Nepal
A comprehensive tour of the key wildlife areas of Nepal, with the focus on birds and mammals
Guides - experienced Heatherlea Leader Kevin Shaw plus top-rated local guide Suchit Basnet. Max 12 guests.
Optional Everest/Kathmandu sightseeing extension add £260pp
Nepal is a fantastic country for the wildlife enthusiast, boasting 868 bird species and 210 mammals. Although the country is often associated with the high peaks of the Himalayas, elevations vary from the highest point on earth to near sea level in the Terai region, and much of the best wildlife is at lower altitudes. This carefully planned itinerary is aimed at the first-time wildlife visitor, who wants a relaxing experience of Nepal's birds, mammals, landscape and lifestyle. We travel at the end of the Nepalese winter and beginning of spring, a good time for both wildlife and weather considerations.
We focus on the best lowland habitats, rich in wildlife, during full two weeks of very enjoyable bird and mammal watching. Our key destinations are the country's two finest reserves, Chitwan National Park and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. With four nights in each place, this rewarding itinerary offers plenty of time to thoroughly explore both reserves at a gentle pace. An internal flight back to Kathmandu will save us a lot of 'road-time' at the eastern end of our travels, as well as providing spectacular scenic views, giving members of the group an opportunity on a clear day to see the Himalayan Range, including the summit of Mount Everest. We also spend another very rewarding day birding in the Kathmandu Valley, as we drive close to the 2,740-metre summit of Phulchowki, where our list will grow quickly as we find many new species. Above all, we take our time, and thorough organisation and planning by our team in Nepal ensures a relaxing and enjoyable holiday, filled with wildlife. Experienced Heatherlea Leader Mike Coleman will again team up with excellent local guide Suchit Basnet - we certainly have friends in high places here in Nepal!
On this holiday we pay more than a passing glance towards the highest peaks of the Himalayan range, especially during our optional extension day, which features a thrilling Everest panoramic mountain flight , plus a most worthwhile visit to Kathmandu's monumental sites.
Besides the internal flight mentioned above, we travel by road in a medium-sized bus, and by a variety of methods inside the reserves including 4WD Jeeps, boats and elephants! February/March is late winter/early spring in Nepal, and temperatures are beginning to rise after the colder winter months. Lowland areas can be warm.
Kathmandhu Min 4C Max 25C
Chitwan/Koshi Min 8C Max 32C
Accommodation is in lodges with en-suite bathroom including hot shower, except at Koshi, where we enjoy the facilities of large safari tents with shared bathroom facilities in a seperate block adjacent to the tents.
Kevin says ‘Our 2011 holiday was a real cracker, with over 300 birds, excellent mammal watching, and above all a memorable all-round experience. We hardly saw another tourist, and enjoyed elephant rides to find rhinos, rewarding boat trips and great safaris by jeep. Our local guides were superb, people were extremely friendly, and the food was very good. The variety of habitats, and the sheer range of birdlife, helped to make this an unforgettable holiday. Nepal has so much to offer the wildlife enthusiast that in future we will offer two very different kinds of holiday. In 2012 our carefully designed itinerary is ideal for the first-time visitor to Nepal who wants to enjoy memorable wildlife. We have also retained the optional cultural extension which was a big success on our last holiday, and which we highly recommend. Our prices have been set to offer very good value, and we look forward to another tremendous adventure in Nepal. The next holiday in 2013 will be aimed at the more experienced Nepalese birder who wants something different - more in due course!‘
BIRDS
This holiday is focused principally on birds, and as our tour is at the end of winter and beginning of spring, we will enjoy a superb birding mixture. We will have good chances of seeing wintering wetland birds, passerines from Siberia and high Himalayan breeders migrating to lowlands for the winter, plus the extra interest provided by early summer migrants. We should have a rewarding time as we move from park to park across Nepal’s well-forested lowlands, enjoying a pleasant climate and splendid views of the foothills. We expect well over 200 species on this detailed tour, and some targets include woodpeckers, minivets, warblers, flycatchers, laughing-thrushes, yuhinas, fulvettas, sunbirds, flowerpeckers, just to name a few of the birds recorded from Phulchowki alone! Elsewhere we spend time looking for rare Ibisbill, and may well see sought-after and delightful Eurasian species including Red-flanked Bluetail, Siberian Rubythroat and Wallcreeper. Other fantastic birds include Cutia, Swamp Francolin, Tickell's Red-breasted Blue Flycatcher and many more - a huge list of potential species!
