Delhi – Pangot - Sat Tal
05 Days / 04 Nights
Lush green hills of the lower Himalayas are the setting of our Pangot and Sat Tal Short Birding Tours. The quiet hamlet of Pangot in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand is often dubbed as the ‘pheasant capital of India’ on account of the many pheasants one gets to see here. The altitudinal range in the village’s More Info
Booked as per
request.
Included except arrival and departure city.
Private guide for complete tour.
Airport to Airport.
2-8PAX
Included
Lush green hills of the lower Himalayas are the setting of our Pangot and Sat Tal Short Birding Tours.
The quiet hamlet of Pangot in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand is often dubbed as the ‘pheasant capital of India’ on account of the many pheasants one gets to see here. The altitudinal range in the village’s vicinity and the forests of pine, oak and rhododendron here host around 250 bird species, particularly the Himalayan ones. Come winter, the winged stunners from higher latitudes fly down to these woods and hills, making Pangot one of the best birdwatching hotspots of North India.
On our Short Birding Tours of Pangot, we take you right in the thick of the action and scour the birding trails for beauties such as Cheer Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant, Hill Partridge, Khalij Pheasant, Scaly-bellied Woodpecker, Grey-crowned Prinia, Long-billed Thrush, Golden Bush Robin, Black Bulbuls, Pale-billed Flowerpecker, Blue-throated Barbet, Brown-fronted Woodpecker, Scaly-bellied Woodpecker, Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, Indian Black-lored Tit, Black-throated Tit, Black Bulbul, Ashy-throated Warblers, Black-chinned Babbler, Yellow-breasted Greenfinch, Asian Barred Owlet, Blue-whistling Thrush, Yellow-Bellied Green Finch, Upland Pipit, Blue-throated Barbet, Altai Accentor, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Himalayan Woodpecker, and Himalayan Buzzard.
Birding in Sat Tal, by comparison, is a different experience. The place is named after a network of seven lakes that are spread out among hills at the altitude of 1370 meters. It is a few hours’ drive from Pangot and reveals a wonderful pageantry of birds in and around the lakes. Our Sat Tal Short Birding Tours targets the likes of Long-tailed Broadbill, Grey-sided Bush Warbler, Hill Partridge, Rufous-throated Partridge, Brown-flanked Bush Warbler, Whistler’s Warbler, Mountain Scops-Owl, Brown Fish Owl, Ashy Woodswallow, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, White-throated Fantail, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Indian Paradise-Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Red-billed Blue-Magpie, Common Green-Magpie, Rufous Treepie, Grey Treepie, Yellow-bellied Fantail, Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Greater Flameback, Lesser Yellow Nape, Greater Yellow Nape, and several more.
Each one of the five days of our Short Birding Tours of Pangot and Sat Tal reveals interesting and rare sightings. Even on the days we commute from Delhi to Uttarakhand and Pangot to Sat Tal, we stop along the way to explore selected birding trails of Uttarakhand. No effort is spared to pack in as many birding hours as possible, so that you get to make the most of your short but rewarding North India birding adventure.
Lodging: Both Pangot and Sat Tal offer a range of accommodations – from deluxe to budget. Without being extravagant, we choose for you the accommodation that is comfortable and easy on the pocket. In Pangot, we get to stay at a birding lodge, which is ideally located in a birding hotspot and has all the basic amenities. In Sat Tal, we put up at a resort, which, again, is in the thick of birding action. Both these accommodations offer quality service.
Meals: The meal choices at the birding lodge in Pangot may be a bit limited, but rest assured that you’ll have enough variety to keep your belly pleased for three days. The resort at Sat Tal offers greater variety of Indian and Western dishes. Both vegetarian and meat-loving guests will have something delicious to choose for breakfast and dinner. Lunches are usually picnic in the field to save time for birdwatching. Taste and hygiene are beyond compromise.
Tour Difficulty: Pangot and Sat Tal are located in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand. Birding walks here mean hiking up and down the gentle slopes. You should be able to put in the effort while carrying your personal birding equipment such as camera and binoculars. A full day of birding starts in the morning and ends around sunset, unless we wish to continue looking for nocturnal birds, in which case, we wrap up the day well after dusk. These long hours of birding only help you make the most of your North India birding holiday.
Tour Extension: Many birders who tour Pangot and Sat Tal are tempted to extend their Uttarakhand birding adventure by adding a jaunt to Corbett National Park, a protected area for the Bengal Tiger. Corbett is an excellent birding hotspot and wildlife safaris here offer a great chance to see the tiger as well. It is located just a few hours’ drive from Pangot. Do let us know in advance if you wish to avail the tour extension so that we can make the necessary arrangements.
