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Kaziranga National Park Safari Holiday Packages Ganges Cruise India

Birding Holidays Tours, India: Himalayas (near Bhutan) + Manus + Nameri + Kaziranga + Sundarbans

Birding India: Himalayas (Bhutan) + Kaziranga + Sundarbans
Birding Holidays Tours India Himalayas Bhutan Kaziranga Sundarbans
16 NIGHTS FROM:
$6,074
Per person sharing
International flights quoted separately
7IRS16C
• Birding Holidays & Tours, India
• Manas National Park
• Himalayas (Bhutan border)
• Nameri National Park
• Kakoijana Reserved Forest
• Kaziranga
• Giant Hornbill
• One-Horned Rhino
• Sundarbans Delta
• Kolkata (Calcutta)

Our tailor made birding holidays & tours to India explore the birdlife of the Himalayas on the border with Bhutan, as well as Assam and West Bengal. Enjoy birding with local guides in Manas National Park, Nameri National Park and Kaziranga National Park, which is also home to elephants & one-horned rhino. They fly to Kolkata (Calcutta) and take a boat ride through the waterways of the lush Sundarbans delta.

Day 1
You will be met at Delhi Airport by your driver and transferred to your airport hotel in this ancient capital of kingdoms and empires that is now a sprawling metropolis.
 
Delhi's strategic location was one of the main reasons why successive dynasties chose it as their seat of power and today it is a conglomerate of seven cities. The division between the old walled city and New Delhi marks a division in lifestyles, with the old city retaining its past traditions whilst New Delhi strives to match the pace of the 21st century.
Day 2
Transfer to Delhi Airport for your flight for Guwahati in the state of Assam.
 
You will be met at Guwahati Airport and transferred 3-hours to Manas situated in the foothills of the magnificent Himalayas, close to the border with Bhutan.
 
In the afternoon enjoy a private birding jeep safari in Manas National Park, accompanied by a local guide. This park is known for its rare and endangered species, including wildife such as the Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur and pygmy hog. For birders, this is a wonderful park to see Himalayan species.
Day 3
Today is devoted to birding in Manas National Park, with morning and afternoon private jeep safaris accompanied by a local birding guide.
 
Here we will search for a variety of Himalayan species, as well as birds from neighbouring Bhutan.
 
 
Day 4
This morning we do a day trip to nearby Kakoijana Reserved Forest, which is one of the most reliable sites to find endangered Golden langurs.
 
In the afternoon enjoy another private birding jeep safari into Manas National Park, with a local guide.
Day 5
This morning enjoy another private birding jeep safari in Manas National Park.
 
We then leave Manas and drive 5-hours through beautiful scenery to Nameri in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, arriving in the early evening.
Day 6
This morning enjoy a birding walk with a local guide in Nameri National Park.
 
In the afternoon we transfer to the Jia Bhoroli River (also known as the Kameng River), which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra River. We raft gently down this lovely river looking for birds such as the Jerdon’s Baza, Ruddy-breasted crake, Wedge-tailed pigeon, Orange-breasted green pigeon, Banded bay cuckoo, Silver-backed needletail, Fulvous-breasted woodpecker, Silver-breasted broadbill, Siberian rubythroat and perhaps even an Ibisbill along the riverbanks. We may also see wild Asian elephants.
Day 7
This morning there is time for some birding, before we leave Nameri and travel 2-hours to the moist deciduous forests of Kaziranga National Park.
 
Kaziranga is a biodiversity hotspot situated on the southern banks of the mighty Brahmaputra River and is home to two thirds of the world's remaining population of severely endangered one horned rhinos, as well as wonderful bird life. Check into your lodge situated near the entrance to the park.
Days 8 To 10
Rise early today for a private jeep safari to explore the birdlife of Kaziranga National Park accompanied by a local birding guide.
 
This wildlife reserve, which covers an area of over 145 sq.miles (380 sq.km), is particularly rewarding, as it combines high species diversity with good visibility across the expanses of tall elephant grass, marshland and tropical broadleaf forests that are criss-crossed by four major rivers. Keep an eye out for the iconic Great hornbill. The beautiful flora and fauna add to the scenic beauty of this park, which is known for its rare one-horned rhino. This park has one of the highest density of tigers in India, but sightings in the wild are rare due to the dense vegetation. It is also home to large breeding populations of Asian elephants, wild water buffalo and swamp deer.
 
