Upcoming Trip

Bhutan Bird Photography Tour

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Now twice in a year! hurry... enjoy fine birding experience in the exciting Land Of Thunder Dragon. we have a question for all of you, what excites you the most as fas as exploring adventurous birding destinations in the eastern Himalayas is concerned?

The exciting mysterious birding trails lying in the lap of Himalayas, the birding tours led by the ace naturalist of GoingWild in two different seasons that too in Bhutan, do you feel something now? well, we think it will be a real treat for birders and avid wildlife lovers from across the globe.The early morning light , echo of bird songs from miles away will surely bring you the joy of birding in Bhutan. The peaceful silence of the place engulfs the woodland which provides a transcendental feel to the place, a state of tranquility and eternity can be easily attained to make you feel at on with nature.

with almost 690 species of birds recorded in Bhutan so far, this place can be compared to the Garden Of Eden, where you can lose yourself, forget all your worries and all other worldly feelings, only you with beautiful birds all around; some so bright and colorful like:- Blood Phesant, Black-necked Crane, variety of Rosefinches, colorful Flycatchers; some so rarely seen that when see them your face gets aglow with excitement like:- Solitary Snipe, Ward's Trogon, Red-faced Liochichla etc., some commoners like Bhutan Laughingthrush, Grey-sided Laughingthrush, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide and some belong to the category of 'A Birder's love' like:- Smaller Tits, miscellaneous Babblers, Shortwings and Wren Babblers to Tesias and Parrotbills.

So indulge your senses and take the pleasure of birding, bird watching and bird photography in this birding heaven. It is worth giving a chance to behold the birds of Bhutan with us. The best time to visit Bhutan is in the early winter and early summer. Studying and watching the birds of Bhutan is just a small step towards understanding avian fauna, nature and unraveling the mysteries hidden deep in the cracks and folds of this majestic land of The Thunder Dragon.

Why take this tour with us?

Our Team boasts of a combined wildlife experience of over 35 years
Our ground support personnels at every destination is among the best and they have extensive knowledge and understanding of their respective locations.... AND MORE

Note: We will commence this tour from Siliguri town (Bagdogra airport or New Jalpaiguri railhead). However, if you want to fly directly to Bhutan, that’s okay.

Day 1: We suggest you to reach Siliguri one day prior to the commencement of the tour and stay overnight because we shall start our journey on the next day very early around 7 AM. We will pick you up from your hotels i.e. wherever you are staying in Siliguri or Bagdogra town. Reaching Bhutan will take a little more than 3 hours and we will have breakfast on the way.It will take another 6 hours for us to reach Paro, thus instead of driving directly to Paro we will stop at multiple birding trails on the way to utilise our time. We will have our lunch in Gedu town because it is an awesome place to enjoy finger licking Bhutanese cuisine. We shall check in to a hotel in Paro by evening. Here we shall again indulge in great Bhutanese cuisine and the tour mentor will introduce brief you about the next few days what can you expect, the target species for the rest of your tour etc. On the 10th we will be traveling so birding time will be cut short to 3 hours roughly and the target species are :- White-vented Myna, several species of Laughingthrushes, Babblers and allies from foothills and middle altitude. Today we would do just 3 hours of birding.

Day 2: We shall visit Chele La quite early in the morning and try for high altitude species like Blood Pheasant, variety of Tits - Grey-crested Tit, Rufous-fronted Tit, Rosefinches, Snow Pigeons, Nutcrackers, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Red-billed Chough. At the Chele La top view point, the magnificent sight of Jomolhari (also known as bride of Khangchendzonga) cannot be missed. On our way back, we will have lunch at Eco Farm House at Kichu valley savouring the Bhutanese delicacies like Red Rice, Jha Shamaru (Chicken Maru), Dal, Ema Datshi etc followed by a breathtaking smooth hill drive through the winding hilly terrain, towards Thimphu. Normally it takes just 2 hours. There are multiple birding trails and hiking routes, which can be explored but that largely depends on the physical condition and fitness of the participants.

In the late afternoon, by sundown we shall enter the capital of this beautiful Himalayan kingdom, Thimphu. Here we shall stay for two consecutive nights and satiate our hunger for birding, birdwatching and bird photography.

Day 3: You will be provided with the best accommodation available in Thimpu, rest assured you will just love it and have a great time. Everyday, we shall start very early at 5 AM. We shall drive directly to Royal Botanical Garden and start our early morning birding session. Brown Parrotbill, Grey-sided Laughinghrush, Black-throated Parrotbill along with mixed flock of passerines can be expected. Near Wangdue in Lobesa restaurant we will stop for lunch and enjoy the delightful taste of Kewa Datsi, Ema Datsi and other dishes made with local vegetables. Russet Sparrow, Hodgson's Redstart, Ruddy Shelduck, Great Cormorant etc can be expected in the afternoon session beside the river, Thimpu Chu. The major highlight shall be the sighting of Ibisbill, if we strike it lucky. There are some promising places where we shall try for it. We shall hope for the best and shall remain prepared always.

In the evening we shall stay overnight at Wangdue. The sonorous sound of the stream flowing beside the resort, will definitely create a serene ambience and you shall sleep in peace, to revivify yourself for the next day .

Day 4: Today our target will be water birds and that is why we shall start at 5:30 AM, to enjoy early morning sightings. Just beside Punatsang Chu, we shall try for both Ibisbill and Brown Dipper along with three species of Kingfishers – Common, White-throated and Crested. In the riverine scrubs Scaly-breasted Munia, Hodgson’s Redstart are commonly seen and in the water you might be lucky enough to find a multitude of Ruddy Shelduck, Common Merganser, Brown-headed Gull, Solitary Snipe, Mallard swimming.