Climate: Summer in Pangot and Sat Tal is pleasantly warm, but the winter season beginning with October and lasting till March is the best time to do the birdwatching tour of Pangot and Sat Tal. Around this time, many upper Himalayan birds fly down to the lower altitudes of Uttarakhand and can be seen in the forests, meadows and lakes. The winter temperature ranges between 0-24 degrees Celsius, December and January being the coldest. Do carry appropriate clothing for the time you choose to do the birding tour, and also carry a raincoat for an odd shower.
Getting There: Pangot and Sat Tal are easily accessible by road. If you are flying in from abroad, do land in Delhi where our representative will meet and drive you to Pangot. Indian guests have the option of flying in or arriving by road or rail. The drive from Delhi to Pangot usually takes up to 7 hours, but as we stop along the way to explore some birding trails, it may take longer than that.
Our Short Birding Tours of Pangot and Sat Tal takes off in India’s national capital, Delhi. Our representative meets you at a location of your choice early in the morning and then drives you to Pangot in Uttarakhand.
It’s a journey of over 300 km and lasts around 7-8 hours. For the first four hours, we drive through the plains of Uttar Pradesh, passing villages and small towns along the way, before entering the Himalayan foothills in the state of Uttarakhand. The green hills and meadows here host many species of birds. It goes without saying that we stop a couple of times on the way for short birding excursions. We already have a few such spots singled out for you. Each excursion doesn’t extend an hour, as we have to reach our destination by evening.
We arrive at Pangot around sunset or even later if en route birding takes more time than expected. We check into a pre-booked lodge and dine and call it a day.
The village of Pangot is located at the altitude of 1980 meters in the lower Himalayas. Here, one finds both high elevation and low elevation forests that host a good variety of avifauna. Over the course of two days of birdwatching at Pangot, we will explore these two elevations.
Our target birds for Pangot include Cheer Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant, Hill Partridge, Khalij Pheasant, Scaly-bellied Woodpecker, Grey-crowned Prinia, Long-billed Thrush, Golden Bush Robin, Black Bulbuls, Pale-billed Flowerpecker, Blue-throated Barbet, Brown-fronted Woodpecker, Scaly-bellied Woodpecker, Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, Indian Black-lored Tit, Black-throated Tit, Black Bulbul, Ashy-throated Warblers, Black-chinned Babbler, Yellow-breasted Greenfinch, Asian Barred Owlet, Grey Treepie, Blue-whistling Thrush, Yellow-Bellied Green Finch, Upland Pipit, Blue-throated Barbet, Altai Accentor, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Himalayan Woodpecker, Himalayan Buzzard, Bearded Vulture, Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Black Eagle, Chestnut-tailed Minla, Lemon-rumped Warblers, Eurasian Jay, Black-headed Jay, Rufous-breasted Accentor, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Grey-winged Blackbird, Himalayan Shrike Babbler, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler and several others.
After a rewarding day of birding at Pangot, we return to our lodge for dinner and overnight.
We leave Pangot after breakfast and drive towards Sat Tal, about 55 km away. In the hilly terrain, the journey takes about 2 hours, and you are sure to be enchanted by the beauty of Sat Tal upon arrival around noon.
Sat Tal (literally meaning Seven Lakes) is a group of seven interconnected lakes surrounded by low hills of Nainital. It is a favourite haunt of many migratory birds every winter season and that’s the reason it figures at the end of our itinerary of North India birding vacation. After our arrival at Sat Tal, we check into a resort and head out for a birding excursion. Our targets for Sat Tal birding tour include Long-tailed Broadbill, Grey-sided Bush Warbler, Hill Partridge, Rufous-throated Partridge, Brown-flanked Bush Warbler, Whistler’s Warbler, Mountain Scops-Owl, Brown Fish Owl, Ashy Woodswallow, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, White-throated Fantail, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Indian Paradise-Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Red-billed Blue-Magpie, Common Green-Magpie, Rufous Treepie, Grey Treepie, Yellow-bellied Fantail, Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Greater Flameback, Lesser Yellow Nape, Greater Yellow Nape and many more.
In the evening, we retire to the resort for dinner and overnight.
We do a Short Birding Tours of Sat Tal in the morning and then pack up and leave for Delhi via road. The 7-hour drive cuts through beautiful hills before descending into the plains of Uttar Pradesh and then Delhi. We stop on the way for lunch at a roadside restaurant. Upon arrival in Delhi, we drop you at the airport or any other location of your choice. Our birding adventure of Pangot and Sat Tal comes to an end.
