Assam and Kaziranga with Eagle nest Sanctuary

2 - 20 April 2024



North-Eastern India is a beautiful and wild part of Asia, embracing some of the best birding sites in the world! On this trip we will have the opportunity to explore lots of rare birds and exciting mammals such as Tiger and Indian Rhinoceros in some of the less visited but super diverse regions of India. Add some cozy teagardens, great Indian food and amazing scenery into the equation and you have a fantastic journey waiting for you!


Day 1: Arrival
Today we arrive in Delhi or Kolkata and fly to Guwahati, the biggest city of Assam. On arrival to the airport, we drive straight to Tenga, not far from Nameri National Park.


Day 2–8: Eaglenest-area
We spend the first week of our trip in the westernmost part of the Arunachal Pradesh region, sharing the same foothills and forests as bordering Bhutan. Over 650 species of birds have been observed in this area and we will do our best to find some the most emblematic ones.

Nameri National Park has an area of over 200 square kms and hosts a number of great birds like Ibisbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Blue-naped Pitta, Long-billed Plover, White-winged Duck, Pied Falconet, Ruddy- and Oriental Dwarf Kingfishers, Kalij Pheasant and Asian Fairy-bluebird.

Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary is a first-class birding site and biodiversity hotspot thanks to its extreme altitude ranges, producing a very high number of bird species. Still, getting around is not difficult and the birding sites are well connected from the lower tropical evergreen forests to the higher semi-evergreen forests. We will need several days to find some of the most important species like Beautiful Nuthatch, Ward's Trogon, Bugun Liocichla (described as a new species here in 2006), over 20 species of warblers, a huge variety of Wren Babblers, Shortwings, Laughingthrushes, Flycatchers and Fulvettas. On higher altitudes we try to find some of the most unique birds of the trip like Blyth's- and Temminck's Tragopans, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Spotted Elachura, Hodgson's Frogmouth, Green- and Purple Cochoas, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide and many more. Naturally, this is also a rich area in mammals and we might have a chance to spot one or two species such as Red Panda, Clouded Leopard, Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Leopard Cat, Golden Cat, and the Indian wild dog, Dhole.

Sangti Valley located at 1500 metres altitude hosts open areas, marshes and paddy fields great for finding Black-necked Crane, Ibisbill, Brown Dipper, Rosy Pipit, Crested Bunting and Black-tailed Crake.

Around Sela Pass (4170 m) we try for some of the most demanding high-altitude species that thrive in the mountains of 3500-4500 metres. Key species are Blood Pheasant, Himalayan Monal, Snow Pigeon, Snow Partridge, Grandala, and several Grosbeaks and Rosefinches. The vegetation is alpine but rich in rhododendrons and the surrounding lakes are considered sacred in Tibetan Buddhism.


Day 9-11: Kaziranga
Kaziranga National Park is renowned as one of the finest and most picturesque wildlife refuges in southern Asia. It protects the world's largest Indian Rhinoceros population, as well as many other threatened species. It is situated on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra River at the foot of the Mikir Hills. The numerous water bodies are rich reservoirs of food and thousands of migratory birds visit the park seasonally from as far as Western Europe. The park is both a declared Tiger Reserve and an Important Bird Area and has a list of over 500 noted bird species. We will make several Jeep safaris into the park. Some of the birds of interest include Spot-billed Pelican, Asian Darter, Black Bittern, Woolly-necked Stork, Greater- and Lesser Adjutant, Baer's Pochard, White-eyed Buzzard, Pallas's Fish Eagle, Red-headed Vulture, Pied Harrier, Swamp Francolin, Bengal Florican, Grey-headed Lapwing, River Tern, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Thick-billed Green Pigeon, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Indian Roller, Great Hornbill, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Yellow-eyed Babbler, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Asian Paradise-flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, Little Spiderhunter, Streaked Spiderhunter and several Weaver species.


Day 12–13: Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary
Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary is the only rainforest in Assam. It is often referred to as "The Amazon of the east" owing to its large area and thick forests. The sanctuary, covering an area of over 100 square kms, is part of the Assam valley tropical wet evergreen forest. It was declared a sanctuary in 2004. The area also has some historic attractions, including several World War II cemeteries, the Stillwell Road and the Digboi refinery, the oldest in Asia. The site is known to harbour over 400 bird species, many of them globally threated. Some of our targets here include Slender-billed Vulture, White-hooded Babbler, White-cheeked Hill Partridge, Brown Hornbill, Grey Peacock-Pheasant, Green-billed Malkoha, Oriental Bay-Owl, Red-headed Trogon, Sultan Tit, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher and Common Green Magpie.


