18 Nights - 19 Days of Bird Watching Package
About 22% of Bhutan’s total land area is designated as national parks, nature reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation areas. These protected areas sustain hundreds of bird species. Of date 464 bird species have been sighted in Bhutan, including 14 that are identified as globally threatened by Bird Life International. The threatened species include the Rufous-necked Hornbill, which inhabits the southern foothills, the Black-Necked Crane which migrates to Bhutan from Tibet in winter, and the Tragopan Blythii.
Bhutan has 114 temperate forest species of birds alone.
About 22% of Bhutan’s total land area is designated as national parks, nature reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation areas. These protected areas sustain hundreds of bird species. Of date 464 bird species have been sighted in Bhutan, including 14 that are identified as globally threatened by Bird Life International. The threatened species include the Rufous-necked Hornbill, which inhabits the southern foothills, the Black-Necked Crane which migrates to Bhutan from Tibet in winter, and the Tragopan Blythii.
Bhutan has 114 temperate forest species of birds alone.
DAY 1 – Bangkok /Delhi/Kolkatta/Katmandu to Paro, Bhutan
We fly to Bhutan on the national carrier, Druk Air, from Bangkok crossing the mighty Himalayas. If the weather is clear, we can enjoy magnificent views of some of the world’s most spectacular peaks including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga.
The representatives of Bhutan Orchid Adventures will give us a traditional Bhutanese welcome at the Paro airport. After lunch at our hotel, we will explore the Paro valley visiting the National Museum housed in a 16th century watchtower and the seat of the governor at Paro Dzong. Although not a birding day, we may have an opportunity to see birds like the Wallcreeper probing the sides of the fortress, a pair or two of Ibisbill, Brown Dipper, Hodgson’s, Plumbeous and White-capped Water-Redstarts around the river valley and nearby rock cliffs.
Night halt at hotel in Paro.
We fly to Bhutan on the national carrier, Druk Air, from Bangkok crossing the mighty Himalayas. If the weather is clear, we can enjoy magnificent views of some of the world’s most spectacular peaks including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga.
The representatives of Bhutan Orchid Adventures will give us a traditional Bhutanese welcome at the Paro airport. After lunch at our hotel, we will explore the Paro valley visiting the National Museum housed in a 16th century watchtower and the seat of the governor at Paro Dzong. Although not a birding day, we may have an opportunity to see birds like the Wallcreeper probing the sides of the fortress, a pair or two of Ibisbill, Brown Dipper, Hodgson’s, Plumbeous and White-capped Water-Redstarts around the river valley and nearby rock cliffs.
Night halt at hotel in Paro.
DAY 2 – Paro - Thimphu via Chele La Pass
Today will be our first full birding day. We will leave the hotel early to Chelela pass where we can hope to see the elusive Himalayan Monal, the amazing Blood Pheasant, and the most sought after of all pheasants, the mythical Satyr’s Tragopan. After breakfast at Chelela we head to Bhutan’s capital. The downhill drive should be an opportunity to run into Kalij Pheasants, White-winged Grosbeak, White-browed Rose finch, Spotted Nutcracker, Rufous Sibia, White-browed Fulvetta, Brown Parrot bill, Stripe-throated Yuhina and various Eurasian warblers. Before calling it a day at our hotel in Bhutan’s capital, we will take a short trip to downtown Thimphu where we usually see Ibisbill, River Lapwing, Ruddy Shelduck, and assorted shorebirds along the riverbed. Once we even saw the rarely encountered Long-billed Plover in this area.
Night halt at hotel in Thimphu
Today will be our first full birding day. We will leave the hotel early to Chelela pass where we can hope to see the elusive Himalayan Monal, the amazing Blood Pheasant, and the most sought after of all pheasants, the mythical Satyr’s Tragopan. After breakfast at Chelela we head to Bhutan’s capital. The downhill drive should be an opportunity to run into Kalij Pheasants, White-winged Grosbeak, White-browed Rose finch, Spotted Nutcracker, Rufous Sibia, White-browed Fulvetta, Brown Parrot bill, Stripe-throated Yuhina and various Eurasian warblers. Before calling it a day at our hotel in Bhutan’s capital, we will take a short trip to downtown Thimphu where we usually see Ibisbill, River Lapwing, Ruddy Shelduck, and assorted shorebirds along the riverbed. Once we even saw the rarely encountered Long-billed Plover in this area.