MAMMALS
Chitwan National Park holds a wealth of mammals, including endangered Royal Bengal Tiger and the Great One-horned (Indian) Rhinoceros. Tigers move mostly during the cooler night, morning and evenings whereas rhino prefer grasslands to graze, and take to water holes when hot. This holiday has a secondary focus on mammals, particularly at Chitwan, where we will explore by jeep, elephant, rubber boat and on foot. This way we cover most of the habitat types and hence have maximum chances to see wildlife, especially Tiger!
Tiger are not as easily seen as at some key Indian sites, but we expect a realistic opportunity on this holiday. The Park has a small number of resident wild Elephant and they use night cover to hide and raid crops in the farms, but are rarely seen during the day. Wild Boar, Sambar, Muntjac, Spotted and Hog Deer, Rhesus and Common Langur Monkeys, and Indian Grey Mongoose are among the commoner mammals seen in and around the Park. Sloth Bear and Gaur may also be seen, as well as Gharial and Mugger Crocodile, and perhaps Ganges River Dolphin.
Itinerary:
DAYS 1 and 2 Mon 20 Feb - Tues 21 Feb Heathrow to Kathmandu:
We take an evening flight from London Heathrow to Kathmandu. On arrival in the early afternoon we begin birding straight away at the Godavari Botanical Garden if we have time. We should enjoy an introduction to some of the commoner species, and maybe some specialities too! Later we transfer to our comfortable hotel, and relax with a welcome dinner! Overnight Kathmandu; www.hotelmarshyangdi.com
DAYS 3 to 7 Wed 22 Feb - Sun 26 Feb Chitwan National Park:
We drive south for a four night stay in Chitwan National Park. En route we expect to do some birding, with rare Ibisbill being a key target. Chitwan is a World Heritage Site which occupies 932 square kilometres of dry deciduous forest, tropical evergreen forest and riverine grasslands. A larger number of bird species (over 530) has been recorded here than in any other part of Nepal, and we can expect to see around a third of these during our four night stay. Long-tailed Nightjar, Indian Peafowl, Great Barbet, Red-billed Blue Magpie and Tickell's Red-breasted Blue Flycatcher are just a few of the exotic species we hope to see. The park holds a similar wealth of mammals, and we should see endangered Indian Rhinoceros, Wild Boar, Sambar, Muntjac, Spotted and Hog Deer, and Rhesus and Common Langur Monkeys. Tiger are certainly present, and we hope to encounter this great cat, whose pug marks are seen in many locations in the Park.
our accommodation at Chitwan
Leopards, Sloth Bears and Gaur are occasionally seen, as well as Gharial and Mugger Crocodile and Indian (One-horned) Rhinocerous. We will explore on foot, on elephant back, in dugout canoes and by jeep. Great fun and very enjoyable safari days! www.nepalinformation.com/mpv
Photo by Graham & Karen Searle
DAYS 7 to 11 Sun 26 Feb - Thurs 1 March Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve:
On the first day we take the long drive to Koshi camp, birding en-route. Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is part of a vast expanse of open water, marshes, lagoons, sandbanks, mudflats and dry woodlands that lie to the north of a huge barrage. Situated just northeast of the Sapt Koshi and Trijuga Khola confluence, this enormous floodplain is one of Asia’s finest wetlands and a fabulous birdwatching area. Almost all of Nepal’s long list of wildfowl, waders, storks, ibises, herons, egrets, terns and gulls occur here, plus a great variety of land birds that include such specialties as Swamp Francolin, Red-necked Falcon and Striated Grassbird, Imperial Eagle, Pied Harrier, Vultures etc. This reserve is also the last refuge of wild Water Buffalo in Nepal, and home to rare Gangetic River Dolphin amongst other mammals. We explore the reserve and adjoining areas on foot, jeep and in inflatable rubber boats. There is some serious birding to be done here, returning at night to the comfortable camp owned by our hosts. Overnight Koshi Camp, www.koshicamp.com
wildlife watching at a gentle pace as we drift along!
