Kochi - Thattekkad - Munnar - Ooty - Masinagudi - Coimbatore/Kochi
09 Days / 08 Nights
Our Western Ghats Endemic Birding Tour adopts a two-pronged approach. Firstly, it targets the birds that are exclusive to Peninsular India. Secondly, it ticks off a lot of other avian specialities in the long checklist of South Indian birds. The geographical importance of the Western Ghats can’t be overstated. More Info
Booked as per
request.
Included except arrival and departure city.
Private guide for complete tour.
Airport to Airport.
2-8PAX
Included
Do you love travelling and you love birdwatching too? You are then in excellent care!
If you are planning an India birdwatching tour, we recommend the Western Ghats Fixed Departure Birding Tour for adventurers like you.
Our strategy for our Western Ghats Endemic Birding Tour consists of two parts. The first group of birds it targets are those unique to Peninsular India. Second, it crosses off a significant number of additional bird specialities from the extensive list of South Indian birds.
It is impossible to overestimate the Western Ghats' geographic significance. It is a chain of mountains that hugs Peninsular India's western coast and naturally blocks the southwest monsoon winds from entering the region. This area is one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world, thanks to abundant rain, perennial rivers, and montane rain forests.
Isn't it great?
The Western Ghats, home to a large diversity of flora and animals, notably birds, include several wildlife reserves, national parks, and sanctuaries.
Do you know that the Western Ghats are home to more than 500 bird species, at least 16 of which are indigenous?
Our Western Ghats birding trip concentrates on the unique species and other South Indian residents and migratory birds. Also, this tour schedule has been designed to include the Western Ghats' top birding paths so that you may view and photograph most of these avian beauties in their native habitats.
Salim Ali, India's one of the best ornithologists, referred to the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary as "the richest bird habitat in peninsular India." So this will be the starting point of our Western Ghats birding excursion.
In only one day of birding at Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, you will understand the accuracy of the statement. You may see some fascinating species, including endemics such as the Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl, Ceylon Frogmouth, Red Spurfowl, and several flycatchers, among other beautiful birds.
Before going on to the next birding paradise of south India, Munnar, we devote three full birding days to Thattekkad, including a few excursions of nocturnal birding to view nightjars and owls.
If Thattekkad is a flat area of forest, Munnar is a highland haven for many different kinds of birds. In addition to many other birds of Peninsular India, we spend two days searching the area's meadows and forests for the Nilgiri Hills' unique bird species, including the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Nilgiri and Black and Orange Flycatchers, and Nilgiri Pipit.
After Munnar, the journey continues over the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, passing through the abundant bird habitats of the Chinnar woods, the hills of Ooty, and the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary.
To create a nine-day tour specifically focused on the unique bird species of the Western Ghats, India Birding Tours has extensively combed the birding hotspots of South India over the years. Some bird sightings are easy, while others may need effort and patience.
Overall, our Western Ghats Exclusive Birdwatching Tour offers many unique and fascinating attractions daily.
So, are you ready to start this adventure?
Let's start with the itinerary of the Western Ghats Fixed Departure Birding Tour.
Lodging: We aim to provide our guests more than just good and comfy accommodation with basic amenities and quality service. In the lodgings we pick for you, we look for character and locations that may enhance your South India birding experience. Throughout the Western Ghats birding trip, you get to stay at lodges and hotels that are either very close to the birding locations, or within the sanctuaries themselves, so that all you have to do is peek out the window to see an odd avian beauty.
Meals: We don’t take lightly the matter of your meals. The hotels and lodges you stay in have both Indian and Western food on the menu. You may be a vegetarian or a meat lover, there is always something to whet and satisfy your appetite. On the rare occasions when we camp out and overnight in tents, our kitchen staff takes charge and cooks simple but delicious meals without compromising on hygiene standards. On full birding days, we have packed lunches in the field.
Tour Difficulty: Anyone fit enough to walk long distances while carrying along personal birding equipment such as binoculars, camera, field guide and backpack can do our Western Ghats Endemic Birdwatching Trip. The tour starts off easy in the flat forests of Thattekkad, but then progresses to the hilly terrain of Munnar and Ooty. Even in the hilly areas, the birding trails are mostly gentle slopes. A full day of birding starts in the morning and ends around dusk. At times, we continue birding well into the night. You should be able to cope with these long birding hours, with rest breaks in between, of course.
Tour Extension: South India has plenty of recreational opportunities to choose from. You may want to explore Kerala’s famous backwaters on a houseboat, go on a cycling trip in Cardamom Hills, visit the tea plantations, check into an Ayurveda resort, crave for a seaside holiday, or do safari rides in the wilderness of Mudumalai National Park. Be our guest. We can add any of these tour extensions to make your South India birding holiday more exciting. Let us know well in advance the tour extension you would like, so that we can make the necessary arrangements.
Climate: The six-month winter period, starting from October and lasting till March, is the best time to do our birding expedition of the Western Ghats. The summer monsoon blows over by October and the region’s flora and fauna comes alive with renewed vigour. Birds are out and about in large numbers, particularly the migratory ones. The weather is very pleasant and the early mornings and late evenings may have a little cold nip in the air. Summer clothes would do fine, but you may want to pack in a light jumper or a raincoat as well.
