Bhutan, a rampart stretch of the Himalayas nestled between Tibet and India, holds some of the most extensive remaining tracts of Himalayan forest. Bhutan has opened its doors to visitors, allowing us for the past 15 years to explore its wonderland of birds from Ibisbill to parrotbills. It even has its own field guide from which to sort out all the niltavas, tesias, yuhinas, minlas, fulvettas, laughingthrushes, scimitar-babblers, and barwings! A surprisingly good road system permits us to encounter many species reduced through habitat loss elsewhere and to view the cultural setting of remote regions far beyond the capital.

As there are so few hotels, our journey does necessitate three nights of camping and many picnics, but our efficient ground crew ensures that this experience is not only comfortable (cots with mattresses in tents in which you can stand up) but adds to the ambience 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 in search of several superb pheasants as well as Himalayan Cutia, Scarlet Finch, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Ward's Trogon, and the enormous Rufous-necked Hornbill.

Our visit has been timed to show the greatest diversity of bird life--Bhutan's resident birds will be in full song and many migrants will be heading north. Species that move to higher altitudes to breed should still be present at lower elevations where they have wintered, while rock-thrushes and others will be arriving from southern India to breed. As a bonus, many species of intensely colored rhododendrons and magnolias should be in flower.

Select the KEY INFO tab or click here for our itinerary plus space requests, status, fees, limits, and guides for any departure.

Client comment
"A great tour, one of the best ever. Great birds, excellent guide in Megan Edwards Crewe, really great tour group. Plus beautiful, clean country, good food, fun cultural visits, happy people. Especially noteworthy was the ground crew providing in-the-field hot meals for every breakfast and lunch, a superb effort. Your office service was very good, no problems for me and they were very helpful to other tour members who had major flight disruptions by the airlines." D.M, BHUTAN 2019