see which companies give additional
savings to Travelstride Members (it’s free)
Overview
Highlights
- Visit the fascinating Altai Mountains
- Visit the border zones with Mongolia
- Drive to the mountain Tabozhok along the Tabozhok river valley.
- Have birding in the coniferous forest on the slopes of Tiyakhtii Mountain at Seminskiy
What's this trip about?
Details
Travel Themes
Destinations
Attractions
Activities
Trip includes
- Meals beginning with breakfast on Day 1 ending with dinner on Day 16.
- The fee include lodging as stated in the itinerary
- Ground transportation
- Gratuities
- Guide services provided by the tour leader and local guides
Itinerary
The tour starts with an international flight from home taking you firstly to the capital of Russia, Moscow, followed by a domestic flight which will bring you to Barnaul, the largest city in the Altai region. Clients need to be in Barnaul before June 16 - 8am! If you like to come in earlier please contact the RBT office this will gladly help you with extra hotel arrangements.
Accommodation: Wooden lodges at Seminsky.
After arriving early morning on the BarnaulAirport you will meet up with your RBT tour-leader, Elena Shnayder, who will lead you during this birdwatching holiday. We will leave Barnaul and take a long drive over the Chu...
Accommodation: Yurt camp in Tujariik.
We start with some early birding before breakfast at Seminsky where we hope to see more of the previously mentioned species. After breakfast we will depart towards Tiid-Tujariik valley located in the Chuya Steppe. Birding e...
Accommodation: Yurt camp in Tujariik.
Today we’ll have a long drive through the Chuya Steppe to the ruins at Beltir village and further into the mountains. Along the road we will make stops at several areas to watch Booted and Barred Warblers, Greater Sand Plov...
Accommodation: Yurt camp in Tujariik.
Early in the morning we’ll make drive to the mountain Tabozhok along the Tabozhok river valley. Here we could find White-winged Redstarts, Crag Martins, Brown and Himalayan Accentors, Plain and Brandt’s Mountain Finches, Gr...
Accommodation: Tent camp.
Today we transfer to the high-altitude lakeKindiiktiikul. The translation of Kindiiktiikul in the Altai language means “lake with the navel”; the lake really possesses a small island in the middle full of nests of Mongolian Gulls and W...
Accommodation: Tent camp.
Today we’ll have a walk along the Nariin-GolRiver to the three lakes situated near the BogutiiMountain range. Our aims for today are finches: PlainMountain finch, Brandt's Mountain Finch, Asian Rosy Finch and kobsensis Spotted Great Ro...
Accommodation: Tent camp.
Today we need to do our best to depart from Kindiiktiikul as early as possible to reach the border before the queue. However, the estimated time to cross the border is nearly 7 hours! There would be not so much time for birding today....
Accommodation: Tent camp.
From the dawn on we are going to scan the surroundings for the Ground Jay. In the same area we could also see big flocks of Pallas's Sandgrouses, Daurian Partridges, Greater Short-toed Larks, Barred Warblers, Isabelline- and Brown Shri...
Accommodation: Tent camp.
After early birding at the lake Achiit-Nuur we continue our journey after breakfast. Today we have to surmount 200 km of bad road and to cross the ShovergolRiver finally arriving in the evening at our destination at Lake Khar-Us-Nuur. ...
Accommodation: Tent camp.
We start with birding in the nearby hills finding Asian Desert Warblers, Isabelline Shrikes, Desert Wheatears, and the famous Kozlov's Accentor. Close to the water we could see Greater- and Lesser Sand Plovers, Terek Sandpipers and mor...
Accommodation: Tent camp.
Today will be a day of driving back towards the Mongolian-Russian border. In the best case today we would reach lake Tsagaan-Nuur – the closest lake to the border. Here we could find Arctic Loon, Whooper Swan, different ducks, Terek Sandpiper and Red-Headed Bunting.
Accommodation: Yurta camp
This day we have to do the border-crossing again. The idea is to line up at the customs as early as possible, but again it could take up to 7 hours. At the Russian side we will come back to the good old “Tujariik” yurt camping. There y...
Accommodation: Wooden lodges near Aqtash
We spend this day finding possible missed species during our previous visit. In other case we can do some birding near UzunkyolLake and Katu-Jariik pass where we can find Booted Eagle, Siberian Thrushes, Red-throated Thrushes and the mysterious Siberian Jay.
Accommodation: Wooden lodges at Seminsky.
Today we transfer back to Seminskiy pass. Our route would be the same as the one we took to get to the Chuja Steppe. On the way back we would spend more time birding at Beliy Bom looking again for Godlewski-, Meadow- an...
Accommodation: Comfortable tourist hotel
Here is the last day of our birdwatching adventure. After early morning departure from Seminskiy pass and 7-8 hours on road we will reach Barnaul in the late afternoon. Here in Barnaul we will make our last birding trip,...
In the morning we depart for the Barnaul airport where we say goodbye to each other and from where you fly home.
Want a tailor-made trip instead?
Your trip, your way, planned by an expert:
- You choose budget, destinations, activities, transport & lodging type
- Expert designs the itinerary for you, and once approved, takes care of logistics
Dates & Availability
Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Rubythroat Birding Tours.
The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.
Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.
