Bhutan
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Overview
Highlights
- Picturesque and spectacular scenery: endless tracts of Himalayan forest along snow-capped mountain ranges
- Superb birding! Over 250 species including birds extremely rare elsewhere - monals, tragopans, trogons, Ibisbill and more
- Wonderful cultural and travel experience: timeless birding in the land of the Thunder Dragon
- Visit impressive palaces and monasteries including the iconic Tiger's Nest Monastery
What's this trip about?
Details
Travel Themes
Destinations
Attractions
Activities
Trip includes
- Includes two flights: Delhi to Guwahati, and Paro to Delhi
- All meals
- All accommodation (basic to moderate; some tented camps in more remote areas, all comfortable)
- Ground transportation (bus or van with driver)
- Guides
- All park, conservation, and entrance fees
- Gratuities
Itinerary
Our tour starts on arrival in Delhi, India. Overnight in Delhi.
We take a morning flight from Delhi to Guwahati, the largest city in the state of Assam, located on the south shore of the Brahmaputra River. We leave Guwahati along busy roads packed with cars, street hawkers and rickshaws, cross the Brahmaputra River, and continue a...
We spend the morning exploring lowland forest between Samdrup Jongkhar and Deothang. This forest is remarkably rich and diverse; target species here include the rare Dark-rumped Swift, Pied Falconet, Jungle Babbler, Large Hawk Cuckoo, Pin-tailed Green Pigeon, Wreathed...
We will have a before-breakfast outing back to the location of the Beautiful Nuthatch if we didn’t find it yesterday. After breakfast at the campsite, we make our way to Trashigang stopping along the way for birding. Today’s target species will include Rufous-necked H...
En route to Yongkala, we stop at Kori La. The forest here is rich in mosses and lichens, and we search these mountain forests for Steak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler, Grey-winged Blackbird, Hoary-throated Barwing, Long-tailed and Short-billed Minivets, Bhutan Laughingthru...
We spend two full days birding along this incredible 80 km long road, ranked amongst the ten top birding sites in the world, with waterfalls and ravines appearing around every bend. We search for the area’s specialties such as Wedge-billed Wren-Babbler, Rufous-throate...
We start early, moving uphill in search of high altitude species that include Blood Pheasant and Satyr Tragopan, the bird that draws many birders to Bhutan. The dense conifers forest hold many good species such as Mrs Gould’s Sunbird, Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Bar-w...
Today we cross one of the high passes, the Thrumshing La, at 3800m. Thrumshing La is the prime habitat for Blood Pheasant and also holds other high altitude species such as Snow Pigeon, Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Spotted Nutcracker, Red-billed Chough, Fire-tailed Sunb...
Today on our drive to Zhemgang, we will have lots of stops at several forested valleys. We have chances for Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler, White-browed Scimitar-Babbler, Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler, Grey-bellied Tesia, Crested Bunting, Long-tailed Shrike, prinia...
Today we explore a wide variety of habitats along the Zhemgang to Tingtibe road. Habitats vary from mossy forests to streamside lowland forest. This is another chance to see Golden Langur, which is fairly frequent here. We also search for Rufous-necked and Great Hornb...
We head back to Trongsa today, birding many sites on the way, looking for species we might have missed upto now. In Trongsa we make our first cultural visit, the impressive Trongsa Dzong. This dzong is the ancestral home for the Royal family of Bhutan. The first king ...
After an early breakfast, we drive to the Pele la pass (4000 m) and spend the morning hours birding along the old road at Pele la for high altitude species such as Himalayan Monal, Spotted Laughingthrush, Himalayan Griffon, Brown Parrotbill, and various finches and bu...
We spend the morning birding inside the Jigme Dorji National Park and along the Phochu River. Possibilities include Red-headed Trogon, Slaty-bellied and Chestnut-headed Tesias, Small and Rufous-bellied Niltavas, Black-chinned Yuhina, a trio of forktails, several wren-...
In the early morning we visit the local sewage pond for Ibisbill and Black-tailed and Ruddy-breasted Crakes. After breakfast we drive north of Thimphu and then hike to the Cheri monastery. During the hike we may see Spotted, Chestnut–crowned and White-throated Laughin...
Early in the morning, we drive to the cool and stunning alpine meadow of Cheli La pass (3890m). This is the highest pass accessible by car in Bhutan. Here we could be rewarded with three different species of pheasants: Himalayan Monal, flocks of Blood Pheasants, and K...
We have a full day in the Paro Valley today and several options will be considered, including a strenuous hike up to the Tiger’s Nest, the iconic monastery perched on sheer rock cliffs above the Paro Valley, a birding drive through the old-growth evergreens on the way...
This morning we catch a flight to the international airport at Delhi and transfer to our flights home.
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Dates & Availability
Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Eagle-Eye Tours.
The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.
Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.
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Tour Operator
Our tours are diverse! We span the globe offering tours that range from being very focused on birds to those of a more general nature that also include lots of local cultural interests. All our guides are not only expert birders but also are appreciative of all nature. Many of our tours spend considerable time looking closely at mammals, plants or butterflies. It is not necessary for you to be an experienced birder; all you need is enthusiasm and our guides will be happy to help you along!
