Overview:

Southern India is home to some of the best National parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India. Most of these parks are located on the sides of the Western Ghats, one of the 35 bio-diversity ‘hot spots’ on earth due to its large volume of endemic species and diversity. The South India Endemic Birding Tour will take us through the lowland forests of Thattekkad to Periyar Tiger Reserve and onwards to the high-altitude mountain forests & grasslands at Munnar, Ooty, Wayanad, the dry forests at Chinnar & Mudumalai & ending up at Ranganthittu near Mysore.

Day 01 - 03

Arrive Cochin - Thattekkad

Arrive Cochin International Airport. You will be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel. Stay at Hornbill Camp for three nights. Thattekkad is a lowland forest with several types of eco-systems – riverine, grasslands, evergreen, scrub, dry deciduous, lowland forest, enabling it to be one of the best birding destinations in India. This is also home to most of the endemics of the Western Ghats. One should sight the White bellied Treepie, Rufous Babbler, Crimson backed Sunbird, White Bellied Blue Flycatcher, Wayanad Laughing Thrush, Malabar Parakeet and Malabar Grey Hornbill, Flame-throated Bulbul, Malabar Woodshrike, Grey Fronted Green Pigeon, Malabar Barbet, Blyth’s Starling besides owls like the Mottled Wood Owl, Sri Lanka Bay Owl, Oriental scopes owl, Brown Fish Owl, Indian Scopes Owl and Spotbellied Eagle Owl. You should also be able to sight the Red Spurfowl, Grey Jungle Fowl, Indian Pitta, Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Jerdon’s Nightjar, Great Eared Nightjar, Malabar Trogon, White Bellied Woodpecker, Streak- throated Woodpecker, Heart-spotted Woodpecker…

Day 04 - 05

Periyar

After breakfast, proceed to Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, South India's best kept Tiger Reserve. Stay at Greenwoods Resort for two nights. Periyar National Park contains a variety of habitats from grassland and dry deciduous forest to evergreen forest and riverside scrub. As a result of its wide range of habitats Periyar boasts an impressive list of resident species including about half the peninsular endemics and near-endemics. Spend the day with your naturalist on a Nature Walk program searching for some very special species including the Wayanad Laughingthrush. Other birds to look out for include White-rumped and Brown-backed Needletails, Oriental Honey-Buzzard, Black Eagle, the striking Black Baza, Pompadour Green and Mountain Imperial Pigeon, the migratory Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Gray-breasted Prinia, Thick-billed Warbler, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, and the Asian Fairy Bluebird among other more widespread species.

Day 06 - 07

Munnar

We will leave for Munnar via the Ghats to Khambam where we should sight the Large Grey Babbler, Common Babbler, Jungle Bush Quail and the Grey Fancolin. We will proceed to Bodi Ghats en-route Munnar and stop over for sighting the rare Yellow Throated Bulbul, Indian Robin, Sirkeer Malkoha, Short Toed Snake Eagle, Bluefaced Malkoha and the Black eagle. We will reach Munnar by evening. Stay at Windermere Estate for the night. The next day we will go birding in the sholas (high altitude montane forests) and grasslands for the Nilgiri Pipit, Painted Bush Quail, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Black & Orange Flycatcher, Nilgiri Flycatcher, White bellied Blue Robin, Broad-tailed Grassbird and Grasshopper Warbler.

Day 08

Chinnar

After breakfast, drive to Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary for a session of bird watching trail this afternoon. Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the rain-shadow of the mighty Western Ghats and therefore the dominant vegetation is the thorny scrub forest interspersed with patches of semi-deciduous forest. You can catch sight of the yellow-throated bulbul, white bellied drongo, bluefaced malkhova, yellow-legged button quail, blue bearded bee-eater etc. Additionally, Chinnar harbours a vibrant reptile population and is home to Kerala’s only population of giant grizzled squirrel. The sanctuary also contains slender loris, grey langur, nilgiri langur, indian gaur, pangolin, wild dog, sambar deer, leopard etc. and the enigmatic ‘manjampatti white bison’ (albino gaur) has been sighted in Chinnar. Half an hour drive from Chinnar will take you to the village of Manupatti. Stay at Chinnar Eco Living for the night.

Day 09

Ooty

This morning drive to the hill station of Ooty, at about 2200m in the Nilgiris - is where we will look for the endemic Nilgiri Laughing Thrush, Nilgiri Blue Robin, and Black-and-rufous, Rusty-tailed and Nilgiri Flycatchers. Stay at the Savoy Ooty for the night.

Day 10

Mudumalai

After breakfast you will be transferred to Thalaikunda from where your birding trip start with jeep safari till Mudumalai. Stay at the Jungle Hut Masinagudi for the night. After lunch go for evening birding in and around the regions of Masinagudi & Mudumalai. A part of Mudumalai National Park and wildlife sanctuary is also a declared tiger reserve. The protected area is home to several endangered and vulnerable species including Indian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Gaur and Indian Leopard. There are atleast 266 species of birds in the sanctuary, including critically endangered Indian White-Rumped Vulture and Long-Billed Vulture. Apart from the birdiing, Mudumalai is known for its high mammal diversity. The sanctuary is great for spotting the Indian elephant, tiger, leopard, jungle cat, leopard cat wild dog, gaur etc.

Day 11 -12

Wayanad

We will walk through the scrub forests, watercourses and swamps of Mudumalai in the morning. This afternoon drive to the hills of Wayanad (04 hrs) to arrive at your resort in the evening. Stay at Wayanad Wild for 02 nights. Wayanad is home to 350 species of resident and migratory birds. The pristine forest ecosystem of this region hosts a good number of endemic and endangered bird species of the Western Ghats such as black-chinned laughing thrush, white-bellied shortwing, black and orange flycatcher, Nilgiri pipit, Nilgiri wood pigeon, Nilgiri flycatcher, Malabar Parakeet, Malabar grey hornbill, white-bellied blue robin, white bellied blue flycatcher, Wayanad laughing thrush and the Nilgiri laughing thrush. Proceed to Meppadi area which is about an hour drive from your resort. As it falls in the Nilgiris Biosphere area, it is a paradise for bird lovers, botanists and nature lovers due to its amazing collection of plants and birds found here.

Day 13

Mysuru

After breakfast, we will proceed towards Mysore birding along the way. Here we have a chance to look for any of the endemics missed especially the very rare Broad-tailed Grassbird near the Bandipur Reserve. Also seen are the Paddyfield Pipit, Richards Pipit and the Ashy crowned Sparrow Lark. This afternoon, visit the famous Rangathitto Bird Sanctuary. Enjoy a row boat cruise on the Cauvery River to see Eurasian Spoon Bill, Black Crowned Night Heron, Cormorants, River Terns and many other species of birds. Stay at Royal Orchid Metropole for the night.

Day 14

Transfer to Bengaluru Airport

Like all good things, your tour in India comes to an end but you will always carry with you, memories of this unique and unforgettable holiday experience. In goodtime you will be transferred to Bengaluru International Airport to connect your flight home.