Night halt at hotel in Thimphu
DAY 03 - CHERI VALLEY After early breakfast we drive to the north of the capital to Cheri, a quiet Buddhist retreat that is also the home of various species of birds. The river banks at Cheri are the haunts of Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Rufous-bellied woodpecker, Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird, Blue fronted Red starts, Rufous flanked, yellow brown Tit, Blacked faced Laughing thrushes, Wallcreeper and many others. We will have our lunch amid the splendid greenery of the location.
Night halt at hotel in Thimphu
Night halt at hotel in Thimphu
DAY 4 – Thimphu to Punakha via Dochu La
We leave Thimphu early to reach the Dochu La pass (3,150m) in time for sunrise. On a clear day, the scenery from Dochula is one of the most breath-taking: we can get a full view of the mightiest peaks of the Himalayas towering along the northern horizon.
Today is an excellent opportunity to see pheasant species like the Satyr’s Tragopan and a host of mixed species that dwell in the cool broadleaf forests. As we drive along the winding road to Punakha, we may find the Red-flanked Bluetail and Golden Bush-Robin, Grey Bushchat and Rufous-breasted Accentor. We may also be able to sort out from the flock, the Blue-winged, Red-tailed and Chestnut-tailed Minlas, Rufus-winged, White-browed and Nepal Fulvetta and Whiskered, Stripe-throated, Rufus-vented, Black-chinned and White-bellied Yuhinas. It is possible to see both Barwings plus a good selection of Laughing Thrushes before we reach our destination in Punakha.
After lunch in our hotel in Punakha, we take a short trip to the temple of the “Divine Mad Man”. The temple is famous today for its miraculous powers to bestow fertility to barren women. From the temple, we walk to the Phochu banks to look for the endangered Pallas’ Fish-Eagle and the world-renowned White-bellied Heron.
Night halt at Punakha Hotel.
We leave Thimphu early to reach the Dochu La pass (3,150m) in time for sunrise. On a clear day, the scenery from Dochula is one of the most breath-taking: we can get a full view of the mightiest peaks of the Himalayas towering along the northern horizon.
Today is an excellent opportunity to see pheasant species like the Satyr’s Tragopan and a host of mixed species that dwell in the cool broadleaf forests. As we drive along the winding road to Punakha, we may find the Red-flanked Bluetail and Golden Bush-Robin, Grey Bushchat and Rufous-breasted Accentor. We may also be able to sort out from the flock, the Blue-winged, Red-tailed and Chestnut-tailed Minlas, Rufus-winged, White-browed and Nepal Fulvetta and Whiskered, Stripe-throated, Rufus-vented, Black-chinned and White-bellied Yuhinas. It is possible to see both Barwings plus a good selection of Laughing Thrushes before we reach our destination in Punakha.
After lunch in our hotel in Punakha, we take a short trip to the temple of the “Divine Mad Man”. The temple is famous today for its miraculous powers to bestow fertility to barren women. From the temple, we walk to the Phochu banks to look for the endangered Pallas’ Fish-Eagle and the world-renowned White-bellied Heron.
Night halt at Punakha Hotel.
DAY 5 – Tashithang This morning we head northwards to Tashithang, a thickly forested base for Bhutan’s extremely challenging northern trek routes. Here, at an elevation of 5,000 feet above the sea level, we comb for species such as Crested Kingfisher, Lesser Shortwing, Greater Yellownape, Bay Woodpecker, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Little and Slaty-backed Forktail, Pygmy Wren-babbler, Golden Tree-Babbler, Striated and Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush, Black-eared Shrike-Babbler, tesias, Golden-spectacled and Broad-billed Warbler, Small Niltava and Black-throated Tits. We might even be able to spot a pair or two of Yellow-throated Martins and flocks of Assamese Macaques. This area is known for its excellent hawk watching spots. Besides, if lucky, we might see the extremely rare Twany Fishing Owl.
After lunch, we retrace our journey to the imposing Punakha Dzong, a massive 17 th century fortress that was the seat of the Bhutanese government until the 1950s.
Night halt at Hotel in Punakha .
