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Sunday 29 March to Thursday 16 April 2009
Cost: £4080 plus about £700 for flights Click here for explanation of price breakdown Maximum group size: 10 with 1 leader. |
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Druk Yul or ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’ is the remote Himalayan kingdom we know as Bhutan. Nestled deep in the heart of the Himalayan mountains, wedged between two giant and populous neighbours and yet secluded from them by some of the highest mountain ranges on earth, it is probably not surprising that Bhutan has retained much of its historic culture, its centuries-old rituals and its fascinating heritage. Nor is it surprising that Buddhist Bhutan has remained poorly known to the West. While most of this awesome country is now open to foreigners, tourist quotas are restricted and few travellers and even fewer birdwatchers have had first-hand experience of this fabulously unique and diverse country. On this trip to Bhutan we’re sure to see birds in abundance, plus some spectacular, breathtaking scenery and much more as we travel almost right across the country. Over 70% of the land surface is forested and over 600 species have so far been recorded, including over 30 new species we’ve added including Rusty-bellied Shortwing and Hodgson’s Bushchat. A significant number of species, such as Satyr Tragopan, Blood Pheasant and Himalayan Monal, Beautiful Nuthatch, Sikkim Wedge-billed, Long-billed and Bar-winged Wren-Babblers, Yellow-throated Fulvetta, and Fire-tailed Myzornis are easier to see here than anywhere else on earth. For several others, such as Ward’s Trogon, Yellow-vented Warbler, Blue-fronted Robin, and White-naped Yuhina, Bhutan is one of very few accessible places to see them. Bhutan is fabulous and, perhaps more than most other countries, fires the enthusiasm of all who have visited it and leaves almost everyone with a sense of privilege and a desire to return. This will be our tenth tour to Bhutan. Day 1: The tour starts in London with an overnight flight to Delhi. Day 2: We arrive in the early hours of the morning and transfer to our hotel for the remainder of the night. A few hours later we’ll catch a very early morning flight to Paro, Bhutan’s only airport. Our route parallels the mighty Himalayan mountain chain and if the weather is good we should see Mount Everest. After clearing immigration we’ll drive east through an enchanting valley with its gaily-decorated shingle-roofed houses and willow-fringed river. Red-billed Choughs are quite common in this valley and as we head east we’ll stop to search for Ibisbill and Brown Dipper. With luck we might encounter a regional speciality such as Rufous-fronted Tit. We’ll spend the night in Thimpu, Bhutan’s delightful capital. Day 3: We’ll head east out of Thimpu, up onto the western slopes of the Dochu La, the first of a series of high altitude road passes that we’ll explore. Entering the pristine mixed forests of hemlock, fir, oak, blossoming magnolias, and rhododendrons we should see a wealth of birds including some species-rich feeding flocks. Quarrelsome Nutcrackers are common and past highlights have included a skulking Hill Partridge, a Satyr Tragopan, a Golden Bush Robin, an immaculate Cutia, a Brown Parrotbill and even the gorgeous Fire-tailed Myzornis. Most of our birding on this tour will be from the roads, which are well paved and almost lacking in traffic. Today however, we’ll venture off road on to a trail that enables us to explore the forest more thoroughly. On several recent tours we’ve even managed to have excellent views of Ward’s Trogon, one of Bhutan’s premier avian prizes. Night near Punakha. Day 4: From our base at a splendid traditionally decorated hotel near Punakha, the former capital of Bhutan, we’ll explore the braided channels of the Mo Chhu river and the bird-rich sub-tropical forests it contains. Our route will take us past the spectacular Punakha Dzong (a fortress and monastery combined). We should see an impressive array of species here, and on two occasions in the past these have included a White-bellied Heron, one of Bhutan’s rarest birds. We’re sure to encounter several parties of brightly coloured minivets, noisy Striated Laughingthrushes and may also see more Ibisbills. A whole host of forest species such as Bay Woodpecker, Red-headed Trogon, and Wedge-tailed Pigeon, wait to be discovered. Fire-capped Tit breeds here, as does White-gorgeted Flycatcher and the rare Yellow-vented Warbler. We’ll also search for a variety of skulkers including Lesser Shortwing, Spotted and Pygmy Wren-Babblers and two of Bhutan's three species of tesia. In the afternoon we hope to go inside Punakha Dzong - a fabulous monstery-fortress which is still home to hundreds of monks. Night near Punakha. Day 5: Continuing east, past the smaller Wangdi Dzong, we’ll make a series of brief stops to scan the braided river channel. In the past we’ve seen Pallas’s Gull and Pallas’s Fishing Eagle here and added a number of other species to the Bhutanese list. We’ll also check forest edges and explore some of the small patches of cultivation. We’ll enter productive forest near the end of our journey and will stop here to look for species such as Blood Pheasant, Satyr Tragopan and the majestic Himalayan Monal. Spotted Laughingthrush, Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler, Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, White-browed Bush Robin and White-winged Grosbeak also occur here. Our next guesthouse is in Gangtey in the heart of the Phobjika Valley. Day 6: Leaving Gangtey we’ll follow the twisting road up over the Pele La pass and into ‘Central Bhutan’. A stand of ringal bamboo extends for about three miles below the pass and we’ll search here for specialities such as Great and Brown Parrotbills, and Golden-breasted Fulvetta, surely one of the world’s most attractive passerines. Night in Trongsa. Days 7-8: From Trongsa we’ll head south to our first camp site near Zhemgang. Our main target at the start of our journey is the rare and little-known Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, but we should also see a number of other species, perhaps including Fire-capped Tit, Large Niltava, and Russet Bush Warbler. The entire length of this spectacularly forested valley is also a good area for the endangered Golden Langur monkey. We’ve seen Beautiful Nuthatch at a couple of sites on this road and will spend time searching for this magnificent bird. Our camp site, right in the heart of some superb forest, is at one of the lowest altitudes that we will visit in Bhutan and species encountered here on recent tours include Chestnut-breasted Partridge, Violet Cuckoo, Pin-tailed Green Pigeon, Rufous-necked Hornbill and Cutia. Rufous-faced Warbler is also quite common here. We also stand a further chance of encountering the rare White-bellied Heron and, as in April 2003, Collared Treepie. We’ll spend two nights here camping in modern, walk-in, spacious tents and sleeping on comfortable camp beds all erected for us by our Bhutanese crew.