Tour Operator
About Rubythroat Birding Tours
Rubythroat Birding Tours was founded in August 2011 by Machiel Valkenburg. Machiel worked since 2006 for Central Asia Birding but decided to continue on his own in 2011 under a new name. Machiel came to the decision to establish Rubythroat Birding Tours, as he wanted to share his experience with other interested bird- and nature travelers. He chose the name Rubythroat Birding Tours as Rubythroat’s are beautiful birds breeding in Central Asia and Siberia and wintering in other parts of Asia. From this region we bring you the best birding available, and we should come across a Rubythroat or two during our travels Rubythroat Birding Tours has its main office in Kazakhstan, in the very heart of Central Asia.
Our service
Rubythroat Birding Tours was born out of a passion for nature in Asia. This has resulted in being able to offer bird and nature tours to this whole mighty region. We would be very happy to help you to organize and design your nature or birdwatching holiday in Asia. Over the years, we have gathered great experience and knowledge of the avifauna and nature reserves of large landmass. In addition, we have a large network of reliable partners at our disposal to help us with the creation of the perfect nature and/or bird watching holiday, to countries that are normally difficult to access.
About our tours
The tours are all-inclusive, which means that all expenses are covered from arrival to departure. There are only limited extra costs for you, for example for some personal expenses as souvenirs, tips and/or alcoholic beverages. All groups are accompanied by am excellent bird guide with expertise in birds and/or, depending on the theme of the trip, by a local botanist and/or entomologist. Many trips are guides by the owner of Rubythroat Birding Tours, Machiel Valkenburg. In addition the group will be accompanied by a tour manager who speaks the native language and who will handle logistic matters during the trip. This tour manager is usually of local origin. He/she will be able to tell you much about the way of life and culture of the country giving an extra touch to the trip. Our tours are well provided; the cost of our service covers the following:
Airport transfers
All transport.
All accommodation in hotels, tents and yurt camps.
All meals plus enough bottled mineral water (up to 3 l. per person per day).
Expert tour leaders and expert local guides.
Tour managers/translators.
Entrance to national parks.
The items which you will be required to pay yourself are those of a purely individual nature such as travel and healthy insurance, visa and personal expenses as alcoholic beverages or souvenirs.
Explaining costs
On the top of every trip page we give the price for the tour which is the costs of the logistics in the country. The price for the international flights is given separately which is the best estimate of the flight costs we can give at the time. Flight costs vary drastically and it is impossible for us to calculate these costs before publishing our tours, sometimes more than 18 months in advance. In this way you are able to book your flight against costing price. Therefore we find this a much fairer system. RBT will be happy to make any domestic or international air travel arrangements from your home and return. Please be sure to check with the RBT office prior to purchasing your air ticket to confirm that the tour is sufficiently subscribed to operate. RBT cannot be responsible for any air ticket penalties.
Fixed departure tours
Rubythroat Birding Tours has many years of experience in organizing bird and nature travel in Asia. We offer a large schedule with fixed departure tours for small groups with a maximum of 12 participants visiting many destinations in Asia. And when we say small groups we mean small groups! Tours go ahead mostly with a minimum of 4 participants. Tours with more than 10 participants always have a second leader joining to make sure that the leader/client ratio keeps positive. In this way we can assure our clients of a high standard trip with a personal touch. For our full travel range please have a look at our TOURS page.
Individual tours
Rubythroat Birding Tours offers not only fixed departure tours but also organizes individual tours for those who want to experience the flora and fauna of Asia on their own or with their own little group. We can arrange a tour based on one of the available tours or we can also design an itinerary at your request. Let us know your wishes and we will try to accommodate you as much as possible!
About Travelstride
Find your perfect trip
Save time
Save money
Travel confidently
Logistics
What's excluded
- Airfare from your home to Barnaul and return from Barnaul
- Medical Evacuation Insurance (required)
- Transfers or accommodation other and than those mentioned in the itinerary
- Alcoholic beverages
- Special gratuities
- Departure taxes
- Visa fees
- Phone calls, laundry, or items of a personal nature.
Accommodation
Cancellation penalties and refunds are based on the following schedule: if cancellation is made 120 days or more before the tour departure date, a cancellation fee in form of the deposit will be charged unless the deposit is transferred to a new registration for another RBT tour that will operate within the next 12 months. If cancellation is made fewer than 120 days before departure date, no transfer of the deposit is available. This policy and fee schedule also applies to pre-trip and post-trip extensions. We strongly recommend the purchase of trip cancellation insurance for your protection.
Meals beginning with breakfast on Day 1 ending with dinner on Day 16.
The tour schedule depends closely on weather conditions, which may change the itinerary listed. If so, the itinerary will be altered, with all of the special regions still being visited.
Passport, Visa and Health Requirements
All participants are responsible for, and must be in possession of, a passport, valid for at least six months beyond the end of the tour. In addition, participants must obtain any necessary visas and vaccination certificates required for the tour. Because of changing requirements, and the fact that the tour details are published so far in advance, Rubythroat Birding Tours does not always specify the requirements. Participants will be advised of visa requirements in sufficient time. As Rubythroat Birding Tours is not medically qualified, it is the participants' absolute responsibility to seek medical advice regarding vaccinations and medication to ensure that they are prepared by the date of departure. Any medical information supplied in my brochure, or in subsequent correspondence, must be considered as a guide only.
Become a member
- Save up to $700 per person
- Access members-only specials
- Personalize trip recommendations