North India Birding Tour
Duration : 11 Nights / 12 Days
Places to See : Delhi - Corbett - Nainital - 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: Delhi:
Breakfast 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 Humayun's Tomb, the Qutub Minar, a drive along the ceremonial avenue - Rajpath, past the imposing India Gate, Parliament House, the President's 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 Park:After 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 India's 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 park's 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 Park:
Enjoy 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: Nainital:
Breakfast will be at the resort.
Enjoy full day birding in and around Nainital. Walk among the area's 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 - Bharatpur: Take a 4 hr express train journeyProceed 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.
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: Bharatpur:
Breakfast 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: Bharatpur - Delhi: By Road, 175 km in 4 hr
In the morning proceed to the core area for a birding tour finding new species.
In the afternoon return to the resort and drive to Delhi for evening flight home with sweet memories of India.
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