Ward’s Trogon is one of the most sought-after birds on our tour Photo: James Ownby
Druk Yul, or “Land of the Thunder Dragon,” is the remote Himalayan kingdom we know as Bhutan. Nestled deep in the heart for the Himalaya, wedged between two giant and populous neighbors, the country has retained much of its historic culture, its centuries-old rituals, and its fascinating heritage. Isolated by some of the highest mountain ranges on earth, Buddhist Bhutan is still poorly known in the West. Although most of it is now open to foreigners, tourist quotas are still restricted, and few travelers—and even fewer birdwatchers—have had first-hand experience of this unique and diverse country.
On this tour we’re sure to see birds in abundance, plus breath-taking scenery as we travel across almost the entire country. Over 70 percent of the land surface is forested, and over 600 species have so far been recorded in Bhutan so far; among them are more than 30 new species our tours have added to the country’s list, including Rusty-bellied Shortwing and Hodgson’s Bushchat. A significant number of species, including Satyr Tragopan, Blood Pheasant, Himalayan Monal, Yellow-throated Fulvetta, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Sikkim Wedge-billed Babbler, and Long-billed and Bar-winged Wren-Babblers, are easier to see here than anywhere else on earth. And Bhutan is one of very few accessible places to see several others, such as Ward’s Trogon, Yellow-vented Warbler, Blue-fronted Robin, and White-naped Yuhina.
Even more, perhaps, than other countries, fabulous Bhutan fires the enthusiasm of all who have visited it, leaving them with a sense of privilege and a longing to return.
Day 1: The tour begins this evening in Delhi. Upon arrival at Indira Ghandi International Airport you will be transferred to a nearby hotel. Night in Delhi.
Paul is not only an amazing birder but he is well organized, extremely knowledgeable and fun to be with. We chose the Bhutan tour in order to be in the field with him again. We want as well to mention our stellar ground crew who were excellent! They looked after us in every way they could, providing hot drinks, meals and other comforts every day and taking care of us astoundingly well when we were camping. They deserve the highest kudos for all they did, everyday.
Erin in the WINGS office was marvelous! She graciously and ably helped us with our many pre-tour personal trip extras which were complicated and required multiple communications, reservations and follow-ups. Everything turned out perfectly.
Randy and Sid Beaton, April 2019
Day 2: We’ll catch a very early morning flight to Paro, Bhutan’s only international airport. Our route parallels the mighty Himalayan mountain chain, and if the weather is good we should see Mount Everest. After clearing immigration we’ll drive east through an enchanting valley with gaily decorated shingle-roofed houses and a willow-fringed river. Red-billed Choughs are quite common in this valley, and as we head east we’ll stop to search for regional specialties such as Black-tailed Crake, Ibisbill, Wallcreeper, Brown Dipper and Rufous-fronted Bushtit. We’ll spend the night in Thimpu, Bhutan’s delightful capital.
Day 3: We’ll head east out of Thimpu and up onto the western slopes of the Dochu La, the first of a series of high-altitude road passes that we’ll explore. Entering the pristine mixed forests of hemlock, fir, oak, magnolias, and rhododendrons, we should see a wealth of birds, including some species-rich feeding flocks. Quarrelsome Nutcrackers are common, and past highlights have included skulking Hill Partridge, Satyr Tragopan, Golden Bush Robin, the immaculate Himalayan Cutia, Brown Parrotbill, and even the gorgeous Fire-tailed Myzornis. Most of our birding on this tour is from the roads, which are well paved and almost lacking in traffic. Today, however, we’ll venture offroad onto a trail that enables us to explore the forest more thoroughly. On several recent tours we’ve even managed to have excellent views of Ward’s Trogon, one of Bhutan’s premier avian prizes. We’ll spend the following two nights near Punakha.
Day 4: From our base at a splendid, traditionally decorated hotel near Punakha, the former capital of Bhutan, we’ll explore the braided channels of the Mo Chhu River and its bird-rich subtropical forests. Our route will take us past the spectacular Punakha Dzong. We should see an impressive array of species here, and on several occasions in the past these have included a White-bellied Heron, one of Bhutan’s rarest birds. We’re sure to encounter several parties of brightly colored minivets and noisy Striated Laughingthrushes, and we may also see more Ibisbills. A whole host of forest species, such as Bay Woodpecker, Red-headed Trogon, and Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, waits to be discovered. Fire-capped Tit breeds here, as do White-gorgeted Flycatcher and the rare Yellow-vented Warbler. We’ll also search for a variety of skulkers, including Lesser Shortwing, Spotted Elachura and Pygmy Cupwing, and two of Bhutan’s three species of tesia. In the afternoon we hope to be able to go inside Punakha Dzong, a fabulous fortified monastery that’s still home to many hundred monks. Night again near Punakha.
Day 5: Continuing east, past the smaller Wangdi Dzong, we’ll make a series of brief stops to scan the braided river channel. In the past we’ve seen Pallas’s Gull and Pallas’s Fish Eagle here and have added a number of other species to the Bhutanese list. We’ll also check forest edges and explore some of the small patches of cultivation. We’ll enter productive forest near the end of our journey, where we’ll stop to look for species such as Spotted Laughingthrush, Hume’s Bush-Warbler, Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, White-browed Bush Robin, and White-winged Grosbeak. Night in Gangtey, in the heart of the Phobjika Valley.
Day 6: Leaving Gangtey we’ll follow the twisting road up over the Pele La pass and into Central Bhutan. We’ll spend much of the morning on the Pele La Pass searching for species such as Blood Pheasant, Satyr Tragopan, and the majestic Himalayan Monal. We’ll search a stand of ringal bamboo on the eastern side of the pass for specialties such as Great and Brown Parrotbills and Golden-breasted Fulvetta, surely one of the world’s most attractive passerines. Night in Trongsa.