Day 14–17: Mishmi Hills-area
The Mishmi Hills has stunningly beautiful terrain thrown up by the sharp twisting of the Himalayan ranges as they turn from a southeasterly to a southerly direction and descend rapidly to the tropical forests of China and Myanmar. It is a southward extension of the Great Himalayan Mountain Range – its northern and eastern reaches touching China. Much of the Mishmi Hills comes under the Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh. The district is named after the Dibang River – the highest point of Mayodia Pass at a height of 2655 meters. The beautiful hills are covered with subtropical evergreen forests of maple, oak, juniper and pine. The area hosts up to a staggering 700 bird species, some of them we have gotten to know earlier on the tour and some of them are new. This is a very remote part of India and perhaps, one of the least explored birding areas in all of Asia, many new species await discovery here. This area is rarely visited by tourists. Specialties include the Sclater's Monal, Blyth's Tragopan, Chestnut-breasted Partridge, Hill Blue Flycatcher, the endemic Mishmi Wren Babbler, Pale-capped Pigeon, Dark-sided Thrush, Green- and Purple Cochoa, Golden-throated Barbet, Rusty-bellied- and Gould's Shortwing, White-crowned Forktail, Rusty-throated- and Wedge-billed Wren Babbler, Rufous-breasted Accentor, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Chevron-breasted Babbler, Coral-billed Scimitar-Babbler, Collared Treepie, Hodgson's Frogmouth, Fire-tailed Sunbird, several Scops Owls and at least four Parrotbill species. Just like in other parts of the Himalayas the birds often move in mixed flocks with a splendid diversity of Babblers, Flycatchers, Yuhinas, Woodpeckers, Sibias, Fulvettas and Warblers.


Day 18-19: Dibru-Saikhowa NP
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is a lesser-known Tiger Reserve. It is an area of grassland and swamp forest sandwiched between the Brahmaputra and Dibru rivers in the east of Assam. Contained between these rivers, the park is a 340 square kms reserve, which was created to protect the grassland and swamp habitat on the flood plains of the Brahmaputra River. It has numerous internal water channels & bodies, seasonally flooded forests, "beels", and grassy pockets. This makes it an interesting birding destination for rare specialized grassland and swamp forest birds, as well as an important migratory ground for many waders. While most areas are accessible by boat, day long treks enable one to cover some parts of the park.

The habitat serves as the refuge for the threatened Marsh Babbler, Jerdon's Babbler, Black-breasted Parrotbill, Swamp Prinia and Jerdon's Bushchat. Some of the other birds found here are Swamp Francolin, Cotton Pygmy-Goose, Spot-billed Duck, Speckled Piculet, Drongo Cuckoo, Pale-capped Pigeon, Red-necked Falcon, Rosy Minivet, Little Pied Flycatcher, Pale-chinned Flycatcher, White-tailed Rubythroat, White-tailed Stonechat, Pale-footed Bush Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler, Spotted Bush Warbler, Paddyfield Warbler, Thick-billed Warbler, Smoky Warbler, Striped Tit-Babbler, Chestnut-capped Babbler, Jerdon's Babbler, Nepal Fulvetta, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird and Black-faced Bunting.

After nearly three amazing weeks of birding, we return to Dibrugarh airport to our connecting flights through Delhi or Kolkata.



Tour leader: Zsombor Karolyi
Local guide: Sujan Chatterjee

The journey is a collaboration between Birdsafarisweden and Karlmark Travel. (Karlmark Travels holds the travel warranty insurance that covers this trip)


When: 2 - 20 April 2024 (incl. 2 travel days)

Price: 54.000 SEK per person (excl. international flights)

Single room supplement: to be announced

Note! the price of this tour can be adjusted due to currency changes and increased local costs. Smaller adjustments of the tour dates can also sometimes be necessary but will be communicated when it's time to book flights.


Included: Full board accommodation in double room, English spoken tour leader and local bird guide the whole trip, all transports, all entrance fees to national parks and reserves.

Not included: Air ticket, transfer to the airport, insurance, alcohol, souvenirs or other personal expenses, tips, etc.


Group size : min 4 - max 12

Application fee: When you´ve applied we send you an invoice on 3.500 SEK when that is paid you are guaranteed a seat on the tour.

Other: This is a "mixed group" trip where Swedish- and English-speaking travelers are welcome.