DAY 6 - Punakha to Pele La We should have another chance to spot the White-bellied Heron as we start the day with an excursion along the river and gradually climb our way through a forest of cool broadleaf and evergreen trees to Pele-la, the pass that divides eastern and western Bhutan. The diverse habitats along the way should give us numerous prospects of seeing great range of species such as Cutia, Great Barbet, Darjeeling Woodpecker, Long-tailed Minivet, Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler, White-throated Laughingthrush, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Yellow-bellied Bush-Warbler, Ashy-throated Leaf Warbler, and Verditer. Ward’s Trogon is usually sighted along this road. In all, in a day, we should be able to see more than 100 bird species in this region.
Night halt at a camp in Pele-la
Night halt at a camp in Pele-la
DAY 7 – Pele La to Trongsa
It should be another day of great birding prospects. We will search the slopes at our campsite for the Himalayan Bear, Black Leopard, White-collared Blackbird, the Himalayan Monal, Black-faced Laughing Thrush and White-tailed Nuthatch. We might even see tragopans as we’ll be there during the height of the bird’s breeding season. In the pine forests around the pass we will look for Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, Dark Rosefinch, Himalayan Greenfinch and Rufus-vented, Grey-crested, Green-backed Tits, Common Buzzard, Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Steppe Eagle and Himalayan Griffon our targets.
Finally, we will move on to the interior town of Trongsa through cool broadleaf forests where we may come across Red-billed Leiothrix, Yellow-billed Blue-Magpie and Gray-sided Bush-Warbler.
Night halt at Trongsa.
It should be another day of great birding prospects. We will search the slopes at our campsite for the Himalayan Bear, Black Leopard, White-collared Blackbird, the Himalayan Monal, Black-faced Laughing Thrush and White-tailed Nuthatch. We might even see tragopans as we’ll be there during the height of the bird’s breeding season. In the pine forests around the pass we will look for Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, Dark Rosefinch, Himalayan Greenfinch and Rufus-vented, Grey-crested, Green-backed Tits, Common Buzzard, Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Steppe Eagle and Himalayan Griffon our targets.
Finally, we will move on to the interior town of Trongsa through cool broadleaf forests where we may come across Red-billed Leiothrix, Yellow-billed Blue-Magpie and Gray-sided Bush-Warbler.
Night halt at Trongsa.
DAY 8 – Trongsa to Shemgang Today, we travel deep into the interior of an area known as the Black Mountain National Park, via the town of Zhemgang and finally to our night’s destination at Tingtibhi. Our path cuts through dense jungles that contain a plethora of wildlife species like the Black-Eagle, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Speckled Piculet, Lesser Yellownape,and the Golden Langur (a strikingly beautiful monkey species that is found only in Bhutan). Flowers and fruiting trees that attract sunbirds will be plentiful enroute as we descend to the lowest elevation in our itinerary. This entire region is very rich in wildfire and has thus been declared as a protected area by the Bhutanese government.
Night halt in camp at Tingtibhi (2000 feet)
Night halt in camp at Tingtibhi (2000 feet)
DAY 9 – Zhemgang Road We start birding early. Breakfast and lunch will be served at our birding points in the forests. The bamboo groves around Tingtibhi are usually the haunts of Lesser Rufus-headed Parrotbills and Streaked Laughingthrushes while the fruiting trees attract Golden-throated Barbets, Wedge-tailed and Pin-tailed Green-Pigeon and Scarlet Minivets. This area is also the best chance of encountering the Rufus-necked Hornbill. We may also see flocks of Yellow-bellied and White-throated Fantail and other species like yuhinas, minlas, fulvettas and sibias that we might have already encountered earlier in our journey.
Night halt in camp at Tingtibi
Night halt in camp at Tingtibi
DAY 10 – Zhemgang to Trongsa
We return to Trongsa today. We will look for birds that we may not have seen when we first came. We expect to see the Mountain-Imperial Pigeon, Golden-throated Barbet, Great-pied Hornbill, White-browed Piculet, Nepal House-Martin, Fulvous-breasted, Grey-capped, Gray-headed Green Woodpeckers, laughingthrushes, White-throated, Greater Necklaced, Rufus-chinned, Blue-winged and Red-faced Liocichla. Beautiful Nuthatch is another species found in this region.