Day 7: From Trongsa we’ll head south down the Zhemgang road to a small guest house in Tingtibi where we’ll spend the following two nights. Our main focus at the start of our journey will be the rare and little-known Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, but we should also see a number of other birds, perhaps including Little Forktail, Large Niltava, or Russet Bush Warbler. The entire length of the spectacularly forested valley is also good for the endangered Golden Langur monkey. Night in Tingtibi.
Day 8: We’ve seen Beautiful Nuthatch at several sites on the lower Zhemgang road, and we’ll spend time searching for this magnificent creature. Our guest house right in the heart of superb forest, is at one of the lowest altitudes that we visit; species encountered here on recent tours include Chestnut-breasted Partridge, Violet Cuckoo, Pin-tailed Green Pigeon, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Pale-headed Woodpecker, Pale-billed Parrotbill and Himalayan Cutia. Rufous-faced Warbler is also quite common, and we stand a reasonable chance of encountering the rare White-bellied Heron and possibly even a Collared Treepie. Night again in Tingtibi.
Day 9: This will be our longest driving day of the tour, taking us from Tingtibi north back through Trongsa before continuing east up and over the bamboo-thronged Yotong La into the first of the four Bumthang valleys. There, the scenery changes to broad grassy valleys and rolling hillsides covered in spruce and fir, and the avifauna changes equally abruptly. Night in Jakar.
Day 10: We’ll start early today, continuing our circuit east and searching for pheasants, which could include Himalayan Monal, Satyr Tragopan, and Blood Pheasant. Eventually we’ll cross the Thrumsing La, at 12,465 feet Bhutan’s highest road pass. The road then plunges dramatically down into rich semi-tropical rainforest, taking us onto the Lingmethang road, perhaps Asia’s premier birding road. Many of the region’s real specialties and most sought-after species: Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, White-browed and Rufous-breasted Bush Robins, Dark-rumped Rosefinch, and Fulvous, Brown, and Great Parrotbills can be found here, as can Chestnut-breasted Partridge, Ward’s Trogon, the majestic Rufous-necked Hornbill, Blue-naped Pitta, Blue-fronted Robin, and Sikkim Wedge-billed, Long-billed, and Bar-winged Wren-Babblers. We’ll spend parts of five days on the magical Lingmethang road – our first night will be at higher elevation near Sengor, the other three significantly lower down. Accommodation at Sengor is still rather spartan, so we’ve opted to camp in modern, spacious walk-in tents equipped with comfortable camp beds; the tents will be set up for us by our Bhutanese crew.
Days 11-13: We’ll spend these days exploring the fabulously lush primary forests near Lingmethang in search of the area’s specialties. We’re sure to see many new birds, and while not all of them are rare, many, such as Slender-billed and Coral-billed Scimitar-Babblers, Scaly and Blue-winged Laughingthrushes, White-breasted Parrotbill, Broad-billed Warbler, White-naped Yuhina, and Rufous-throated Wren-babbler are poorly known and unfamiliar to most birders. Nights near Yongkola.
Day 14: We’ll leave Yongkola and continue east, by-passing Trashigang, and on to our second camp site of the tour – one close to lush, bird-rich forests near the Karung Pass.
Day 15: Leaving our final camp site we’ll continue south to our next base in southeastern Bhutan. Our journey takes us through numerous small villages, across several forest-covered passes, and down spectacular river valleys. Only recently re-opened to foreigners, this area of eastern Bhutan remains ornithologically poorly known. As so often on this tour we’ll take breakfast and lunch in the field, and make several exploratory birding stops amid superb forest before reaching Samdrup Jongkhar, a bustling border town lying at the junction of the Himalayas and the Brahmaputra flood plain. We’ll spend two nights here.
Day 16: Spending the entire day at low elevation never very far from the Indian border Today’s key species will include Grey Peacock Pheasant, Wreathed Hornbill, Whistling Hawk-Cuckoo, Mountain Imperial and Pin-tailed Green and Mountain Imperial Pigeons, Violet Cuckoo, Dark-rumped Swift, Long-tailed Broadbill, Rufous-necked Laughingthrush, Sultan Tit, and we stand another chance of encountering the enigmatic Beautiful Nuthatch. Night again in Samdrup Jongkhar.
Day 17: We’ll spend the early morning exploring another site near Samdrup Jongkhar,. We’ll reluctantly leave Bhutan for the drive south to Assam, India, and on to Guwahati, the logistical hub of northeastern India. We’ll make several brief stops along the way; we’re sure to see many Lesser Adjutants and hopefully also quite a few Greater Adjutants. Night in Guwahati.
Day 18: We’ll have an hour or two birding around Guwahati this morning. Highlights could include Small Pratincole, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Citrine Wagtail, Rusty-rumped Warbler, and Striated Grassbird. Next we’ll catch our flight back to Delhi and transfer to an airport hotel to freshen up. After a leisurely dinner we’ll transfer to the international airport where the tour ends in time for late evening departures home.
Updated: 26 August 2024
Prices
- 2025 Tour Price : $11,090
- Single Occupancy Supplement : $890
Notes
Questions? Tour Manager: Erin Olmstead. Call 1-866-547-9868 (US or Canada) or (01) 520-320-9868 or click here to email.
* Tour invoices paid by check carry a 4% discount. Details here.
Maximum group size 10 with one leader.
Tour price includes Bhutan’s goverment SDF and visa fee; multiple entry visa application / fee for India NOT included.