A typical day with Eagle-Eye Tours
Our land tours typically start early, after breakfast at our hotel, to be out when birding is best. Sometimes we are out before breakfast for a quick search for a target bird or mammal. We head out by foot, car or boat to a choice area, maybe forest or maybe a wetland, taking in the sights and sounds of the morning. We move along as a small group, making every effort to ensure that the everyone gets to see the beautiful tanager, or majestic grizzly bear through the spotting scope. We might stop for that important cup of locally grown coffee before heading further down the road to where we saw that great bird building a nest last year. Lunches are most often in the field, usually at a very good birding spot, with a cold drink or a cup of coffee. We have a chance to share stories and reflect on the morning adventure. After lunch we carry on in an area, maybe returning to the hotel in mid-afternoon for a rest, then a shorter excursion to explore another area. Over our evening meal, we meet as a group to record and discuss what we saw and review the plans for the coming day. Some evenings we may head back out for a night tour to experience the nocturnal world of owls, potoos, frogs and much more.
Expedition Cruises
Our expedition cruises are an intimate and wonderful way to learn about and experience remote parts of the world. These small ships have the ability to land virtually anywhere using zodiacs, providing excellent opportunities for exploration. Staff onboard typically cover birds and other wildlife, geology, history, local culture, photography, archaeology, and more. We usually have one or two shore landings per day that may visit a wildlife highlight, a local community, a historical site, or just an interesting looking area that we think deserves some exploration. Add in a couple of lectures, fine dining, and some live music in the evening and you have a full day on an unforgettable voyage of discovery. Voyage with us to these seldom visited and remarkable places!
About our featured birds and mammals
These are the great and often very unique species that we will be looking for. We cannot guarantee that we will see them, only that there is a good chance of seeing them. Beyond these exciting species, we are always on the look out for other surprises-you just never know what we may see!
Tour group size
We believe that small groups are essential for a high quality and enjoyable experience. Unless otherwise noted, our land tour groups have a single leader with 4 to 8 people and two leaders with 9 to 12 people.
About our accommodation and transportation
Typically, our land tours stay in modern, comfortable hotels, but this varies somewhat depending on the tour. On most tours, we stay in beautiful lodges in the forest with trails out the back door. These amazing settings are often a highlight of the tour. In other cases, in order to get to the best locations for birding or wildlife viewing, we may be far away from a modern hotel and the ‘best room in town’ may be more basic. In a few cases, we even stay in tents for the full wilderness experience! For each tour, we have identified the level of accommodation in the tour summary and on the detailed itinerary. If you have any questions about accommodation on a tour, please feel free to ask and we can give you more specifics.
When traveling between birding locations, typically we travel in comfortable vans or buses, often with local drivers who are familiar with the roads and destinations. Usually, there is only one vehicle, as the sizes of our groups are typically small, but occasionally there will be two vehicles that keep in contact with each other by radio. In some tours, we use airplane flights to cover large distances and in a few cases we travel by boat, often with fantastic scenery and wildlife watching along the way!
About our prices
We will make every effort to charge the prices quoted in our catalog or detailed itineraries, but fluctuations in major currencies may force us to change tour prices at any time before departure. Current prices are listed on our website and reflect payment by cash/cheque. Prices for payment by credit card are higher, please contact us for these prices. Nearly all fees are quoted in US and Canadian dollars and can be paid in either currency. Contact us for payment in other currencies. Single rooms, as available, will be provided upon request for an additional fee. For participants traveling alone but wishing to share a room, Eagle-Eye Tours will arrange for a roommate, if possible. If a roommate is not available, the single supplement will be charged.
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Logistics
What's excluded
- Flight to and from Delhi
- Travel Insurance
- Items of a personal nature
Accommodation
Notification of cancellation must be received in writing. Unless otherwise noted, the following policy applies: if cancellation is received up to 120 days prior to departure, full deposit and any payment, less a $100 (USD and CAD) will be refunded. If cancellation is received between 60 and 119 days prior to departure, 50% of the tour fee is not refundable. Thereafter, all deposits and payments are not refunded. Refunds cannot be made to participants who do not complete the tour for any reason.
Our daily itinerary varies somewhat according to weather and habitat, but the general pattern will be to go for a short walk before breakfast. Most birding will be from quiet roads and wide trails. Driving will be limited to either small or moderate stretches. On many days we have picnic lunches as we transfer between localities. Bhutan is a high altitude country; most of our time will be between 2000 and 3000 metres, with occasional forays up to 4000m. We will move slowly to avoid altitudinal problems such as headaches and breathlessness; acclimatization can be helped by sitting quietly and drinking plenty of fluids. Temperatures will range from warm, possibly hot in lowland areas to cool at higher altitudes, with freezing temperatures at the highest passes and at night. Although it will be mainly dry, we can expect precipitation in the form of rain and perhaps snow, therefore a light rain-jacket and waterproof hat would come in useful. Stout, waterproof footwear is recommended and a small umbrella is also very useful. Transportation will be by bus.
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