Kathmandu, Nepal - info please for a few spare days in October (1 Viewer)

[leonardo_simon]

I will have a few spare days in Kathmandu this October- before/after trekking in Himalaya.

I would appreciate any advice for birding day trips or local sites. Might take a guide for a day (any recommendations ?) but generally prefer going alone without guide.

Thanks

 

[Andy Adcock]

Phulchowki Mountain is the obvious choice with Brown Bullfinch being a possibilty.

This is an extract from my report.

'At the end of the trip we hired a good quality 4WD vehicle plus driver to take us to Pulchowki Mountain. This was arranged through out hotel 'Tibet Guesthouse' in Thamel for what we considered a reasonable price of R4500. Police stopped our vehicle on the road close to Godaveri at the foot of the mountain. Apparantly a number of robberies had occurred and we had to attend the Police Station at Godaveri to seek permission to continue. Following a delay of almost two hours we were allowed to proceed but only in the company of two armed, plain clothed Police Officers. This was provided free of charge and dealt with in a friendly manner. Phulchowki is a major birding site but unfortunately on this occasion it proved to be disappointing.

We did see the Bullfinch though.​

 

[Andy Adcock]

I will have a few spare days in Kathmandu this October- before/after trekking in Himalaya.

I would appreciate any advice for birding day trips or local sites. Might take a guide for a day (any recommendations ?) but generally prefer going alone without guide.

Thanks

Have you got a guide sorted, I can get you a guy who has taken myself and birding pal out numerous times and though not a birder, he has great eyes and will probably be of some help in that regard.

Also note that as a matter of curtesy, try and limit you bag to c10kg, it's a tough trek and the porters really earn their money, your hotel will let you leave excess stuff until you get back.

Which trek are you doing? I can PM our report but it's from 2010-11 though little changes there.

 

[leonardo_simon]

Hi @Andy Adcock - our trek is all sorted out re guides/porters etc - there’s a group of us going to the Annapurna region and there won‘t be much time for birding unfortunately so I’m hoping to get a bit of focused birding in Kathmandu before/after the trip.

So it’s just some single day trips I’m trying to sort out & keen not to get mugged! Would you suggest giving Pulchowki Mountain a miss? I’ve heard other reports about the security situation there so wasn’t sure….. Did you do any birding in Kathmandhu itself (e.g. Ranibiri Community Forest)? Thanks ever so much!