DAYS 11 - 13 Thurs 1 March - Sat 3 March Kathmandu and Phulchowki:
Finally we must return to Kathmandu, flying from the eastern town of Biratnagar back to the capital for our last night in Nepal. This flight is a very good idea, avoiding a long and arduous drive close to the end of our stay. If we are lucky on this flight, we may have a good view of Everest, Kanchenjunga,and several other peaks all above 8000 metres. Overnight Kathmandu; www.hotelmarshyangdi.com.
The next morning we begin birding at altitude, as we drive as close as conditions allow to the 2,740-metre summit of Phulchowki, the highest peak in the Kathmandu Valley, where we will have magnificent views of the Himalayan range on a clear day. We hope to see a large number of birds, including Red-flanked Bluetail, Fire-tailed Sunbird, White-collared and Grey-winged Blackbird, Long-tailed Minivet, White-tailed Nuthatch and Orange-bellied Leafbird, Cutia, Kalij Pheasant, Red-billed Leiothrix, Black-faced Leaf Warbler and rosefinches just to name a few of the 250+ species recorded from this hill alone! We take a packed lunch and spend the day here, driving to the highest point we can reach, then walking downhill enjoying the birds, forest and the panorama of the hills and the snow-capped mountains. Although this day is mountain based, walking is slow and leisurely.
If not taking the Everest extension, you will transfer to the airport on the morning of Day 13, Sat 4 March and return to London Heathrow.
Day 13 Sun 4 March Kathmandu and Mount Everest Extension:
If taking this extension (which we heartily recommend!), you will board a flight in the morning for an exhilarating panoramic flight around the summit of Mount Everest, and in the afternoon enjoy a truly memorable guided tour of Kathmandu. We stay another night in the city, allowing plenty of time for shopping in the good-value bazaar of the adjacent Thali district, or just a final chance to relax before our journey home. We leave for the airport on the morning of Day 14, Sun 5 March, and return to London Heathrow.
Our afternoon sightseeing excursion will probably take us to two key sites, and top targets (subject to opening restrictions, traffic considerations etc) will be;
Pashupatinath Temple, a sacred Hindu temple and holy pilgrimage site situated on the bank of the Bagmati River river 5km east of Kathmandu. Thousands of pilgrims from Nepal and India pay homage at this temple every day. Locals worship and receive blessing from Lord Shiva, and nearby lies the cremation site where last rites take place. Only Hindus are allowed inside the temple, though non-Hindu visitors are permitted to watch the open-air cremation ceremonies from the eastern bank of the Bagmati River. Locals have long regarded the Temple as a very important part of the city, both religiously and culturally. This visit can be a genuinely unforgettable experience.
Boudanath, a significant Buddhist temple. This is the biggest stupa in Nepal, built around the 5th century. It is a hemispherical dome like other Buddhist stupas, and it is believed that the relics of the great Buddha Kasyapa are buried inside, because of which it is greatly worshipped. There are numerous monasteries within the perimeter of the stupa, wherein Buddhists, Tibetans and foreign students live, to be close to this symbol of their spiritual master. The area is known as 'Mini-Tibet'.
Both places are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Monument List.
Please note: all itineraries are given as a guide only. Actual holiday content may vary according to the judgement of your guide, and elements beyond our control (eg weather).
Price includes:
Return scheduled flight from London Heathrow - Kathmandu, one internal flight from Biratnagar - Kathmandu, airport taxes, all land transfers between destinations including airports, full-board accommodation at hotels and lodges, picnic lunches, ground transportation inside Park and Reserve by 4WD, Elephant and Boats, National Park entry fees, all tips including mealtimes (though see below), checklist, and the services of your leaders.
Price excludes:
Holiday insurance, visa (around £20), optional tips to local guides/drivers (this is customary, allow around £30pp), drinks, and other personal expenses.
