Tour Information
Note: The information presented below has been extracted from our formal General Information for this tour. It covers topics we feel potential registrants may wish to consider before booking space. The complete General Information for this tour will be sent to all tour registrants and of course supplemental information, if needed, is available from the WINGS office.
ENTERING INDIA: All U.S. citizens need a passport, valid for 6 months beyond date of visa application, at least two blank pages, and a valid Indian visa to enter and exit India for any purpose. U.S. citizens seeking to enter India solely for tourist purposes, and who plan to stay no longer than 60 days, may apply for an electronic travel authorization in lieu of applying for a tourist visa at an Indian embassy or consulate. Please visit the https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html for additional information regarding the eligibilities and requirements for this type of visa. Without the electronic travel authorization, which must be obtained at least four days prior to arrival, visas are not available upon arrival for U.S. citizens.
The Government of India has appointed VFS Global to assist with visa services to individuals in the United States. Applicants may apply for Indian visas through this link: https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/apply-visa.
COUNTRY INFORMATION: You can review the U.S. Department of State Country Specific Travel Information at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/India.html, and the CIA World Factbook background notes on India at https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/.
Review foreign travel advice from the UK government here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice and travel advice and advisories from the Government of Canada here: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories
PACE OF TOUR: On a number of days there will be optional pre-breakfast walks. Most of these will start at 6.30 am or 6.45 am and may last for up to three hours. Most days we should finish at dusk, around 6.30 pm, and we usually manage to have about a one hour break before the checklist and dinner. There may be one or two days when we get back after dusk, and we may therefore require a shorter break before dinner. At Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve safari or game drives start in the early morning (we may have to leave the hotel before dawn – around 6:15 m) and usually last for about three or three-and-a-half hours, after which time we will return to the hotel for breakfast. On several days there will be a further game-drive in the afternoon (they usually run from about 2:45 pm to 6:00 pm).
There is a reasonable amount of walking involved on this tour, although none of it is particularly strenuous. Sensibly, we are not allowed to walk on foot inside Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve or Corbett National Park, and instead we will explore the sanctuary using either open-topped jeeps or a large, open-topped truck fitted with rows seats. We anticipate birding at several small sites outside the reserves we are allowed to walk. These walks will be short and easy.
At Bharatpur the layout of the park is ideal for long, gentle walks, as the entire place is criss-crossed with good, level paths and tracks. We can expect to complete walks of two or three (at most) miles here. We will spend one night and parts of two days at Dholpur where we’ll take a boat ride on the nearby Chambal River and make a few short walks in nearby birding areas. Again, none of these activities will be strenuous.
At Ramnagar we’ll walk along a braided riverbed which will involve uneven, boulder-strewn terrain. At our inn outside Corbett National Park we’ll go for a couple of long walks that take will occupy a full morning, although included in this are numerous stops for birds. During these walks we’ll follow the path of a small stream for some time. This walk, and all the others on the trip, can be easily undertaken by anyone with a reasonable degree of fitness.
At Nainital, although we are in a mountainous area, there will only be a few uphill walks and these will be taken at a gentle pace. We reach altitudes of about 8000 feet at Nainital. If you have any questions about your ability to take part in any of the walks, please contact the WINGS office. On at least one of the three full days that we spend at Nainital there will be a very early start and we’ll depart in our jeeps at about 4:45am (almost one-and-a-half hours before sunrise) so as to be at a good site for Koklass Pheasant (and possibly also Cheer Pheasant) at dawn. As with most of our early departures, this one will be optional.
HEALTH: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all travelers be up to date on routine vaccinations. These include measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and your yearly flu shot.
They further recommend that most travelers have protection against Hepatitis A and Typhoid. Please contact your doctor well in advance of your tour’s departure as some medications must be initiated weeks before the period of possible exposure.
The most current information about travelers’ health recommendations can be found on the CDC’s Travel Health website at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/india .
Malaria: There is a malaria risk in India (lower elevations). Please consult your physician.
Altitude: Most of the tour is at low elevation but we reach 8000 ft when in Nainital.
Smoking: Smoking and vaping are prohibited in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a non-smoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, do so well away and downwind from the group. If any location where the group is gathered has a stricter policy than the WINGS policy, that stricter policy will prevail.
Miscellaneous: Biting insects, except the occasional mosquito, are virtually non-existent on this tour.
Tap water is not safe to drink and should be avoided at all times. Bottled water will be provided throughout the tour and soft drinks and beer are widely available. Mild upset stomachs, often brought on simply by a change of diet, can be hard to avoid in India. We suggest bringing anti-diarrhoea medicine such as Imodium. Gatorade or other electrolyte-replacement drinks in powder form are also worth bringing as they replace the vital salts and minerals lost during a bout of diarrhea.
