Rufous-necked Hornbill

Into the Valley of Hornbills

16 DAYS
FROM $3,850

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Group Size

Maximum 6PAX

Activity Level

Moderate

Tour Status

Space Available

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Tour Overview

This 16-days bird watching tour will take you on an exciting journey covering about nine different districts in Bhutan. These districts are home to some of the rarest birds in the world thriving in the most diverse, rich and least explored forest ranging in elevation from 150m up to 3890m
Each day you will travel to a new place that will offer spectacular views, different weather conditions, different vegetation, and wildlife but most of all a rare bird each day.
On this tour, you will likely see two species of Hornbills, Great and Rufous-necked Hornbill, some of the other specialty included rare and most sought-after species like Ward’ Trogon, Himalayan Monal, Blood Pheasant, Satyr Tragopan, Ibisbill, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, these birds are some of the rarest and endemic to the Eastern Himalayan. All in all, we will show you 250 – 270 birds and 10 – 15 species of mammals in 16 days. Other highlights include the visit to some of the beautiful ancient fortresses and the temples.

Itinerary

What to Expect

This birding tour will be on selected sites that do not pose any threats such as steep slopes. During these trips, you should expect yourself to walk at least 6-7 kilometers on average per day
Like elsewhere, the best time for watching birds is in the morning. You can expect an early start in the morning most of the time. However, a couple of very early mornings are required to look for high elevation dwelling Pheasant that comes out to the roadside early in the morning.
Accommodation on this tour is generally simple but comfortable. The hotels are generally spacious, clean and comfortable, built-in westernized Bhutanese style, and all rooms have private facilities. However, due to the limited availability of good lodges and hotels in some remote part of the country, you will spend a couple of nights in basic hotels or tented camp.

Bhutan Birding Experts

After graduating from high school, Tshering Dorji traveled in and around Bhutan as far as the countries wideness go. Exploring and studying birds in particular and nature in general. For four and a half years’ Tshering was guided and trained by Mr. Norbu. As a young and enthusiastic birder, Tshering is now familiar with calls, behavior, distribution, and habitats of Bhutan birds. From the past many years Tshering has been guiding both private and group tours independently. he also started leading groups for our oversea counterpart.

Tshering has also represented the Guide Association of Bhutan (GAB) to make the presentation on the birds of Bhutan during the first meeting of the Citizen Birders of Bhutan back in 2017. Among the many presenters during the event, his presentation was very well received by many audiences including the minister of agriculture and forestry.

Hear from our Guests

Thanks, Norbu and Tshering my guide for the great trip, I enjoyed it thoroughly, your ears, and knowledge of the local birds were fantastic, also your knowledge of many other parts of your beautiful country was very much appreciated. Despite a few difficulties, you manage the tour with the skill of the much older person. All the very best for your future where ever it takes you. if you ever come to Australia, don’t forget to look me up, just don’t leave it to long.

Dick

THE JUNCTION 2291 Australia

Dear Norbu, My husband and I and our 12 yr. old grandson spent 23 days on a mixed birding and cultural tour through Bhutan. We couldn’t have had a better trip! Our guide Tshering Dorji knew all the birds by sight and sound, and he knew where to find them. Also, he was well educated in his country’s history and contemporary issues. We were so impressed by his level of knowledge and his competency as a guide (and teacher). He also spoke excellent English and was always able to answer our questions to our satisfaction, which made the trip so much more exciting for our grandson. Our driver Tshewang was an excellent driver and we never felt worried, even when traversing some really dicey roads or squeezing by other vehicles on narrow, steep roads. Both of these two men were a pleasure to spend time with (and always there to help). Last, but not least, Mr. Norbu who owns the company spent a lot of time with us on email helping us customize our trip and make everything run smoothly. I can’t say enough positive things about “Off to Bhutan”.

Bridget McCoy

USA

We enjoyed our birding trip to Bhutan a lot. Thanks for your perfect organization and well-considered itinerary of our customized tour. We would like to compliment Tshering very much for letting us see the beautiful birds of Bhutan and providing deep insight into country and culture. Tshering is a very open-minded and pleasant person with a lot of humor and organizational talent. We really enjoyed birding and spending time with him. Although travelling in autumn we were able to see a lot of the key bird species one would like to see during a birding trip in Bhutan. Moreover, we would like to thank also Tshewang and Karma for safe driving on the sometimes adventurous Bhutanese roads and always being very attentive and helpful. All the time we felt in very good hands. We will recommend Off to Bhutan further.

Carsten and Simone

Düsseldorf, Germany