Searching for snow leopards in the Valley of the Cats, China’s new national park

A broad river surges through a canyon-like valley with sandstone cliffs and little vegetation other than swarthy conifers, shrubs and grass; no, this isn’t Arizona but China’s Qinghai province, high in the eastern Himalayas. Here the upper Mekong, known locally as the Lancang, flows through an area that was once part of Kham, the southeastern third of Tibet.

The gravel road turns to follow a tributary, passes more sandstone cliffs and climbs towards mountains. We pass a dozen goats traversing a cliff, not following a path but taking nimble steps between protrusions on the uneven face that are so small other animals would be unable to find even a toehold.

These are not farm goats, but wild animals unique to the high Himalayas, and are typically called blue sheep, although they’re not blue but grey-brown with light-grey underparts. They cross the almost sheer rock face watched over by a ram with imposing horns. Used mainly in duels to determine which ram dominates a herd, these horns can also prove useful against predators, chief among which is the “grey ghost” of the Himalayas: the snow leopard.

Inhabiting mountains from the Himalayas to Mongolia, the shy, enigmatic snow leopard was once so elusive that wildlife lovers could only dream of seeing one. Now, though, a few places are offering visitors the chance of a sighting, and perhaps the best of these is Namsei Township, in Qinghai.

With “regular” leopards, lynx, Chinese mountain cats and Pallas’ cats also present, this area along the Lancang has been dubbed the Valley of the Cats. It is the site of a pioneering conservation project at the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve, which is itself within what will be the pilot for a network of planned national parks in China. (Other areas in the country are described as “national parks” but none have so far lived up to the moniker in terms of management.) The project centres on a community-based tourism initiative launched last year, after 22 families received training in how to host visitors and lead them on explorations.