Dibrugarh – Mishmi Hills - Mayodia Pass - Roing
06 Days / 05 Nights
Our Mishmi Hills Short Birding Tours stands out for the remote and diverse birding hotspots it covers – from the pristine forests and bamboo brakes to alpine meadows and high mountain passes in Himalayan foothills. Arunachal Pradesh in India’s northeast is home to several hundred bird species, More Info
Booked as per
request.
Included except arrival and departure city.
Private guide for complete tour.
Airport to Airport.
2-8PAX
Included
Our Mishmi Hills Birding Tours stands out for the remote and diverse birding hotspots it covers – from the pristine forests and bamboo brakes to alpine meadows and high mountain passes in Himalayan foothills.
Arunachal Pradesh in India’s northeast is home to several hundred bird species, many of which can be seen in the beautiful and rarely explored Mishmi Hills in the state’s easternmost extremity, where the Himalayas curve downwards to meet the Indo-Burmese range. Here, in the hills covered with dense vegetation, grasslands, and bamboo thickets we scour the best birding trails of Mishmi hills to look for rare, endangered, exotic, migratory and resident birds of Arunachal Pradesh.
The checklist is quite long, but we put in six busy days of birdwatching to mark off most of the avian beauties.
We start our Mishmi Hills birding adventure with low-altitude trails around the town of Roing and village of Tiwari Gaon to target a wide variety of birds such as Spot-breasted Babbler, White-bellied Erpornis, Blyth’s Leaf Warbler, Blue-winged Minla, Small Niltava, Ashy Bulbul, Striated Yuhina, Black Bulbul, Nepal Fulvetta, White-naped Yuhina, Whiskered Yuhina, Pygmy Cupwing, Streaked Spiderhunter, White-capped Redstart, Black-throated Sunbird, Collared Treepie, Scarlet Minivet, White-crested Laughingthrush, Long-tailed Sibia, Rufous-necked Laughingthrush, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Vivid Niltava, Pigmy Wren Babbler, Scaly Wren Babbler, Green Cochua, Large Blue Flycatcher, White-gorgeted Flycatcher, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Great Barbet, Golden-throated Barbet, Large Hawk Cuckoo, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Mountain Hawk Eagle, Maroon Oriole, Grey-chinned Minivet, Lesser Shortwing, White-tailed Robin, and Beautiful Nuthatch.
As the tour progresses, we move up to the higher altitude of 2655 meters at Mayodia Pass. Here, we come across different species of birds, many of which you’ll rarely spot anywhere else in India. The stunning cast of birds at Mayodia Pass includes the likes of Cachar Wedge-billed Wren Babbler, Mishmi Wren Babbler, Sclater’s Monal, Purple Cochua, Hill Partridge, Rufous-throated Partridge, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Black-faced Warbler, Red-faced Liocichla, Long-billed Wren Babbler, Eyebrowed Wren Babbler, White-browed Shrike Babbler, Black-eared Shrike Babbler, Blyth’s Tragopan, Rufous-capped Babbler, Golden Babbler, Silver-eared Mesia, Red-billed Leiothrix, Cutia, Rusty-fronted Barwing, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, among many others.
At the fag end of our Short Birding Tours of Mishmi Hills, we return to lower and middle altitude areas to look for more winged specialties. On occasions we even do nocturnal birding excursions to look for Mountain Scops Owl, Himalayan Wood Owl, and – the most prized of all – Hodgson’s Frogmouth.
All this birding action and mountain adventure are packed in just six days of Mishmi Hills birding trip. Four full and two half days of birding puts your precious time and effort to best use. The bird sightings are plenty and the scenic locations surely steal your breath away.
Lodging: The remoteness of Mishmi Hills birding trails cuts down accommodation choices on this short tour. So instead of luxury hotels, we have lodges and rest houses. At Mayodia Pass, we put up at a place called Coffee House for two nights. The beds are comfortable and toilets may be attached to the rooms. These accommodations may be low on luxury, but their locations in the mountains more than make up for it.
Meals: With limited accommodation options come reduced meal choices. The menu on the Mishmi Hills short birdwatching trip is not as long as you would find on other birding tours of India, but rest assured that the food is delicious at all times and made hygienically. On full birding days, we have lunches in the field. The breakfast and dinner are at the lodges or resorts. Both vegetarian and meat-based meals are on the menu.
Tour Difficulty: Our Mishmi Hills birding tour covers varying altitudes from a few hundred meters at Roing to 2655 meters at Mayodia Pass. You should be able to withstand high altitude conditions and be physically fit to do birding walks in mountainous terrain while carrying your birding equipment, such as camera, binoculars, and backpack. Also keep in mind that the nights at Mayodia Pass can be quite chilly.