Punatsangchu also known to be the son of Po Chu and Mo Chu is the best habitat for rare and endangered species like:- White-bellied Heron. We will try for this bird rigorously and dedicate two three sessions for this beauty only. However, if luck stands with us we might get to see its charms in the first attempt itself. After breakfast we shall explore the Sungalakha-Kuenchen community reserve. Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler, Scarlet Minivet, Long-tailed Minivet, Grey-backed Shrike, Collared Owlet and mixed hunting flock of White-bellied Erpornis, Speckled Piculet, Red-tailed Minla, Blue-winged Siva, Yellow-browed Tit, Yellow-bellied Fantail etc can be sighted. Skittish beauty, Kalij Pheasant is not to be missed at any cost. After the session we shall revisit the same trail, the one that we visited in the morning session.

Day 5: We shall spend more time at Phobjikha. We shall cover the different birding trails at Punakha-Pele La complex. This part of birding may yield multiple fruitful sightings of Yellow-rumped Honeyguide. Afternoon session shall be majorly dedicated to Black-necked Crane and the species that we have missed in the morning session. Summer is definitely not the best time for this bird therefore we shall concentrate on other birds which dwell in conifers and bamboos.

Overnight stay at Yo-Lo-Ke hotel or equivalent.

Day 6: The entire morning session shall be dedicated to Phobjikha Valley-Pele La complex till breakfast. Expected birds from morning session are: - Finches, Phylloscopus species, Babblers, Scimitar Babbler and Parrotbills. After reaching Trongsa, we shall have our lunch in a decent hotel and drive further and continue afternoon birding till we reach Jamkhar. Bhutan Laughingthrush, Collared Grosbeak, Winter Wren, all three species of Tesia along with other common species will be our target.

Day 7: We shall start very early in the morning and directly drive to Jampaylagang for the newly defined corvid species ‘Black-rumped Magpie’. Some Turdus species are expected from this area like:- Black-throated Thrush, Red-throated Thrush, Dusky Thrush etc. Second phase of birding shall start at Thrumsingla. This entire stretch is famous for Himalayan Monal, Blood Pheasant, Grey-crested Tit, Rufous-fronted Tit, Satyr Tragopan sighting etc.

Entire Ura Valley-Thrumsing La-Phrumsingla National Park stretch is famous for majority of high altitude birds therefore this duration will be very important for us.

In the evening we shall reach Yongkhola and stay there for the next two days. It is important to note that, at all the destinations our staying arrangements shall be done in three star category resorts and we do not compromise on that.

Day 8: This jungle at Yongkhola is special because of middle-lowland species like the beautiful Nuthatch, Ward’s Trogon, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Red-faced Liocichla, Greater and Lesser Rufous-headed Parrotbill, Coral-billed Scimitar Babbler. This mixed montane forest is home to different kinds of shortwings, Wren Babblers and Laughingthrushes also. If lucky, you can see Cochoas as well.

Day 9: To utilise our time to the fullest we shall spend maximum hours of morning birding session here only. Rufous-necked Hornbills is expected in the summer months,This beautiful bird prefers to forage on different fruiting trees spread across the entire altitude. We shall try for some fulvetta species, then we shall drive further towards Mongar and have lunch there. Depending on the bird habitat - Riverine, Woodland, Scrub secondary growth etc; we shall try for different species on our way. We shall stay in a hotel at Trashigang.

Day 10: We shall check out early from the hotel and continue birding on the way. Black-crested Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Nepal Fulvetta, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Rufous-capped Babbler, Sunbird-flowerpecker allies etc. are expected in this area. We shall drive via Kangro – Yongphula, where we shall stop for a while to photograph Black Mountain and boundary hills of Arunachal and Bhutan. We shall have lunch at Wamrong. Afternoon birding session shall be held at scrub forest in Narphung after which we shall drive down to Samdrup Jongkhar and check in to a hotel in the evening.

Day 11: Before having breakfast in the hotel, we will do 2 to 3 hours of birding in the foothills. By 9 AM we shall check out from the hotel and drive towards Guwahati. If you want we can spend 10 minutes in the Guwahati garbage dump for Greater Adjutant Stork. It is one of the most promising sites where this globally threatened species is found.

You will be dropped at the Airport; In case, you are continuing or clubbing another tour with this one, you can stay overnight at any hotel in Guwahati. We can suggest you a hotel, if you want, based on your requirement.

Hopefully you will enjoy this tour with us. If you have any further queries about this tour; kindly mail us to support@goingwild.in . Feel free to contact us for we are always happy to assist you.

Tour cost per participant is Rs 89,490/- only for Indian Nationals. P.S. This is an indicative cost which might increase if the forest administrative charges are increased.

Tour cost includes:

Basic accommodation in home stays on twin sharing basis
All meals as per the itinerary
All surface transfer in SUVs as per the itinerary
All forest entry fee, Inner Line Permit fee, guide charges etc.
Service of a dedicated wildlife photographer and naturalist for the entire tour
All applicable taxes

Tour cost excludes:

Participant's home town to Siliguri and back charges
Any extra food item not included in the meal as per the itinerary
Any alcoholic beverage
Any non-alcoholic beverage not included in the meal as per the itinerary
Laundry, phone call, etc. personal charges
Tips
Anything which is not mentioned in "Tour cost includes"

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Bhutan Bird Photography Tour

Bhutan Bird Photography Tour

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