13 Nights
14 Days
You will start your Western Ghats Bird Watching Tour on your arrival in Delhi. Our tour representative will greet you at Delhi Airport/ Delhi Railway Station and transfer you to the hotel in Delhi. You can spend the day in Delhi at leisure and explore the nearby places or do a bit of shopping. Later you will have dinner and overnight stay in Delhi.
Today you will check-out from Delhi and board the flight to Bangalore Airport. From Bangalore, you will drive to Mysore and check into the hotel in Mysore. Later you will visit Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary and go on a bird watching tour of Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary. This will be an evening bird watching and you will go on river boating in the Cauvery River.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is one of the finest bird-watching destinations near Mysore. Due to the vast variety of bird species found here, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is also referred to as Pakshi Kashi of Karnataka. There are many islands in the Cauvery River, and mangrove swamps and forests on the islands are ideal for bird watching. You can go for a private boat ride and watch these birds.
Among the most beautiful birds you can spot here are the Painted Storks, Asian openbill stork, spot-billed pelican, woolly-necked stork, lesser whistling duck, stork-billed kingfisher, cormorants, egrets, black-headed ibis, Indian Shag, common spoonbill, Oriental Darter, river terns, herons. As you cruise on the waters you will visit mudflats, mangrove forests, banks, and rocky outcrops, which offer spectacular bird-watching opportunities. You will also find flocks of streak-throated swallows and river terns basking on the islands. After this bird-watching and guided boat tour in Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, you will return to Mysore and have an overnight stay in the hotel.
Today we will visit Chamundi Canal, which is an irrigation channel and farmland terrain, in the morning and do bird watching. We will take a short walk in the irrigation fields and along the canal where we will hope to spot some very interesting birds. We will try to find the Indian Eagle Owl and Brown Fish Owl. Both of these birds are very difficult to spot. But you can spot Baya Weavers, White-rumped Munia, Swallows, Small Minivets, and Martins among the scrub grasslands.
We will have breakfast and later reach Masinagudi. This place is on the borders of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. The landscape here comprises evergreen forests, with pockets of mangrove swamps, bamboo groves, and scrub grasslands. This forms the ideal bird-watching site. On the way to Masinagudi, you will pass through the lush green forests of Bandipur National Park. You can make short halts along the way to capture the birdlife in your DSLR lenses.
Once you reach Masinagudi you can have lunch and then go for a nature walk and spot birds. Sighting the Red Spurfowl, nightjars, scops owls, grey-headed bulbuls, spot-bellied eagle owls, yellow-browned bulbuls, blue-bearded bee-eaters, and owlets, can be an exciting experience. Later you will spend the day in the wildlife resort in Masinagudi and have an overnight stay.
Today morning we will have a little bird-watching excursion around the Moyar Dam. The dam and the reservoir are the perfect landscape to spot such magnificent birds as Blue-faced malkoha and Sirkeer malkoha. But our target bird this morning will be the white-bellied minivet, a strikingly beautiful bird with amazing colors and plumage. You can also spot the bay-backed shrikes and raptors.
After breakfast, we will check-out from Masinagudi and proceed to reach Kotagiri. We will pass through the heart of the Nilgiris, and spot by to do bird watching along the way. We shall make halts at Ooty Botanical Gardens and Sim’s Point, where we can hope to find some spectacular birds. We can target the Kashmir Flycatcher, which is a small passerine bird that is found in the Nilgiri region during the winter. But in the hunt to find the Kashmir Flycatcher, you can also keep an eye out for the Nilgiri Flycatcher, Crested goshawk, Black-and-orange flycatcher, and Nilgiri wood pigeon.
When we reach Kotagiri you will check into the hotel and have rest. Kotagiri is known as the tea country and you will find shola forests, green meadows, and rocky mountains. Kotagiri has several tea plantations and because of these diverse landscapes, you will find many bird species here and also mammals. You can spot the Gaur, leopards, sloth bear besides several other creatures in Kotagiri. You will have an overnight stay in Kotagiri.
