Best time: May-June & September
BIRDS:
Accentors, Barbets, Bee-eaters, Bulbuls, Buntings,
Buzzards, Chats, Choughs, Tree creepers, Dippers,
Flycatchers, Magpies, Kingfishers, Raptors. Minivets,
Nuthatches, Orioles, Owls, Redstarts, Finches, Warblers,
Woodpeckers etc.
MAMMALS
Himalayan Black bear, brown bear, Himalayan Palm Civet,
Barking deer, Musk deer, Ibex, Jackal, Langur, Leopard,
Snow leopard, Lynx, Marten, Blue sheep etc.
Meal codes: (R):
room only; (B,L,D): breakfast, lunch, dinner
Arrive Delhi (R)
Arrival in New Delhi before or after midnight. Overnight
at the hotel.
Delhi (R)
Morning free for birding at Okhla barrage. Afternoon
guided tour of New Delhi. Visit India Gate, drive
past President House, Qutab Minar & Humayun's
tomb. Overnight at the hotel.
Delhi-Narkanda (R)
Take a train to Chandigarh (4 hr.) from Delhi in
the morning and then transfer to Narkanda (6 hr.)
stopping enroute for birding. Overnight at the hotel.
Narkanda-Sangla (D)
Morning drive to Sangla (2900 mts./ 6 hr.) through
the breathtaking gorges of the Greater Himalayas.
Evening bird walk at Sangla. Overnight in tents.
Sangla (B,L,D)
Drive leisurely to Chitkul (2 hr.) stopping for
birding enroute. Chitkul is the last inhabited village
surrounded by green fields and high mountain peaks.
The quaint little houses, temples, gompas and the
people of Baspa valley conjure up a perfect image
of Shangri-La. Return to Sangla in the evening.
Overnight in tents.
Sangla (B,L,D)
Take bird walks around Sangla and fort Kamru. Overnight
in tents.
Sangla-Sarahan (B)
Drive to Sarahan (1920 mts./4 hr.) a beautiful village
surrounded by apple orchards and dominated by Srikhand
Mahadev peak (5155 mts.) which resembles a shivling
and is famous for Bhimakali temple. Rest of the
day birding around and a visit to phesant breeding
centre. Overnight at the hotel.
Sarahan-Tirthan Valley (L,D)
Departure to Goshaini (8 hr., 3000m) via Jalori
pass & Shoja. Shoja, a small village at an altitude
of over 8000 feet. The access to Shoja winds through
thick forests, alpine trees which provide an untouched
habitat. Arrive here in time for lunch and later
a walk on the forest logging road into pristine
pheasant country. The pheasants seen here are monal,
kaleej and koklas. Continue to Goshaini. Overnight
in Tirthan Orchards.
Tirthan Valley (B,L,D)
Morning bird walk towards the Great Himalayan National
Park and afternoon downstream walk along river Tirthan.
Overnight in Tirthan Orchards.
Tirthan & Banjar Valley (B,L,D)
Day visit to Bahu and Jibhi for birding. Overnight
in Tirthan Orchards.
Tirthan Valley-Bhunter airport-Delhi (B)
Drive to Bhunter (3 hr.) to fly to Delhi in the
morning. Arrive Delhi and transfer to the hotel.
Delhi (R)
Morning birding at Delhi Zoo. Afternoon free. Transfer
to the airport for onward journey.
