BHUTAN

Spell-binding birding amidst awe-inspiring landscapes on a journey through the lush primeval forests and mountains of this "lost" Himalayan kingdom.

2009
April 3-23 with Richard Webster

$8975 (includes Delhi-Paro-Delhi round-trip airfare; 2009 fee). 21 days
From Delhi. Limit: 9
Accommodations in Bhutan generally with simple amenities but classy decorations. Includes 5 nights at comfortable tented camps, all in delightful settings; moderate terrain, warm to cold climate; moderate to high elevation. Our staff travel agents can book your air travel for this tour. Contact us at (800) 728-4953 for more information.

See our triplist for 2008 or 2007 or 2006.

See a slideshow of photos from this tour.

Green-tailed Sunbird from our 2005 tour with Richard Webster & Rose Ann Rowlett

Bhutan, a rampart stretch of the Himalayas nestled between Tibet and India, is not only a land of great jagged ridges; it also holds some of the most extensive remaining tracts of Himalayan forest, sadly severely depleted elsewhere in this range. While the mountainous terrain has enabled this land of breathtaking beauty and fascinating culture to remain isolated from the outside world for centuries (television was not introduced here until 1999), Bhutan has now opened its friendly doors to visitors, allowing us to explore this peaceful country and its wonderland of birds from Ibisbill to parrotbills. Some 600 species have been recorded in a country the size of Switzerland—and now it even has its own field guide from which to sort out all the niltavas, tesias, sibias, yuhinas, minlas, fulvettas, laughingthrushes, scimitar-babblers, and barwings! A surprisingly good road permits us to encounter many species reduced in numbers through habitat loss elsewhere in the Himalayas, and to view the cultural setting of remote regions far beyond the capital.

This is a tour to show you both the beauty of this mountain kingdom and the delights of its fascinating wildlife. As there are so few hotels in Bhutan, our journey does necessitate five nights of camping and many picnics, but our efficient ground crew ensures that this experience is not only comfortable but adds to the ambiance of being in Bhutan. This also enables us to be on the spot at some truly superb birding locations to walk through oak and rhododendron forests and beneath trees festooned with lichens, mosses, ferns, and orchids, in search of such tantalizing delights as several superb pheasants, Cutia, Scarlet Finch, Fire-tailed Myzornis, and the enormous Rufous-necked Hornbill.

Our visit has been timed to show the greatest diversity of bird life—spring remains part of the dry season, Bhutan’s resident birds will be in full song (with a great chorus of barbets and cuckoos), and many migrants will be heading north through the mountains en route to Tibet and beyond. Species such as accentors and rosefinches that move to higher altitudes to breed should still be present at lower elevations where they have wintered, while rock-thrushes, flycatchers, warblers, and others will be arriving from southern India to breed in the forests. As a bonus, many species of intensely colored rhododendron and magnolia should be in flower too.

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