Bird Watching in North India
Route : Delhi Ranthambore Bharatpur Chambal Delhi Corbett Pangot Delhi
14 Days / 13 Nights
Detailed Itinerary
Day 0
Arrive Delhi
Tonight, arrive Delhi, the capital city of India. After a
traditional Indian welcome, you will be escorted to your hotel for overnight
stay.
Day 2
Delhi - Ranthambore by Day Train
Today morning, you will be transferred to Delhi railway station to board
the train for Sawai Madhopur
at 0740 Hrs. Met upon arrival at Sawai Madhopur railway Station and transfer to
Ranthambhore (15 min drive). Check-in at hotel for 3 nights stay.
Day 3
Day in Ranthambore
Today,
enjoy an early morning and afternoon shared Canter safari (accompanied by a trained naturalist) into the
national park.
The Ranthambore
National Park is one of the prime examples of India’s conservation program,
Project Tiger. Once the hunting ground of Indian princes, this national park
stands atop a 600m high hill range, and is covered with thorn trees, scrub and
grasslands. Dotted with beautiful ponds, streams, lakes and old ruins, it is
home to a large number of tigers, often spotted and photographed by visitors to
the park.
Day 4
Drive Ranthambore to Bharatpur (Approx. 240 Kms / 5 Hrs)
Today
morning, embark on a drive to Bharatpur. The Bharatpur National Park, better
known as Keoladeo National Park, is a beautiful bird sanctuary. Named after the
Keoladeo temple located in its enclosure. It is a wetland, made and managed to
protect the Bharatpur region from frequent floods. Declared a World Heritage
Site of UNESCO, this national park is home to over 230 different species of
birds, over 200 different species of various amphibians and reptiles like fish,
turtles, snakes, lizards, etcetera and over 350 floral species can be found
here. This National Park, locally known as Ghana, has been a winter home for
the Siberian Crane; a species on the verge of extinction (considered an
endangered bird today).
Check-in
at hotel upon arrival for freshen up.
Late afternoon, proceed for bird
watching in the sanctuary. This superb wetland also attracts many birds of prey
like the Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Greater Spotted Eagle and the Steepe Eagle,
which is perhaps the most common. Warbler fans will find Smoky, Booted &
Brook’s Leaf Warbler. Adjoining fields, scrub vegetation and irrigation tanks
will r eveal oriental Skylark and Variable
Wheatear.
Day 5
Day in Bharatpur
Full day bird watching in Keoladeo
Bird Sanctuary, considered the finest Heronry in the world as well as an
unrivalled breeding site for the Painted Stork, Purple Heron, White Ibis and
the Eurasian Spoonbill. It is one of those few places in the world where it is
possible to see 100 species in a single morning of birding.
Day 6
Drive Bharatpur to Chambal (Approx. 140 Kms / 3 Hrs)
Today morning, embark on a drive to
Chambal via Fatehpur Sikri & Agra.
En-route to Ranthambhore, you will
make a brief stop to visit Fatehpur
Sikri, the capital city of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century.
Continue drive and reach Agra to
witness the surreal views of the Taj
Mahal. Step inside this eternal symbol of love and appreciate the intricate
designs and symmetries that rhyme as a poem written in marble. Taj Mahal is an
extravagant display of love, built by Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife
Mumtaz Mahal. You may choose to stay back to see the glistening white marble beauty at sunset.
Post visit, continue drive to
Chambal which houses more than 320 resident an d migratory birds.
Check-in at hotel upon arrival for
freshen up.
Afternoon boat safari on Cha mbal River, this is one of the finest places to see the
Indian Skimmer. The river also hosts the Gangetic Dolphin, the endemic fish
eating Gharial and Marsh Crocodiles.
Day 7
Drive Chambal-Delhi (Approx. 275 Kms / 5-6 Hrs)
Today morning, embark on a drive to
Delhi. Check-in at hotel upon arrival for overnight stay.
Day 8
Drive Delhi – Corbett National Park (Approx. 245 Kms / 6 Hrs)
This morning, embark on a drive to
Corbett National Park
Upon arrival check in to your hotel
and enjoy the evening at leisure.
Jim Corbett National Park was
established in the year 1936. This is the first national park in the Asian continent.
The park has got its name from a hunter turned conservationist Edward James
Corbett. He was the one who contributed a lot towards the establishment of the
park. Further, this park was set up to save the critically endangered feline
species – the Royal Bengal Tiger. It was the very place where Project Tiger was
launched in 1973. Presently Corbett is a home to various species of fauna and
flora.
