Birdwatching in Nepal (1 Viewer)

[alexthailand]

Hi All,

I’m taking my dad for an overdue trip to Nepal for 8 days at the end of April. We are keen to get a combination of time in the plains and the mountains, both for the birds and for experiencing some of what Nepal and its culture has to offer. Unfortunately 8 days already seems too short to do these properly but then we can always come back another time!

I am not sure whether we should target Royal Chitwan or Kashi Tappu at that time of year. Birds are the priority though of course I will not complain at the chance of sighting Rhinos, Tigers or any other wildlife that is on offer. As for the mountain range, is there anywhere that is accessible for 3 nights from Kathmandu that offers a good combination of nice scenery to walk in along with a few special birds?

Any other advice on making the most of a short trip to this country would be great.

Thanks,
Alex.

 

[johnraven]

Have you thought about going to EITHER the plains OR the mountains? 8 days is very short indeed.

If you want to do both, you will need to get internal flights. You can fly to Chitwan, and you can fly to Pokhara (for Annapurna), not sure if you can do so directly though. So, fly to Chitwan, few nights in a lodge that can escort you about on elephant, should see some good stuff like rhino, wild elephant, lots of birds, then fly to Pokhara for Annapurna. You wont get very far in 3 nights, but you will see some of the himilayas (but not walk in them) and this sort of schedule is offered by trekking companies:
Day 1: Fly to Pokhara, drive to Kalikastan
Day 2: Kalikastan to Shaklung
Day 3: Shaklung to Chisopani
Day 4: Chisopani to Pokhara, fly to Katmandu

If you can get into any kind of woodland, you will see lots.

If you dont have loads of money (for flying and trekking and jungle lodges etc) then you will only be able to do one or the other. I would just go to the Langtang trail, north of Katmandu, and spend the week in the mountains there. You can get a bus, v cheap.

John

 

[SueBryan]

We had a wonderful time in Nepal by contacting Nature Safari Tours who put together our own programme for birding mountains, Chitwan and Koshi that included my young daughter. I cannot praise them enough.

http://www.birdingnepal.com/

Sue

 

[alexthailand]

Thanks John and Sue.

I realised once I started looking into travel in Nepal that our time really wasn't long enough. Already I am thinking of what to do next time and miss on this visit. Langtang looks really great but I am reluctant to give up both Koshi and Chitwan. I couldn't find much information on accommodation on Langtang - are there many options with good access into the mountains?

I think getting the help of someone to arrange a programme may be the best option given they will know what is manageable in the time we have. I'll get in touch with them and see what they can put together for us.

Thanks,
Alex.

 

[Chris D]

Just spent a few weeks over Christmas there. No matter where you go - you'll have fun. I was always amazed by the constant action in the sky above Pokhara. And "Everest" was our favorite beer.

 

[johnraven]

Accommodation along the Langtang trail takes the form of teahouses, which are like big sheds, perfectly clean but draughty. You will need to like egg, as there is no meat available (its a sacred valley, the chickens look well happy about this), although you could hide some peperamis in your backpack (dont get spotted). Loads of birds in the woods, and Himalayan Monal and Lammergeier were easy wins higher up. My chums were to pansy (read mild altitude sickness) to climb to the top of the mountain at the end, and I'm too pansy to do it alone (definitely sensible as well as pansy, btw, going alone up those mothers would be lunacy indeed), so no snowcock for me. Top walk, but certainly not luxury.

Chitwan was just as good though, and it would be more luxurious to go there, and probably more suitable for a short holiday. No mountains though.

John