Tour Extension: In case you wish to add more adventure to your Arunachal birding holiday, we can throw in an expedition to the Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary nearby or Dibru-Saikhowa National Park a little way off in Assam. Both these wildlife hotspots of Northeast India host an incredible variety of animal and bird species. Whatever tour extension you want, just let us know well in advance so that we can make the arrangements.
Climate: The best time to do our Mishmi Hills birdwatching tour is from October to May. These are winter and spring seasons. The winter in Arunachal Pradesh is quite cold and the temperature at Mayodia Pass can plummet to freezing levels. The weather in spring season is very pleasant, but the summer is washed out by heavy rains. Do carry appropriate clothing for the time you choose to tour Mishmi Hills.
Getting There: Getting to Dibrugarh is no stretch. You can always catch flights from major Indian cities like Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati. If you’re travelling by train, you may arrive at the railway stations of Dibrugarh or Tinsukia and commute to Mishmi Hills by road thereafter. Guests flying in from abroad should land either in Kolkata or Delhi and then take another flight to Dibrugarh where our representative will meet them.
Our Mishmi Hills short birdwatching trip begins in Dibrugarh, an industrial city located in the north-eastern part of Assam, close to the state’s border with Arunachal Pradesh. Our driver or representative meets you at the Dibrugarh airport and drives you to the town called Roing in Arunachal Pradesh. The 150-km cab ride takes about 3 to 4 hours and the road winds through a beautiful landscape replete with birding opportunities.
We make the most of this journey by stopping over at selected birding sites along the way and look for the first sights of the birds of Arunachal Pradesh. These are only short halts as we want to make it to Roing in time to squeeze in some evening birding in the day’s schedule.
Roing is a small town situated at the foothills of Mishmi Hills. For someone travelling eastward along the length of Arunachal Pradesh, it is the last major town to India’s north-eastern border with China. From a birding point of view, Roing is a good place to start our India Short Birding Tours of Arunachal Pradesh. After our arrival, we freshen up at a pre-booked resort and then step out for a short birding excursion in nearby areas. Dinner and overnight at the resort.
The subtropical evergreen forest of Mishmi Hills receives heavy rainfall every year and is a notable biodiversity hotspot for nature lovers to explore. We dedicate the whole day to birding in the lower areas of Mishmi Hills. There is an excellent birding trail that stretches up to a place called Tiwari Gaon, 20 km away. We drive up this trail and make regular stops to birdwatch.
Our targets for the day include Spot-breasted Babbler, White-bellied Erpornis, Blyth’s Leaf Warbler, Blue-winged Minla, Small Niltava, Ashy Bulbul, Striated Yuhina, Black Bulbul, Nepal Fulvetta, White-naped Yuhina, Whiskered Yuhina, Pygmy Cupwing, Streaked Spiderhunter, White-capped Redstart, Black-throated Sunbird, Collared Treepie, Scarlet Minivet, White-crested Laughingthrush, Long-tailed Sibia, Rufous-necked Laughingthrush, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Vivid Niltava, Pigmy Wren Babbler, Scaly Wren Babbler, Green Cochua, Large Blue Flycatcher, White-gorgeted Flycatcher, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Great Barbet, Golden-throated Barbet, Large Hawk Cuckoo, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Mountain Hawk Eagle, Maroon Oriole, Grey-chinned Minivet, Lesser Shortwing, White-tailed Robin, Beautiful Nuthatch, Fire-capped Tit, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Sultan Tit, Black-throated Tit, Striated Bulbul, Ashy Bulbul, Black Bulbul, Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, Mountain Tailorbird, Blyth’s Leaf Warbler, Grey-hooded Warbler, Grey-cheeked Warbler, Lesser-necklaced Laughingthrush, Striated Laughingthrush, Blue-winged Laughingthrush, Red-faced Liocichla , Rusty-throated Wren Babbler, Pale-Headed Woodpecker and many more.
We wrap up the day’s birding at Mishmi Hills by looking for Hodgson’s Frogmouth in the evening. Later, we drive back to our resort in Roing for dinner and overnight.
After an early breakfast, we leave Roing for a 40-km drive to Mayodia Pass, which is a mountain pass and a popular tourist destination, particularly in the winters owing to its altitude of 2655 meters which gives stunning views of surrounding snow-capped peaks. Apart from scenic beauty, Mayodia is known as a bustling habitat of birds. Birders often tread the areas around Mayodia Pass for some special and rare avian sights.