Today you will go on a birding tour in Kotagiri and find some endemic birds here as well as some winter migrants. Chances to spot birds will be higher during morning hours. You can spot some laughingthrush varieties like the Nilgiri Chilappan and the Nilgiri thrush. You can spot the Nilgiri blue robin in the higher elevations of the Shola forests in Kotagiri. Chances of spotting winter migrants such as Siberian rubythroat, Pied Thrush, and Blue and White Flycatchers are more around the wintertime in Kotagiri.
After breakfast, we will resume our bird-watching tour in the Nilgiris and visit some tea gardens and meadows. Here you can spot the Malabar Larks and the Red Avadavats. If you are lucky you can also spot the Indian Eagle Owl in the deep woods.
We will return for lunch and later target some raptors in our bird-watching session post-lunch. You can spot Great Hornbills, Hawk Cuckoo, and Black Eagles. You can also spot a colony of Crested Tree Swifts and Hanging Parrots. We will return to our hotel in KotagirI late evening and have dinner with overnight rest.
We will venture out in the morning and try to spot birds that you may have missed out on in our previous outings. You can target some birds and try visiting a spot where you may have the hope of spotting them. There are many such vantage points in Kotagiri where you can hope to spot birds and also photograph them.
After lunch, we will drive to a place which is famous for offering good sightings of the Shaheen Falcons. This is a ridge and you can view these magnificent raptors from your vantage point. You can photograph them and the natural light around this time will aid in capturing the most beautiful shots of these birds in your camera lenses. Later you will return to your lodge in Kotagiri and rest for the night.
After a morning session of birding, we will check-out from Kotagiri and proceed to Pollachi. We will move towards the plains and gradually leave the Shola forests and the Nilgiris behind us. On arrival in Pollachi, we will check into the hotel and then go for a bird-watching excursion. Pollachi is located in the foothills of the Annamalai Hills and its landscape has grasslands and forested lands. You may hope to catch sight of grassland species such as munias, Orange Minivets, and Malabar Trogons. You can also spot the Mottled Wood Owls and the Brown Fish Owls here. You will go on walking tours and a bit of driving around to spot the birds. Later you will have dinner and an overnight stay in Pollachi.
Today we will visit the hill station of Valparai, which is part of the Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary. You will find the Western Ghats here with rocky mountains, low-lying hills, marshy lands, grasslands, and river streams flowing through the sanctuary. You will find spectacular species of the Nilgiris here such as Flying Squirrels, Nilgiri Marten, and Dholes. You can spot some endemic species here like Jerdon’s Palm Civet and Brown Mongoose.
But if you are particularly targeting birds then you are in luck as Valparai teems with exciting birdlife. The Wayanad Laughingthrush is among the most recognizable birds due to its black face mask and is also an endemic species of the Western Ghats. But you can zoom into the trees and spot other birds such as Hill Swallow, Rufous Bellied Eagle, Legge’s Hawk Eagle, and the very rare Yellow-throated Bulbul.
You will pack your lunch along with you and can eat in between your bird-watching sessions. This bird-watching can switch between long walks and drives and take you to birding hotspots, roadside spots, and hilly areas. You can keep an eye out for Nilgiri Tahr. This is a mountain goat, which is found only in the Nilgiris and the high-elevation grasslands of the Western Ghats and rocky cliffs.
After this session of bird watching and wildlife photography, we will return to Pollachi and have an overnight stay in the hotel.
Today we will check-out from Pollachi in the morning and drive to Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. We will have breakfast along the way and soak in the exuberant natural beauty of this wildlife sanctuary. Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the borders of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The landscape of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is a mix of forests, grasslands, highland pastures, scrub forests, and plenty of river streams and waterfalls. This makes it even more exciting to spot the birds and animals.
We will try to spot the Grizzled Giant Squirrel, which is an endemic species found here. You can follow the river streams and spot birds like Yellow-throated Bulbuls, owls, doves, cormorants, minivets, and others. After this little bird watching we will continue our driver and reach the hill station of Munnar. Situated in the Anamalai Hills, Munnar is one of the spectacular bird-watching destinations in the Western Ghats. You can hope to spot many exciting bird species here.