We will start our journey at Kerala's seaside town of Kochi. When you land in Kochi, our driver or tour guide will pick you up and take you to Thattekkad. The trip is around 70 kilometres long and takes up to two hours.
Around midday, we arrive at the pre-booked hotel in Thattekad, and after a little pause for food and rest, we will start our day of birding. Undoubtedly, Thattekkad is the top birding hotspot in South India. For you to flourish from the first four days of birding in the Western Ghats as you begin the journey, we purposefully put them at the beginning of our schedule.
The Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, home to over 322 kinds of birds, is where we start our day of birding. If time allows, we may also go farther into the sanctuary.
Thattekkad has the bonus of presenting many opportunities for night birding as well. Therefore, those enthusiasts eager for extra time in the field may fit in some midnight birding at the end of the day. After this, have a delicious dinner and a night's rest at the hotel.
Between the two branches of the Periyar, Kerala's largest river, is the 25-square kilometre Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, a lowland forest. It is Kerala's oldest bird sanctuary, and it remains the most excellent spot to watch many migratory and unique Western Ghats species. This is why we will be birdwatching at Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary for three full consecutive days.
According to our years of monitoring Thattekad, these three days are often jam-packed with bird observations. This area's most frequently observed birds include the Malabar Grey Hornbill, White-bellied Woodpecker, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, White-bellied Treepie, and Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl. Other common species include the Red Spurfowl, Rufous Babbler, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, White-bellied Flycatcher, Blue-tailed Flycatcher, and Rusty-tailed Flycatcher.
Grey-headed Bulbul and Wayanad Laughing Thrush are two of the most enigmatic species, yet birding routes near Urulanthanni at the further end of the bird sanctuary offer a few valued glimpses of these two beauties.
We will explore the woods at night for the numerous nightjars, frogmouths, and owls. Hence, we will keep up this hectic birding schedule for three days, but each day we will visit various areas and birding paths to fully cover the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary. After such wild birding tours, you will get a super tasty lunch and dinner at the resort.
We will leave early in the morning to travel the two hours to Munnar, which is 65 kilometres from Thattekad and will travel far into the Western Ghats mountains throughout the journey. At a height of around 1600 meters above mean sea level, Munnar is a well-known hill station and a popular tourist destination. Its environment is covered in lush green tea plantations, which give it a surrealistic beauty.
Many Western Ghats bird species also thrive in this environment, and they may be seen in some of the wildlife sanctuaries and national parks surrounding Munnar, including Eravikulam, Anamudi, and Pampadum Shola parks.
Isn't this amazing?
Sholas are sparse patches of highland forest that naturally occur and are divided by open grass spaces. Exciting bird species occur in the forests and grasslands of Munnar, including the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Black and Orange Flycatcher, Grey-breasted Laughing Thrush, White-bellied Shortwing, Nilgiri Pipit, Painted Bushquail, and many others.
Additionally, we often observe some of the birds found in Thattekkad, allowing us to constantly photograph these beautiful feathered treasures.
We will do this birding program in and around Munnar for two days. Then once again, you will enjoy the lunchtime picnics. Lastly, dinner and an overnight stay in a Munnar hotel.
In the morning, we will go to Ooty from Munnar. It is a long trip of more than 200 km across the constantly shifting hilly scenery, including the Western Ghats' rain-shadow areas. These areas are on the eastern side of the mountains and receive less precipitation than the western side. We will make a pit break to go bird-watching for a few hours at one of these areas named Chinnar.
Between the Deccan Plateau and the Western Ghats lies the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. In this sanctuary's thorny scrub woodland and meadows, there are roughly 150 kinds of birds from 40 different families.
After a productive day of birding in Chinnar, we will proceed by cab to Ooty, where we will arrive in the late afternoon or evening, and you can relax in the hotel for dinner and the night.
Our first fuel stop in Tamil Nadu is at Ooty. Do you know that Ooty is famously known as the "Blue Mountains of India?" It is a hill station at a height of 2240 meters, and people go there in enormous numbers because of its stunning location in the Nilgiri Hills, surrounded by lush green tea plants.
We will begin our morning by birdwatching briefly in and around Ooty before packing up and departing for Masinagudi, located approximately 30 miles distant.
Masinagudi, a part of the Mudumalai National Park, is a tiger reserve and wildlife sanctuary well-known for its verdant woodlands. Our afternoon is primarily devoted to bird watching in Mudumalai National Park.
Our national birds, Peacock, Brown Dove, Spotted Babbler, Green Pigeons, Grey Jungle Fowl, Red Spurfowl, White-cheeked Barbet, Malabar Whistling Thrush, and several other species are among our priorities for Mudumalai. Additionally, we look out for predators, including eagles, hawks, buzzards, harriers, falcons, and king vultures. And in the late evening, we will walk to look for owls and nightjars. At Masinagudi, you will enjoy a delicious dinner and spend the night.
Our Western Ghats' unique birding adventure ends on this day. We will take advantage of it by birdwatching early in the morning near Masinagudi. Then we will pack everything and take you to the airport in Coimbatore or Kochi for your next flight.
Hope you will enjoy this Western Ghats birding tour with us!