Day 9
Day in Corbett National Park
Enjoy morning and late afternoon
game drives at Corbett National Park by Jeep (accompanied by naturalist).
Rest of the day is at
leisure for you to relax in the sounds and senses of the neighboring wildlife.
Day 10
Day in Corbett National Park
Full day bird watching in different
zones of Corbett National Park where You may encounter birds like Black & G
rey Francolin, Rain & Jungle Bush Quail, Small & Barred
Buttonquail, Red Spurfowl, Emerald Dove.
Day 11
Drive Corbett National Park to Pangot (Approx. 170 Kms / 5 Hrs)
Today morning, embark on a drive to
Pangot - located about 13 km from Nainital in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. The pleasant climate, scenic landscape and laidback
charm of Pangot make it a must-visit place in Nainital. The hamlet of Pangot is
a popular place for bird watching too. Over 150 bird species, including
lammergeyer, blue winged minla, spotted and slaty backed forktail,
rufous-bellied woodpecker, yellow throated Himalayan martens and khalij
pheasant can be spotted in the region.
Upon
arrival, check-in at hotel for freshen up.
Afternoon
free to explore the surrounding area, birding in parks and scrub forest in
& around the town, likely to see Mistle Thrush, White Tailed Nuthatch,
Bar-Tailed Tree creeper, Black Throated Tit, Western Crowned, Yellow Vented
& Grey Hooded Warbler, Rufous Sebia, Rufous- Breasted & Black Throated
Accentor, House & Chestnut-Eared Bunting, Spot Winged, Red Mantled &
Common Rosefinch. Easy to spot are Black Headed Jay, Black Bulbul, White Throat
Laughing Thrush, Red Billed Blue Magpie, White Crested Laughing Thrush, Russet
Sparrow, Hill Pigeon. Raptors are Mountain Hawk Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Eurasian
Sparrow Hawk & Common Kestrel. We may be lucky to see a Flying Squirrel
late evening.
Day 12
Day in Pangot
After an
early breakfast, leave with packed lunch for the moist Oak forest of Kilbury
with a view of the higher Himalayas on the north and a vast expanse of Corbett
& adjoining reserve forests on the south. Cheer, Koklass & Khalij
Pheasant could be spotted on the road early morning. Mature oak forests are
good for Speckled Wood Pigeon, Rufous, Himalayan, Brown Fronted & Fulvous
Breasted Woodpeckers, Eurasian & Black Headed Jay, Maroon Oriole, Scarlet
Minivet, Chestnut-Bellied, Plain Back & Long Billed Thrush, Asian Brown,
Snowy Browed, Slaty Blue & Little Pied Flycatcher, Daurian & Blue
Fronted Redstart, about 9 species of Tits including the not so common Fire
Capped Tit, White Tailed & White Cheeked Nuthatch, undergrowth & low
branches are to be scrutinized for Grey Breasted & Plain Prinia, Lemon
Rumped & Greenish Warbler, White Throated, Grey Sided &
Chestnut-Crowned laughing Thrush, White Browed Shrike Babbler, Chestnut Tailed
Minla, Fire Breasted Flowerpecker & Mrs Gould’s Sunbird. Call of Great
Barbet echoes continuously across the valley.
Open hillsides with some conifers are fine
habitat for Red Crossbill, Dark Breasted & Pink Browed Rosefinch, Brown
Bull Finch, Spot Winged, Black & Yellow Grosbeak, White Capped, Chestnut-Eared
& little Bunting. While returning to hotel by dusk we may come across
Spotted Owlet & Mountain Scops Owl
Day 13
Day in Pangot
Today
morning, proceed for bird watching at Sattal lake, some of the birds seen
during the day were Mountain Hawk Eagle, Slender-billed Vulture, Kaleej
Pheasant, Slaty-headed Parakeet, Himalayan Swiftlet, Alpine Swift,
Black-crested Bulbul, Black-chinned Babbler, Small and Rufous-bellied Niltava,
Lesser Whitethroat, Common Chiffchaff, Buff-barred, Lemon-rumped and
Grey-hooded Warbler, Common Stonechat, Grey Bushchat, Dark-throated Thrush,
Great, Green-backed, Black-lored and Black-throated Tit, White-tailed and
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Olive-backed Pipit,
Green-tailed Sunbird and Russet Sparrow.
Day 14
Drive Pangot – Delhi (Approx. 310 Kms / 6 Hrs)
Today
morning, embark on a drive to Delhi and directly transfer to airport to board
onward / return flight.