Otocolobus manul
Pallas's Cat
Year-round; winter coats are at their most magnificent November – March
The manul — the world's grumpiest-looking cat and, for many wildlife photographers, the trip of a lifetime. Squat, silver-furred and utterly camouflaged among the rocks, Pallas's cats den in marmot burrows and rock crevices across the steppe. Mongolia is their stronghold, and our spotters' den-site knowledge means sightings on most expeditions — sometimes of kittens.
Where to see them
The Margaz Mountains and Eastern Mongolia's steppe country; often seen on the same expedition as snow leopard in the Wild Cats Valley.
Every sighting funds protection — our conservation work with the MUR Initiative.
Pallas's Cat expeditions
Pallas’s Cat Photography: Margaz Mountains
10 days · March · June · July · August · September · October · November · December
Pallas’s Cat Odyssey: Margaz Mountains
7 days · Year-round
Pallas’s Cat Quest: Eastern Mongolia
4 days · Year-round
Mongolia's Wild Cats Quest
13 days · June · July · August · September
Snow Leopard & Pallas's Cat Photography
15 days · January · February · March · October · November · December
FlagshipMongolia's Valley of Wild Cats
16 days · November to March