Our extended birding tour to Bhutan covers many of the best birding sites in the country. In addition to birding, Bhutan is a culturally fascinating country with elaborately decorated monasteries, also called dzongs, in many cities and even in remote places. Many of the mountain passes are adorned with banners as well in this deeply religious country. The topography of Bhutan offers majestic scenery in the foothills of the Himalayas, sometimes challenging roads that can be quite narrow on steep mountainsides in places, and of course superb birding from the lowlands near the southern border with India, subtropical foest in the foothills, temperate forest at middle altitudes, and alpine meadows in high elevation passes through the mountains. In 2021 Bhutan increased its sustainable development tax to $200/day for each person visiting the country, making tours quite expensive. However, the tax was temporarily reduced in 2023 to $100/day, and this reduction has been extended now through 2027, so the best time to visit this fascinating country is soon. Finally, we can honestly say that our prices for birding tours to Bhutan are much better than most competing tour operators because we rely on expert buides in Bhutan and do not have to pay the sustainable development tax and other expenses for a foreign guide to lead the tour.

Our tour begins with international arrival at the airport in Paro on the morning of the first day of our tour followed by transfer to the capital city of Thimphu. Flights from Delhi may arrive the night before, in which case an additional fee is added to the tour price. Many participants prefer arriving a day early in Paro, in which case they can enjoy a cultural tour of Paro after arrival. During the transfer to Thimphu we'll bird the Paro Valley looking for the much sought after and uniquely different Ibisbill enroute. The following morning we'll drive north to Jigme Dorji National Park to bird that section of the park followed by an afternoon visiting the Trashi Chloe Dzong and other cultural sites in Thimphu. We then drive eastward over Dochu La Pas to Punakha with birding enroute. In the afternoon we'll visit the famous Punakha Dzong and look for the endangered White-bellied Heron along the river. We then head south to Tsirang District, an area of superb birding in temperate forest. From Tsirang we continue south to Gelephu on the border with India. We'll spend a full day there birding the lowlands and foothills outside Gelephu. We then drive east and then north upslope toward Tingtibi.This region offers few amenities but great birding. We'll spend sseveral days birding outside Tingtibi, along the road to Pabang, in Royal Manas National Park, the road to Nganlam, and the higher ridges west of Nganlam. After several nights in this region, we'll drive north on a relatively new road through Royal Manas National Park toward the Mongar District, linking up with the main road near the Kuri Chhu River. Once on the main road we'll bird our way up an altitudinal transect toward Yongko La. We'll spend 3 nights in this incredibly bird rich area birding various sites around the camp and forest sites of the area. We then bird our way westward toward Chumey, stopping as need for missed species at Namling and Sengor enroute. After a night in Chumey, we'll drive to Tharlaping Monastery for a bit of birding and sightseeing. From there we continue on to the Phobjikha Valley with possible birding stops in the highlands of Yotong La Pass enroute. After arrival we'll bird some wetland sites in the valley. Next morning we'll visit the highlands of Pele La for a morning of birding before driving back to Paro. Once back in Paro we'll devote one day to hiking up to Tiger's Nest Monastery, located on a secluded mountainside and reached by a 5-6 hour hike roundtrip. On our final day we'll bird the highlands of Cheli La Pass outside Paro. The tour ends the next morning at the airport in Paro.

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFO
(Not on Menu Above)

• Country Map
• Accommodations
• Photos from Past Tours
• Travel Information

BIRDING LOCALES

• Chele La Pass
• Dochu La
• Gelephu Area
• Jigme Dorji National Park
• Lower Lingmethang Road & Namling
• Phobjikha Valley
• Punakha
• Royal Manas National Park & Panbang
• Tharpaling Monastery
• Tiger's Nest Monastery Trail
• Tingtibi Area
• Tsirang
• Upper Lingmethang Road & Sengor
• Yongko La
• Yotong La