In the afternoon enjoy another private jeep safari into the park with your birding guide.
 
Note: You will need to take a copy of your passport with you to enter the national park. In the winter months wear warm clothes, including woolly hats and gloves to protect you from the wind chill in your open vehicle.
 
The reserve is closed during the Holi & Diwali festivals, as well as during the monsoon season (June to October).
Day 11
We leave Kaziranga early this morning with a packed breakfast and travel 2-hours to Jorhat.
 
Here we spend the morning and afternoon visiting the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary. This sanctuary has a very rich biodiversity, with more than 230 bird species including the Collard treepie, Red-headed trogon, Sultan tit, Speckled piculet and Rosy minvet to name but a few.
 
It is also home to two special primates, the Western hoolock gibbon (the only ape found in India) and the noctural Bengal slow loris.
Day 12
Transfer to Jorhat Airport for your flight to Calcutta, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel conveniently situated near the airport.
 
This bustling city, the third largest in India and the capital of West Bengal, is now known as Kolkata. It was originally developed by the British East India Company and became the capital of the British Empire in India until 1911, when the capital was relocated to Delhi.
Day 13
This morning transfer 3-hours from Kolkata, travelling through rural countryside to the jetty at Gothkhali and arriving around midday.
 
From here you will be transferred 2-hours by small boat through the mangroves to your lodge in the Sundarbans Delta. Along the way you can observe local farming, paddy husking, honey picking and fishing which are the major occupation of the local people. We also stop at one of earliest settlements in the Sundarbans - the house of Sir Daniel Hamilton, a Scottish businessman who made Bengal his second home and initiated the first co-operative movement in India,
 
Sundarbans National Park is the world's largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covering an area of over 10,000 sq km over half of which is located in neighbouring Bangladesh. Here the mighty Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers converge with the Meghna, Padma and Hooghly Rivers, before flowing into the Bay of Bengal. It is a maze of over 100 small islands (on the Indian side alone) and serene canals, where swamp tigers roam free and where the landscape is transformed by tide twice each day.
 
In the afternoon enjoy a relaxing wildlife boat ride through these creeks and dense mangroves, before returning to your lodge at sunset. In the evening experience traditional Adibasi tribal dancing around a campfire.
Days 14 To 15
Today is devoted to exploring the tidal waterways of Sundarbans National Park accompanied by a local birding guide, setting out early each morning to avoid the heat of midday.
 
As the Sundarbans is home to around 200 different bird species, enjoy the sound of birdlife as we navigate in our small boat through this complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands populated by salt-tolerant mangroves. Kingfishers in particular are plentiful, with 9 different species found here (Common, Brown-winged, Blue-eared, Stork-billed, Ruddy, White-throated, Black-caped and Collared). The delta also offers sanctuary to threatened species such as the large estuarine crocodile, Indian python and Royal Bengal tiger, although these are seldom seen in the thick mangroves.
 
Activities vary by lodge, but usually centre around boat rides through the waterways - either half day or full day, with packed picnic lunch. You can also disembark and climb up a watchtower to view birds and wildlife and enjoy views over the dense mangrove forests of the delta.
 
On one afternoon you can experience the local Sunderbans lifestyle by visiting a local village to learn more about their crafts, lifestyle and food, and how man and tiger co-exist in such difficult terrain. You can observe their farming methods and their homes, which are constructed from mud and have very small entrances. You can also venture further afield to visit the 300-year old temple to Bon Bibi, the forest goddess to whom village fishermen and honey collectors of every caste pray for safety from tigers and crocodiles.
Day 16
Time permoitting, enjoy another early morning boat ride through the mangroves of the Sundarbans Delta  before transferring 2-hours by boat to Gadhkhali, followed by a 3-hour road transfer to Kolkata.
 
Check into your hotel conveniently situated near the airport, with balance of day at leisure.
Day 17
Transfer to Calcutta Airport for your flight home.