We do the day’s birding along the road to Mayodia Pass. We look out for the likes of Cachar Wedge-billed Wren Babbler, Mishmi Wren Babbler, Purple Cochua, Hill Partridge, Rufous-throated Partridge, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Black-faced Warbler, Red-faced Liocichla, Long-billed Wren Babbler, Eyebrowed Wren Babbler, White-browed Shrike Babbler, Black-eared Shrike Babbler, Blyth Tragopan, Rufous-capped Babbler, Golden Babbler, Silver-eared Mesia, Red-billed Leiothrix, Cutia, Rusty-fronted Barwing, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, White-naped Yuhina, Rufous-vented Yuhina, White-bellied Yuhina, Beautiful Sibia, Long-tailed Sibia, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Black-throated Sunbird, Fire-tailed Sunbird, and Streaked Spiderhunter among many others.
The day’s birding ends with our arrival at Mayodia Pass. We check into a place called Coffee House for snacks, dinner and overnight.
Several birding trails around Mayodia Pass are worth exploring. A stroll deeper into the lower forests reveals a fascinating variety of bird species. The bamboo brakes that grow in profusion along the road surprise you with wonderful kind of birds. We head out to explore these birding sites right after breakfast.
Perseverance in these bird habitats rewards you with sights of Sclater's Monal, Blyth's Tragopan, Fulvous Parrotbill, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Pale-Capped Pigeon, Ward’s Trogon, Dark-sided Thrush, White-crested and Blue-winged Laughingthrush, Green and Purple Cochoa, Rusty-Bellied and Gould’s Shortwing, Beautiful Nuthatch, Mishmi Wren-Babbler, Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler, Manipur Fulvetta, Fire-Tailed Myzornis, Scarlet- and Grey-Headed Bullfinch, Mountain Scops Owl, Black-throated Parrotbill, Darjeeling Woodpecker, Grey-sided, Spotted and Black-faced Laughingthrushes, White-browed and Rusty-bellied Shortwing. One of the prized sightings of the day could be that of the Leopard Cat.
The region so abounds with birds that we can continue birding well into the night and seek out Mountain Scops Owl and Himalayan Wood Owl.
We call it a day with simple but tasty dinner at Mayodia Pass. Overnight at Mayodia Pass.
We leave the heights of Mayodia Pass and drive back down to the lower areas of Roing town, which sits at the moderate elevation of 390 meters. The birding trails around Roing have tremendous potential and we give it a full day of our birding adventure of Arunachal Pradesh.
Scouring the lower and middle altitude areas of Mishmi Hills hereabout, we hope to see a wide variety of birds, including Red-headed Trogon, Large Hawk Cuckoo, Fork-tailed Swift, Collared Owlet, Asian Barred Owlet, Eagle/fish Owl, Barred Cuckoo Dove, Lesser Shortwing, Little Pied Flycatcher, Sultan Tit, Black-throated Tit, Striated Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul , Ashy-throated Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Blyth’s Leaf Warbler, Grey-hooded Warbler, Grey-cheeked Warbler, Grey-headed Parakeet, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Black-faced Warbler, Red-faced Liocichla, Long-billed Wren Babbler, Eyebrowed Wren Babbler, Scaly-breasted Wren Babbler, Pygmy Wren Babbler, Bar-winged Wren Babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Silver-eared Mesia, White-browed Shrike Babbler, Black-eared Shrike Babbler, Chestnut-tailed Minla, Yellow-throated Fulvetta, Brown-throated Fulvetta, Streak-throated Fulvetta, Nepal Fulvetta, Sparrowhawk , Oriental Honey Buzzard, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Common Green Magpie, Grey Treepie and many others.
Moving on to the birding trails in Roing grasslands, we aim to sight the likes of Golden-headed Cisticola, Paddyfield Warbler, Striated Grassbird, Himalayan Black Bulbul, Blyth's Leaf Warbler, Jerdon's Babbler, Black-breasted Parrotbill, Grey-throated Babbler, Marsh Babbler, Striated Babbler, Great Myna, Chinese Rubythroat, Siberian Stonechat, Scaly-breasted Munia and Rare Swamp Prinia. After a busy day of birding at Roing, we return to our resort for dinner and overnight.
We do an early morning birding excursion of Roing and return to our resort for breakfast. We then pack up and drive you for 3 hours to Dibrugarh. We drop you at the Dibrugarh airport for your onward journey. Our Mishmi Hills birding holiday comes to an end.
