North-east India - Eaglenest 2011- only £2500

14th March to 3rd April

not including international flights

21 day / 20 night tour

Kaziranga 3 nights,

Nameri 3 nights,

Eaglenest 9 nights,

Dirang 3 nights,

Shillong 2 nights

Fully Guided Tour led by Shashank Dalvi: 

Fee:  all expenses included (except international flights, insurance, medical) Poor weather (mist and rain) and tougher birding, but the onset of singing (and response to playback) actually results in a longer list. This is the tour for a coherent group of highly motivated dawn-to-dusk birders. Expect to see 350-425 species.

Bird highlights include:

Bugun Liocichla ward's trogon, beautiful nuthatch, rufous-necked hornbill, ibisbill, monal pheasant, blue-naped pitta,
wedge-billed wren-babbler, bengal florican, fire-tailed myzornis, purple cochoa, white-winged duck, greater adjutant, pallas fish-eagle, oriental hobby, pied harrier, chestnut-winged crested cuckoo, blue-fronted robin, blyth's and temminck's tragopan, chestnut-breasted hill-partridge, cutia, black-breasted parrotbill, coral-billed scimitar-babbler, slender-billed scimitar-babbler, long-billed plover, jerdon's baza, yellow-rumped honeyguide, sultan tit, fire-tailed sunbird, broadbilled warbler, black-headed shrike-babbler, yellow-bellied flowerpecker, red-billed leiothrix, grandala, white-throated redstart, spotted laughing-thrush, rufous-fronted tit, gold-naped finch, gold-breasted fulvetta.

Mammals: rhino, hoolock gibbon, wild buffalo, swamp deer, elephant, tiger, sambar, hog deer, barking deer, yellow-throated marten, flying squirrel, serow, leopard cat, jungle cat, red panda, black bear, gaur.

Kaziranga & Dirang: Top hotels (with TV and running hot water)

Nameri: Luxury tented camp with attached toilets (running hot water), a pleasant dining room and top quality food

Eaglenest: basic but comfortable camp with walk-in tents, cots and mattresses with piles of blankets (and hot water bags) to keep you warm, toilets without running water but with warm water, a heated dining room and sumptuous meals.

The emphasis is on keeping you comfortable and energised enough to get out of bed for birding at first light every day!

Birding Mode

Eaglenest & Dirang: along a road with a jeep following behind.

Kaziranga: from a jeep only or short forays (1 km) on foot.

Nameri: on foot only (2-4 km per session).

During the fully guided tours the guide will carry a scope as well as record-playback equipment with cuts of over 250 species
of birds, many recorded in that region.

All birding will be done from a motor road or along very broad forest paths (in Nameri) except one high trail in Eaglenest. So we can manage groups of up to 8 birdwatchers.

Vehicle: 4 or fewer visitors to a jeep. We always have a "hot spare" vehicle for instant replacement (no breakdowns last tour, though