The rooftop of the world

Itinerary ...

You will be met at Delhi International airport and transferred to the Ashok Country Resort, a 20 minute drive away. This is a comfortable place to relax a day or two after long flights and the grounds will introduce you to some of the more common birds of NW India such as Indian Gray Hornbill, Rufous Treepie, Rose-ringed Parakeet and the ever present Black Kites circling overhead.

New Delhi is a large, modern city with more than 24 million people. Since the 13th Century it has been the capital of two major empires and so abounds with historical sites, spice markets and souks. It would be easy to organize a day visiting the key areas before the official tour starts.

Day 1

The official start of the tour and you will arrive at the airport and transfer to a nearby hotel at tge Ashok Country Resort

Birding is fun around the hotel grounds with a few of the more common local birds such as Indian Gray Hornbill and Rufoys Treepie.

If need be its easy to a arrive a day earlier and add on a birding day or two.

Day 2

There is no need to spend long in Delhi and its heat. Today we take an early morning flight north to the Kashmir Valley and the city of Srinagar.  We will take our can straight to Daksum  and check into the Paradise Hotel up in the Himalayas.

Day 3

We have a full day birding around tge mid elevation areas as well as heading up into the higher mountains and pine forests of Sinthan top at 12,000ft.  

At the higher elevations we are likely to see Monal, mountain Finches, Rose Finches, Kashmir Nutcracker, choughs, accentors, tits and a whole variety of warblers…. At lower elevations, in the Pine Forests we find the strange Koklas pheasant, many Woodpecker species, white cheeked Nuthatch, Spotted forktail .. the list just goes on. We can find Himalayan Blue-tails and rubythroats … It really is fantastic birding.

For those super keep birders there will be a chance to look for Owls in the early evening where Tawny Owl and Collared Owlet are possible. 

Day 4

In the morning we bird in similar areas across the elevational gradient looking for species we missed earlier. Difficult to see bush robins and thrushes, Kashmir Nuthatch, laughing thrushes, and redstarts, and brown dippers along the mountain streams … lots of raptors too including the bearded and Himalayan griffon vultures.

After lunch we head back to Srinagar then onto Gulmarg.  There us a great chance of locating a Himalayan Black bear and we will be working with local villagers to try and find one.

Day 5

We will have a full day birding in the pine forests. Expect similar species, but we will always be finding new birds. We are hoping for the rare Orange bullfinch, endemic to this small part of the Himalayas. Birds often join feeding flocks and after finding one, we stay with it to identify as many as 15 or 20 accompanying species!

Day 6

We check into the Alhamra Resort after a drive back to Srinagar and then enjoy the cooler temperatures as we bird in the afternoon around the lake and the Shankaracharya Hill forest area. We are surrounded in the distance by the Pirpanjal mountains to the west and south and the massive Himalayas to the north and east. It's spectacular.

Day 7

We leave early and take the winding mountain road to Dras.  This is a magical area of pristine forests where we will be looking fir Himalayan Briwn Bear.

Day 8

We keep heading up, up, up towards our destination of Kargil.  This breaks up our journey towards ladakh but holds a super range restricted birds that very few birders have seen; long billed bush warbler that lives in the scrubby high elevation areas close by.

Day 9

Mostly a travel day with birding stops along the way. We cross the Zogi La Pass at 11,500ft and cross over the Himalayan mountains and onto the Tibetan Plateau. Things change. We are in the domain of Buddhist and monasteries .. prayer flags draped over trees and bridges. We end up in the city of Leh at the Tsokar Resort. At a similar elevation to the previous pass we are surrounded by massive mountains that rise up above us.

Day 10

We stay in the Indus Valley close to Leh and bird at some close locations such as the Chushot Marshes and Shey and the afternoon around the Spituk marshes. The habitat is very open and wild so it's easy to break off and visit a couple of ancient monasteries.

One of the most sought after birds of the trip will be quickly found, the stunning Ibisbill .. the odd shorebird that breeds on gravel bars in the fast flowing rivers here. Fire fronted serins are common in the weedy fields .. and we will see Mountain chiffchaff, Eurasian Magpies, Hobby and the beautiful hill pigeons. This is a very under-birded area and many rare migrants have turned up. Who knows what we will find!

Day 11

Another exciting day surrounded by mountains. We travel across Khardung La (5,377 m) to Nubra Valley and visit the Diskit Monastery and Hunder Sand Dunes. Continue to Agyam village for birding and stay at the Sand Dune resort in Nubra.

The rocky pass is great for Himalayan and Tibetan Snowcocks, Brown and Robin accentor, and snowfinches. We will get good views of white winged redstarts. This area is famous for the Eurasian Lynx and we will have two local spotters with us to give us up to date information.

Perhaps the most sought after species in Ladakh is not a bird; the Snow Leopard. The best time to see them is during the frigid winter months. In the summer, they go up in elevation to rocky regions away from road access. Occasionally an older animal is found lower down. We will activate trackers in several villages who will notify us if an animal is found. Obviously, we will adapt the schedule to accommodate a sighting and up to date information. It's a slim chance but we will use our connections in the local villages to give us the best opportunity of a slim chance!

Many of the birds here are similar to other locations in Ladakh which gives us the best opportunity to catch up with them. Here we look for the pastel colored white-browed tit warbler, the twite and two owls: the giant Eurasian eagle owl and the much smaller Little Owl. We are always on the look out for the Wallcreeper!

Day 12

Drive to Sakti via Wari La Pass (5,330 m), known for its rich high-altitude biodiversity. We stay at the Fani Resort in Sakti.

At the higher elevations close to the pass we can find our second species of Dipper; the white throated Dipper. We should find western house martins and Eurasian skylarks and if we are lucky Red fronted Rosefinch. Bearded vultures and Upland buzzards are seen in the area hunting over this barren landscape. We will also look out for Eurasian Crag Martin.

Day 13

Travel to Pangong Lake via Chang La, passing through Durbook, Tangtse, Lukung, Spangmik, and Maan villages. We stay at the Rangjun retreat.

Amongst the backdrop of the huge mountains and the crystal clear blue lake we find some key species that nest in this high elevation desert: Tibetan Sand plover, bar headed goose, and desert Wheatear. We should find Rosy pipits in their rosy summer plumage, always a treat. We should also be on the lookout for Tibetan Partridge and Black- necked Cranes.

Day 14

We keep heading SE to the small village on Hanle and stay at the Padma homestay.

We will spend two nights in this important wetlands and explore the neighboring Plateau. The mammals here are amazing and we have good chances to see Tibetan wolf, Tibetan Gazelle, sand fox, and pallas's cat.

Here we find some of the very unique and special birds of the area: Tibetan Sandgrouse and Tibetan Partridge, Mongolian and humes finches .. and the ground tit which is a real character. In the marshy wetlands we will find breeding Solitary Snipe and black necked cranes.

Day 15

We stay the full day in the Hanle Basin checking out the unique area..

Day 16

We travel to Tso Kar Lake and stay at the Tso Kar Eco resort. 

This is another famous lake and wetlands. In the surrounding areas we will look for great and Blandford's rosefinch.

Day 17

Morning birding at Tso Kar, followed by return to Leh via Tanglang La and Rumtse Valley. Stay at the Tsokar retreat.

Day 18

Unfortunately the tour is over. We fly out of Leh in the morning to Delhi. We transfer to the hotel Ashok Country Resort close to the airport, or stay at the airport for our flight home.