Day 9: Retracing our route we’ll head back north through Trongsa before climbing over a bamboo-thronged pass into the first of the four Bumthang Valleys. The scenery suddenly changes to broad grassy valleys and rolling hillsides covered in spruce and fir and the avifauna changes equally abruptly. Nutcrackers can be common, though we’ll have to spend a little more time searching for the region’s real specialities – Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, Fulvous, Brown and Great Parrotbills, White-browed and Rufous-breasted Bush Robins and Dark-rumped Rosefinch. Night in Bumthang. Day 10: We’ll start early today, continuing our circuit east and searching for pheasants which could include Monal, Satyr Tragopan and Blood Pheasant. We will climb, and eventually cross, the Thrumsing La, which at 12,465ft is Bhutan’s highest road pass. The road then plunges dramatically down into rich semi-tropical rainforest and we find ourselves on the Lingmethang road, perhaps Asia’s premier birding road. Many of Bhutan’s most sought-after birds can be found here including Chestnut-breasted Partridge, Ward’s Trogon, the majestic Rufous-necked Hornbill, Blue-naped Pitta, Blue-fronted Robin, and Sikkim Wedge-billed, Long-billed and Bar-winged Wren-Babblers. Accommodation nearby is spartan, so we’ve opted to camp again, spending four more night under canvas. Our first night will be near Sengor. Days 11-13: We’ll spend these days exploring the fabulous, lush primary forests near Lingmethang in search of the area’s specialities. We’re sure to see many new birds, and while not all of these are rare, many of them, such as Slender-billed and Coral-billed Scimitar-Babblers, Scaly and Blue-winged Laughingthrushes, Greater Rufous-headed Parrotbill, Broad-billed Warbler, White-naped Yuhina, and Rufous-throated Wren-Babbler are poorly known and unfamiliar to most birders. Nights under canvas. Day 14: Leaving our campsite we'll continue our journey east to near Trashigang, a small town in northeastern Bhutan. We'll spend the night camping at a site where we've regularly seen Black-tailed Crake. Day 15: We'll wind our way south en route to our next base in southeastern Bhutan. Our journey takes us through a series of villages and we'll stop to view an ornate Buddhist temple, before continuing over several forest-covered passes and down equally spectacular river valleys. Easternmost Bhutan is poorly known ornithologically and we'll make several exploratory birding stops amid superb forests near Narphung before we reach our camp. In the past we've seen rarities such Grey-sided Laughingthrush and Ward's Trogon on this journey. Day 16: Our campsite near Narphung is in the heart of prime mid-altitude forest and provides us with opportunities to study the birds of this rich biotope. We'll spend the entire day birding in the forests between Worong and Dewothang, having breakfast and lunch in the field. We expect to arrive at Samdrup Jongkhar, our base for the following two nights, in the early evening. Today’s target species will include Mountain Imperial Pigeons, Dark-rumped Swift, Long-tailed Broadbill, Rufous-necked Laughingthrush and we stand another chance of encountering the enigmatic Beautiful Nuthatch. Day 17: We'll explore the forested hill slopes around Samdrup Jongkhar, a bustling border town lying at the junction of the Himalayas and the Brahmaputra flood plain. Here we may find species such as Grey Peacock Pheasant, Jerdon’s Baza, Pied Falconet, Dark-rumped Swift, Wreathed Hornbill, Whistling Hawk-Cuckoo, Pin-tailed Green-Pigeon, Violet Cuckoo, and Sultan Tit. Night at Samdrup Jongkhar. Day 18: Reluctantly leaving Bhutan early this morning we'll drive south in to Assam and on to Gauhati. We make several brief stops on the way to this, the logistical hub of northeastern India. We're sure to see several Lesser Adjutants and possibly Greater Adjutant en route to the airport in plenty of time to catch our flight back to Delhi. Other highlights could include Small Pratincole, Indian Spotted Eagle, Pied Harrier, Citrine Wagtail and Striated Grassbird. Once in Delhi we'll transfer to an airport hotel for an opportunity to freshen up and have a leisurely dinner before transferring to the airport for our flight home to London, where the tour concludes on Day 19.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated August 2008. |
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Bird List
We should not have to travel far in Bhutan before we find that classic bird of Himalayan rivers - the Ibisbill. 
Some birds such as this Hoary-throated Barwing....
and this
Blue-throated Barbet tend to sit right out in the open, easy to see and hear...
We regularly see the rare Black-tailed Crake in the eastern part of the country... 
The group enjoy one of many 'al fresco' lunches...
watched over by an inquisitive Golden Langur.