Wildlife
Tours In India
Birding Tour of North India Duration
: 11 Nights & 12 Days
Destination Covered : Delhi - Corbett -
Nanital - Delhi - Bharatpur Day
01 : Arrive at Delhi Company representatives will receive you on
arrival at the international airport in Delhi late in the night or midnight.
Transfer to your hotel. Relax.
DELHI, the capital of kingdoms and
empires is now a sprawling metropolis with a fascinating blend of the past
and the present. It is a perfect introduction to the composite culture of an
ancient land. A window to the kaleidoscope - that is India.
Overnight
will be at Delhi.
Day 02 : DelhiBreakfast will
be at the hotel.
Start a tour of Old & New Delhi in the
morning.
OLD DELHI - A sightseeing tour of Old Delhi would entail
visiting the Raj Ghat - the memorial site where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated;
Jama Masjid - the largest mosque in India and the Red Fort - once the most
opulent fort and palace of the Moghul Empire.
Enjoy a Cycle
rickshaw ride from Jama Masjid to Chandni Chowk.
NEW DELHI - An
extensive sightseeing tour of New Delhi would include a visit to the Humayuns
Tomb, the Qutub Minar, a drive along the ceremonial avenue - Rajpath, past
the imposing India Gate, Parliament House, the Presidents Residence
and would end with a drive through the Diplomatic Enclave. Also visit the
LOTUS TEMPLE & BIRLA MANDIR.
Enjoy the DANCES OF INDIA SHOW in
the evening. Overnight will be in Delhi.
Day 03 : Delhi -
Corbett
By Road :250 km in 6 hr Breakfast will be at hotel.
Drive to CORBETT National Park.
On the way we will stop at
Ramnagar and look for the fabulous IBISBILL amongst the riverside boulders.
JIM CORBETT National Park - One of the greatest National Parks of
Asia. Corbett is five hundred and twenty acres of forests, hills and
grasslands, fed by a frisky river - A bio-diversity that is rich, rare and
precious. This Park is the perfect habitat for the tiger, elephant, hog
deer, birds and other wildlife species that is fast vanishing from the
earth.
Check in at the resort and relax. Proceed for an
afternoon to KOSI riverbanks and look for CRESTED KINGFISHER, PLUMBEOUS
REDSTART & LITTLE FORKTAIL. The resort you will stay in is surrounded by
excellent forest with many birds including the delightful VELVET FRONTED
NUTHATCH.
Relax in the evening at the resort restaurant.
Overnight will be at resort.
Day
04 : Corbett Enjoy a full day birding along the riverbanks and in
the nearby green area. Overnight will be at the resort.
Day 05
: Corbett National ParkAfter breakfast drive inside the forest and
full day BIRDING in the park.
Corbett National Park protects a
large tract of forest and savanna in the Himalayan foothills, and was Indias
first National Park. In winter is quite cold in these areas and birds
descend from the higher levels of the Himalayas to add to the parks
bird riches. The variety of birds in this area is fantastic and moreover the
area has its own population of tigers. The lodge inside the park is BASIC
but with private facilities and the location is great!!!
Overnight
will be inside the forest at rest house in DHIKALA.
Day 06 :
Corbett National ParkEnjoy full day BIRDING in the park.
Overnight will be inside the forest at rest house in DHIKALA.
Day
07 : Corbett National Park - Nainital
By Road : 120 km in 6 hr Breakfast
will be at the guest house.
Drive to Nainital. The road is uphill
and the scenery spectacular. Nainital lies beside a glacial lake and is
backed by a crater like ridge with snowcapped peaks beyond rising to over
2600 m. The area is a mixture of pinewoods, open country and small lakes,
and the views from some of the hills behind the town are simply fantastic.
Here LAMMERGEIERS and HIMALAYAN GRIFON VULTURES soar overhead.
Reach by late afternoon and enjoy the evening birding around the
resort. Overnight will be in Nainital.
Day 08 : NainitalBreakfast
will be at the resort.
Enjoy full day birding in and around Nainital. Walk among the areas forests
and fields in search of resident and migrant mountain birds. Including RED FLANKED
BLUETAIL, STREAKED LAUGHING THRUSH, ALTAI ACCENTOR AND GOLDEN BUSH ROBIN for
some spectacular birding.
Overnight will be in
Nainital.
Day 09 : Nainital - Delhi
By Road : 260 km in 7
hr Early morning birding will be around the resort.
Proceed
for Delhi after breakfast. This will be a long drive and you will need to
relax on reaching Delhi. Overnight will be in Delhi.
Day 10 :
Delhi - BharatpurTake a 4 hr express train journey
Proceed
to Bharatpur in the morning after breakfast.
The Keoladeo Ghana
National Park is one of the finest water-bird sanctuaries in the world. The
Maharaja of Bharatpur artificially created the lake and wetland in the 19th
century. By building small dykes and dams and diverting water from an
irrigation canal, he converted this low-lying area into a fine wild fowl
shooting preserve. In a few years, the new wetland surrounded by marginal
forests was able to support thousands of water birds.
Commonly
referred to as Bharatpur, the Park is a delight for bird watchers. Over 375
species of birds are found here and raised paths, camouflaged by babul trees
and undergrowth make viewing easy. A quiet ride by boat in the early hours
of the morning is also unforgettable experience. The cacophony is
unbelievable as painted storks, open bills, spoonbills, egrets, cormorants,
white ibis and multitudes of others, tend their young. Jacanas with their
iridescent colors and elegant tail feathers and purple moorhen can be seen
delicately treading over the floating vegetation.
Every year
Bharatpur waits with bated breath for the arrival of the Siberian cranes.
There are only two wintering places for this rare species one in Iran and
the other Bharatpur and these beautiful birds with their distinctive red
beaks and facial patches, fly over 6400 km from their summer retreats.
Colorful kingfishers, graceful pelicans rare Siberian cranes and
Trans- continental fliers - the migratory water - fowl are amongst the 375
species of birds found in the Keoladeo National Park. The most spectacular
nesting is that of the egrets, storks, herons and cormorants, which make
over 10,000 nests every year. This makes outstanding bird havens of the
world. The park covers an area of 28.73km.
The
story of Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is incomplete without an account of the
migratory waterfowl. The most prominent waterfowl coming to this park are
bareheaded and greyleg geese. Ducks also create a lot of fluttering in the
lakes. The ducks usually found here are pintail, widgeon, common shelduck,
shoveler, garganey, teal, etc.
Attracted by the influx of the
waterfowl the predatory birds-tawny eagles, spotted eagles short-toed eagles
imperial eagles and fishing eagle also arrive. They all form the apex of the
biological pyramid of the sanctuary and complete the avian food chain of the
ecosystem. There are large herds of the nilgai, chital, wild boar and fear
cows in addition to a few herds of sambar.
Reach and check in at
the hotel. In the afternoon proceed for a quaint boat ride into the park for
birding.
Overnight will be at Bharatpur.
Day 11 : BharatpurBreakfast will be at the resort. Proceed on
RICKSHAW for viewing the birds. Return to the lodge in the evening and
relax. Overnight will be in Bharatpur.
Day 12 : BharatpurIn
the morning proceed to the core area for a birding tour finding new species.
In the afternoon return to the resort and wait for group.
Join
your tour group and end the birding tour.
TOUR ENDS