CLIMATE: The temperatures throughout this tour will vary dramatically. Our days at Bharatpur and Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve should be very pleasant with temperatures in the 60°F-80°F range by midday. However the early mornings and late afternoons, times when we will be out on games drives at Ranthambhore, can be quite cold with air temperatures possibly as low as 37°F and a significant wind chill. Once we leave the plains we will climb higher and the night-time temperatures drop. Moreover although the days can still be very warm, there is an increased chance of rain. You should expect early morning frosts at Corbett Park and around our accommodation immediately outside. At Nainital, colder weather is likely, at least in the early mornings and rain, sleet or even, exceptionally, snow is possible. Once the sun goes down, the temperatures here will plummet and, even though there are heaters in the rooms and hot water bottles are provided in the beds, the hotel, which is designed to stay cool in the hot summers, can feel very cold. Warm hats (beanies), gloves and down jackets, and possibly even long johns if you feel cold, are advised for our birding here.
ACCOMMODATION: The Vivanka and the Dholpur Palace hotels are modern, well-appointed hotels with all the expected facilities. At both Sawai Madhopur (near Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve) and Bharatpur we will stay in very pleasant, medium-sized privately run hotels, both of which are about 15 minutes drive from the park entrance. At both hotels, the well-appointed rooms have private facilities, including showers. There’s also internet access at the reception and both properties have outdoor swimming pools (though the one at Bharatpur is often too cold for us to use).
In Corbett National Park we’ll spend one night at Dhikala Forest Lodge, where the rooms are spartan, and the supply of electricity and hot water, from past experience, can be erratic: Please be aware that the accommodation here is poor by western standards. The Den just outside Corbett Park is often the favourite place of many people on this tour. The rooms are large and the bathroom is fitted with a water heater. In Nainital we’ll be staying at a good, recently refurbished modern hotel. Please note that at The Den and especially at Nainital, we can expect cold nights. The hotel at Nainital is designed for summer use and both the bedrooms and the dining room are not heated. A small electric or fan heater is provided in each bedroom, but this has limited effect. You will find thermal underwear and pajamas useful here, if not essential.
Please note that Single rooms cannot be guaranteed at Dhikala.
Internet Access: Several places we will visit have Wi-Fi available in the rooms or in common spaces within the hotel. Our hotel at Ranthambhore has a cheap wireless service that works in the dining room and adjacent areas. It does not work in the room. Our hotel at Bharatpur also has wifi and that works in the lobby but may not work in the rooms or elsewhere in the hotel compound. Our hotel near the Chambal River also has fast and free wireless service. There is now internet at the hotel where we spend three nights outside Corbett Park, but it’s rather slow; there is no internet and no mobile phone coverage where we will spend one night at Dhikala inside Corbett park. There is good service at our hotels in Nainital and in Delhi.
FOOD: Throughout the tour we are served a wide variety of good quality Indian food. The food we are served always includes a good selection of vegetarian dishes. In some of the places that we stay meals are buffet-style, with several different dishes available, while in other places set meals are provided. However a typical Indian set meal actually consists of a choice of three or four different dishes.
We appreciate that not everyone likes to eat Indian food (which can occasionally be a little bit spicy) everyday or even at all. Almost all of the places we visit will, if requested, provide western food. If a buffet is being served, this normally includes a western-style dish or two. However if you require western-style food and cannot eat Indian food please advise the WINGS office in advance and the leader once you are on the tour. Even when a western-style meal is provided, it must be said that obviously our meal preparers are able to cook Indian food to a much better standard than they cook western food.
Food Allergies/Requirements: We cannot guarantee that all food allergies can be accommodated at every destination. Participants with significant food allergies or special dietary requirements should bring appropriate foods with them for those times when their needs cannot be met. Announced meal times are always approximate depending on how the day unfolds. Participants who need to eat according to a fixed schedule should bring supplemental food. Please contact the WINGS office if you have any questions.
Drinks: Bottled water and/or a soft drink is provided at lunch and dinner, as is coffee or tea. One glass of beer or wine is provided at dinner for those who wish. All extra and other drinks or ‘personal’ drinking water for use in your room etc. is the responsibility of the individual.
TRANSPORTATION: We use trains on this tour for some of the longer journeys, travelling by train between Delhi and the north. We will have seats in some of the best accommodation that is available and there will be porters on hand to help with bags.
Inside Ranthambhore Tiger reserve we will be in a small open topped bus. These 15 or 21 seater vehicles invariably have poor suspension and the unpaved tracks inside the reserve are rough and often strewn with large boulders. An inflatable cushion might prove useful and in the past people have occasionally borrowed a pillow from their hotel bedroom. Inside Bharatpur we travel around the reserve in 3-4 electric golf buggies. Outside Bharatpur, when we visit Chambal, Agra and for the journey back to Delhi, we will use a modern coach or 4WD cars.
Travel between Delhi and the Himalayan foothills at Kathgodam will be by express train. On arrival at Kathgodam we’ll be met by four cars and transferred to our accommodation, with stops for birding en route. For our excursion and stay inside Corbett we will use a fleet of Gypsy jeeps but otherwise will travel by minibus. When we return to Delhi, we will again travel by express morning train.
At all times bottled mineral water will be provided on the vehicles. The leader will arrange a seating rotation. Participants should be able to ride in any seat in tour vehicles.
Updated: 15 April 2024