You will check into the wildlife resort/ jungle lodge/ hotel on arrival in Munnar. Later proceed to visit a cardamom plantation and tea estates in the evening time. We can familiarize ourselves with the terrain and birding spots along the way and come back the following day to spot birds. After this little outing in Munnar, we will return to our hotel and have overnight rest and stay.
Bird watching in the Shola forests and grasslands of Munnar is a new experience you will have on this tour. We will pack lunch and proceed in the morning to Top Station and Pambadum Shola National Park. You will find a mix of Shola forests and high-altitude grasslands here and this makes bird watching a different experience. Sighting a Nilgiri Marten is common in this region, and you can especially look out for this creature if you are visiting Munnar. Nilgiri Marten is the only species of marten that is found here in the southern part of India. You can also spot herds of wild elephants roaming in the wild pastures of this national park.
There are several types of birds you can spot here such as Dark Fronted Babblers, Bluebirds, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Square Tailed Bulbuls, and Mountain Imperial Pigeon among others. We will now return to our wildlife resort in Munnar after this bird watching. We will have dinner and an overnight stay in Munnar.
We will proceed early in the morning for a round of bird watching in Eravikulam National Park. We will visit the mountain peak called Rajamalai Peak, which is in Eravikulam National Park. Here you will find grasslands with pockets of Shola forests and rolling hills. This landscape is perfect for spotting several endemic species that thrive in the high-altitude ranges of this national park. You can spot the Nilgiri Tahr and photograph this spectacular mountain goat in its natural habitat. You can zoom in through your binoculars and DSLR cameras to spot several birds like Nilgiri pipits, Painted Bush Quails, White-bellied White-bellied Sholakili (White-bellied blue robin), Palani Laughingthrush. You can also try to spot the rare Broad-Tailed Grassbird.
We will now return to our hotel in Munnar and check-out from the hotel. Later we will drive onwards on the mountain roads towards another spectacular bird-watching destination of this tour, which is none other than Thattekad Bird Sanctuary. We will check into the hotel at Thattehad on our arrival and then have overnight rest and stay.
Bird watching in Thattekad Bird Sanctuary is a visual treat for every bird lover. The low-lying evergreen forests on the banks of the Periyar River form the best birding hotspots in South India. Thattekad Bird Sanctuary is so rich in birdlife that the famous ornithologist of India, Dr. Salim Ali famously hailed it among the richest bird habitat in peninsular India. More than 300 species of birds are found here and you can spot these with the help of naturalist guides, who have deep local knowledge and can take you to some top birding spots in the sanctuary.
You can spot both shore birds and forest birds here such as the Southern Hill Myna, Slaty Legged Crake, Blue Eared Kingfisher, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, Mottled Wood Owl, White-Bellied Treepie, Srilankan Bay Owl, Flame Throated Bulbul. As dusk approaches, you can spot the Great-Eared Nightjar, Jerdon’s Nightjar, and other nocturnal birds.
You can hear the drumming sound of Rufous Woodpecker or White-Bellied Woodpecker against the tree trunks. Also, try to spot the Heart Spotted Woodpecker in the thick foliage. You will also find migrant birds such as Square Tailed Drongo Cuckoo, Rusty Tailed Flycatchers, Black Baza, and Blue-Throated Blue Flycatcher.
With the help of the naturalist guides you can also spot nocturnal mammals, such as Slender Loris. Some nocturnal birds such as Oriental Scops Owls, Hawk Owls, Nightjars, and Ceylon Bay Owl come out only during the night hours or during the onset of dusk. After this exciting bird watching in Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, you will return to your forest lodge/ wildlife resort in Thattekad and spend the night here.
You have now reached the last day of this Western Ghats Bird Watching Tour. You will check-out from Thattekad and proceed to reach Kochi after having breakfast. Our tour representative will drop you at Cochin International Airport/ Kochi Railway Station from where you can continue your onward journey via flight/ train.
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