Night halt at Sherubling Tourist Lodge, Trongsa
We return to Trongsa today. We will look for birds that we may not have seen when we first came. We expect to see the Mountain-Imperial Pigeon, Golden-throated Barbet, Great-pied Hornbill, White-browed Piculet, Nepal House-Martin, Fulvous-breasted, Grey-capped, Gray-headed Green Woodpeckers, laughingthrushes, White-throated, Greater Necklaced, Rufus-chinned, Blue-winged and Red-faced Liocichla. Beautiful Nuthatch is another species found in this region.
Night halt at Sherubling Tourist Lodge, Trongsa
DAY 11 – Trongsa to Bumthang A relaxed trip awaits us today as Bumthang, the place of our next night halt, is just about 67 kilometres away. Our aim as we head east is to spot Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, then climb the Yotongla Pass and enter the forests of spruce and fir abruptly changing the avifauna. The Bumthang valley, oen fo the most beautiful in the country, is home to Beautiful Rosefinch, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Spotted Laughingthrush, Ibisbill and Snow Pigeon. The The Himalayan Black Bear is commonly spotted in this valley.
After lunch in Bumthang, we will explore the valley in the afternoon visiting, among others, the textile shops, the Jakar Dzong (fortress), ancient monasteries, the local brewery, and a stupa under which, legend has it, lies the severed head of a Tibetan General who tried to invade Bhutan.
Night halt at Sithardha Resort, Bumthang.
After lunch in Bumthang, we will explore the valley in the afternoon visiting, among others, the textile shops, the Jakar Dzong (fortress), ancient monasteries, the local brewery, and a stupa under which, legend has it, lies the severed head of a Tibetan General who tried to invade Bhutan.
Night halt at Sithardha Resort, Bumthang.
DAY 12 – Bumthang to Sengor
Early drive further eastward. We cross a pass and enter the Ura valley where we stop awhile to enter the village. The Ura locality is not only beautiful but has plenty of bird species. After the stopover, we climb up to the Thrumsing La pass (12,400’), the highest point on of our journey, and then begin a long descent to Sengor. If time permits, we’ll do some late afternoon birding.
Night halt in tent at Sengor.
Early drive further eastward. We cross a pass and enter the Ura valley where we stop awhile to enter the village. The Ura locality is not only beautiful but has plenty of bird species. After the stopover, we climb up to the Thrumsing La pass (12,400’), the highest point on of our journey, and then begin a long descent to Sengor. If time permits, we’ll do some late afternoon birding.
Night halt in tent at Sengor.
DAY 13, 14 and 15 Limithang Road camping The next three days should be the highlights of the tour, scouring the Limithang valley for birds. The Limithang area, situated at elevations ranging from 3,000 to 12,400 feet, boasts some of the country’s most pristine forests, unrivalled in the density of tree species, and thus is a natural haven for birds. The endless stretches of forests, the quaint villages and a sleepy road which winds through the valley are all frequented by flocks after flocks of birds of all shades that make the entire area a visual delight for bird lovers. Here we have the greatest chance of seeing famous Bhutanese birds we may have missed elsewhere during the trip like the Rufus-necked Hornbill, Ward’s Trogon, Satyr Tragopan and endless others.
We will be tracking down, among others, the Collared Scops-Owl, Collared Owlet, Himalayan Swiftlet, Striated, Black-crested, White-cheeked, Red-vented, Ashy, Black and Mountain Bulbuls, Golden-breasted and Yellow-throated Fulvetta, Slender-billed Rusty-cheeked, Streak-breasted, and Coral-billed Scimitar-Babblers, Hill and Rufecent Prinia, Gray-headed Canary Flycatcher, Common Tailorbird, Ashy, Bronzed, Lesser Racquet-tailed and Hair-crested Dorangos, and Scarlet Finch. We hope to end each day’s adventure with revelry in our comfortable camps.
DAY 16 – Limithang to Bumthang
From this day on, we retrace our steps back to western Bhutan, the airport and eventually the flight home. It doesn’t however mean that we will not be adding new birds to our sighted list and capturing them in celluloid.
Night halt a, Bumthang.
DAY 17 – Bumthang to Wangdiphodrang Night Halt at Wangdiphodrang.
DAY 18 - Wangdiphodrang - Paro
Night halt at Hotel, Paro
DAY 19 – Paro to Bangkok
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DAY 18 - Wangdiphodrang - Paro
Night halt at Hotel, Paro
DAY 19 – Paro to Bangkok
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