DAY 09 MONGAR - HALT
A Days halt in Mongar will give you a great opportunity to observe the birds at Limithang. You will drive to Limithang with packed lunch for a whole day bird watching.
DAY 10 MONGAR-TASHIGANG
The road from Mongar passes the Korila pass and then Yadi loops. Tashigang town is high up on a mountain, and is busier than any other Bhutanese town. It is used as the market place for the hill people from Merak and Sakteng who are remarkable for their exceptional features and for their costumes, which are brightly colored and different from customary Bhutanese clothing. Afternoon drive to Kanglung for bird watching. Overnight in tourist lodge.
DAY 11 TASHIGANG - EXCURSION TO TASHIYANGTSE
On the way to Tashiyangtse visit a famous Goma Kora Monastery and continue drive to Tashiyangtse. This is another place where one can find black-necked cranes, which migrate from Tibet in December and leave back early March every year. A town here has developed around another famous Chorten Kora, one of only two temples built in a style prevalent in Nepal and the spot where Guru Padmashambhava is believed to have had a vision that a temple and Chorten would be built. Visit Bhutanese lacquer varnishing center and drive back to Tashigang. Overnight in lodge.
DAY 12 TASHIGANG - MONGAR
Drive back to Mongar. One can catch-up what you have missed during your forward journey. Late afternoon bird watching near by forest. Overnight in lodge.
DAY 13 MONGAR - BUMTHANG
Drive to Bumthang takes about 8-9hours with a short break on the way for photograph and bird watching. Overnight in lodge.
DAY 14 BUMTHANG - PUNAKHA
Early breakfast and drive to Punakha with a pack lunch. Drive will be through the dense forests of rhododendrons and magnolia trees. Stop for lunch at Chendibji Chorten and continue drive to Punakha. Overnight in hotel.
DAY 15 PUNAKHA - THIMPHU
Morning visit Punakha Dzong and drive to Thimphu with a stop at Do Chula pass for a hot cup of tea/coffee and continue drive to Thimphu. Afternoon go around the Thimphu town and do shopping. Overnight in hotel.
DAY 16 THIMPHU - EXCURSION TO PHAJODING
Early breakfast and drive till Motithang and hike through dense forest of pine and rhododendron trees for bird watching. You can climb on the pass to explore the hideouts of high altitude birds like Monal, phesants and many more. From the Monastery one can have a magnificent view of Thimphu valley and surrounding mountains. Overnight in hotel.
DAY 17 THIMPHU - PARO
On the way visit Simtokha Dzong (the oldest Dzong in Bhutan) and today it is a house of the traditional school. Continue drive to Paro. Afternoon visit National Museum, and late afternoon bird watching at the forest nearby the villages. Overnight in hotel.
DAY 18 PARO - EXCURSION TO TAKTSANG
Excursion to Taktsang through the oak, pine and rhododendron trees mainly to watch different species of birds on the way. 2-3hours hike to Taktsang cafe.
DAY 19 PARO - DEPARTURE
Early breakfast and transfer to Paro Airport for your onward departure flight.
Go Top
This excursion into the world of the birds of Bhutan concentrates on the Paro, Thimphu and Punakha valleys of Western Bhutan and on the Tongsa region of Central Bhutan, which provide a superb opportunity to explore both the physical and the cultural environment in which birds thrive in a Buddhist country. The road from Paro to Thimphu passes through two deep valleys where, even from the bus window, many species of birds can be observed.
In Thimphu, which is the country's capital, we explore the country's most significant urban center and meet with specialists and policy makers concerned with the study and preservation of Bhutan's wildlife. From Thimphu the tour moves on to Punakha over the Dochu La Pass, fabulous for its vistas, its mythology and its forests, where we will talk in search of the rich bird life that inhabits it.
Then to Punakha, a relatively low, almost sub-tropical valley. This is the winter capital of the Central Monk Body, the nation's religious establishment, and the location of the extraordinary Punakha Dzong. This valley, which rises to temperate climes, is home to a great variety of birds, some of whom inhabit the forests that cling to the valley's mountain sides and some of which inhabit the lower, warmer areas. Here, appropriately, we will have a lecture on birds in Buddhism and on Buddhist attitudes toward wildlife and the environment.
On to Tongsa, where we will look for the famous Ward's Trogan, observe the birdlife whose habitat is the open, rolling fields of the area. More open and more sparsely populated than the western part of the country, this is the cultural heartland of Bhutan. In addition to Tongsa's birdlife, we will see Bhutan's largest Dzong at Tongsa. From Tongsa the tour returns to Paro through Thimphu.
Bhutan is a Buddhist culture, and the great majority of the population do not believe that fishing and hunting are morally acceptable activities. Consequently, the fauna of Bhutan is remarkably rich in birds and mammals. 'The Rufus Necked Hornbill Tour', designed for avid bird watchers, extends across the country and moves through a rich variety of environments and regions. It starts in the Paro and Thimphu valleys and extends through Punakha just to the east and on through Tongsa and Bumthang in Central Bhutan to Mongor and Tashigang in Eastern Bhutan.
After visiting Thimphu, the tour proceeds over Dochu La pass. A walk in the forests in the region of the mystically famous pass makes possible the sighting of large numbers of birds who live in the pristine evergreen oak and rhododendron forest that covers the mountainside. From Dochu La we descend into Punakha valley, with its magical Dzong (a combination of monastery and government administrative building) at the confluence of the Mo and Pho rivers.
Punakha is a tiny settlement, and the river valleys and mountains are filled with a wide variety of birds in large numbers. The sub-tropical valley rises to temperate zones, and this permits us to see a great variety of species in a small area. From Punakha the tour heads further east, stopping a numerous bird watching sites, through Gantey to Tongsa. The area is seasonal home to numerous species birds, ranging from shrikes, warblers, sunbirds, eagles and, if we are lucky, we will see Ward's Trogans. The region's combination of forests and open fields permits extensive opportunities for bird sighting.
We then move to the eastern side of Bhutan, where the Rufus Necked Hornbill can be found and we will search for the very rare Tragopan. The 'Rufus Necked Hornbill Tour'. Moving across Bhutan from west to east also gives the traveler the superb opportunity to see some of the great monuments on Bhutanese architecture and to visit the varying cultural regions of the western, central and eastern parts of the country, differentiated from each other by their arts and crafts, their designs, and even their religious practices. Lectures along the way on both Bhutanese ornithology and it cultural context provide an integrated experience for the active traveler.
