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Day 1: The tour begins from
Delhi where you will spend the night.
Day 2: After an early breakfast we'll set out on our journey,
calling in almost straight away at Okhla dam on the Yamuna River for
our first birds. This area provides a good introduction to many
typical northern India species such as Indian Pond Heron,
Black-shouldered Kite, Common Peafowl, Ring-necked Parakeet, lndian
Roller, Black Drongo, and Common and Bank Mynas. We'll then drive to
Agra and may have time to visit Akbar's tomb as we enter the city,
but certainly, after checking in to our hotel, we'll visit the Red
Fort, the second-most famous site in Agra. Situated up-river from
the Taj Mahal this truly impressive sandstone fort will be a fitting
introduction to the might of the Moghul Emperors. Night in Agra.
Day 3: We'll start the day with an early morning visit to one of
the world's great buildings, the Taj Mahal - 'no mere building but a
love immortalised in marble'. The emperor Shah Jahan promised his
wife, Mumtaz Mahal, that he would build her a tomb that would for
ever remind the world of their great love. Arriving before most of
the crowds, we'll take time to reflect on the sheer beauty of this
stunning building and also to look for Large Green Barbet and Koel
in the grounds, as well as Great Black-headed Gull and River Lapwing
on the adjacent Yamuna River. We'll then drive to the hotel for
breakfast, and probably lunch, after spending the rest of the
morning visiting the marble workshops, jewellers, and the
three-dimensional embroideries for which Agra is famous before
driving to the deserted sandstone city of Fatehpur Sikri. In the
16th century the Emperor Akbar moved his capital here to honour the
mystic Salim Chishti, but the city was soon abandoned and the new
capital became a ghost town. Today it is haunted by memories of a
resplendent era and by Brown Rock Chats and Dusky Crag Martins.
We'll then continue to Bharatpur, maybe in time for some birding
before dinner. Night in Bharatpur.
Days 4-8: We'll stay at the wonderful new Bargh, a custom built
guesthouse located in an ancient mango orchard just outside the
famous park that provides a suitably serene base from which to
explore Bharatpur and the surrounding countryside.
Keoladeo National
Park, known simply as Bharatpur, was originally a vast wetland
developed for duck shooting. Coaches are not allowed inside the
park, so we’ll explore the 29 square kilometres on foot, and by
bicycle-rickshaw (peddled by someone else!). Those whose
over-riding memories of birdwatching abroad are dusty and bumpy
roads and whistle-stop stake-outs will find this a marvellously
relaxing time. Nevertheless it will be very rewarding, with the
possibility of over 150 species ranging from Sarus Crane to Small
Minivet and Ruddy-breasted Crake to White-tailed Eagle. Among the
numbers of waterbirds, Black-necked and Painted Storks, Intermediate
Egret, Cotton Pygmy-goose and Darter will vie for our attention as
we search for less usual species such as Ferruginous and Red-crested
Pochards and Greater Painted-snipe.
In the trailside
trees we’ll look for Marshall’s Iora, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon,
Common Wood-shrike, Asian Paradise-flycatcher, White-bellied Drongo,
Coppersmith Barbet, and Ashy Prinia. Beneath the bushes the
slightest movement could herald a Bluethroat or, with luck, an
Orange-headed Thrush or Siberian Rubythroat. In the sky above might
be Greater Spotted Eagle, Red-headed Vulture or Crested Serpent
Eagle. Dusk may bring us Collared Scops-Owl, Dusky Horned-Owl or a
nightjar or two.
Note however that
Bharatpur is suffering from an acute water shortage and although the
actual amount of water in the park varies from year to year, and is
largely dependant on the size of the previous summer’s monsoon, the
sanctuary has been very dry for most of the 21st century. Because of
this we now only spend one full day inside the reserve spending our
other full day visiting a bird-thronged, deep water reservoir about
two hour’s drive away. Nights at Bharatpur.
Other locations
outside the park, which we sometimes visit, include Ajun Bund and
Bund Barata where we have seen Brown Crake, Indian Courser, Greater
Stone-curlew, Greater Painted-snipe, Plum-headed Parakeet,
White-capped Bunting, and Ashy-crowned Finch-lark.
For
our history session, we'll take a private tour of Deeg Palace, still
used by the Maharajah of Bharatpur for official functions and with
all its furniture and fittings intact down to working punkahs and
combined Indian and Western style dining room. Nowhere else will we
sense what life was really like in the day of the Raj. Nights in
Bharatpur.
Day 9: An early start will ensure that we have time for a coffee
break and a search for Yellow-wattled Lapwing on the way and still
reach Jaipur in time for plenty of sightseeing. Jaipur, the capital
of Rajasthan, is built of pink sandstone and was founded in 1727 by
the astronomer-king, Sawai Jai Singh II. Our sightseeing will
include the City Palace and Museum, which now contains rare
manuscripts, paintings and an armory; the Observatory, and the
Palace of the Winds. We'll also pause at the Water Palace,
surrounded by Marsh Sandpipers and Black-winged Stilts. However the
highlight will be an elephant-back ride to the top of the Amber
Fort, built in the 17th century and a distinguished example of
Rajput architecture. Night in a former palace in Jaipur.
Day 10: Today we transfer to Jodhpur and another palace hotel,
set in bird-rich grounds overlooking the oldest man-made lake in
Rajasthan. En route we'll keep an eye out for Yellow-wattled
Lapwing, and should see thousands of Ruffs at Umaid Bhawan Palace.
We'll also explore the cenotaphs and avifauna of the nearby Mandor
Gardens. Night in Jodhpur.
Day 11: After breakfast we'll depart for Jaisalmer calling in on
the way at Kheechan to witness one of the most unusual avian sights
in Asia. Several years ago this small village established a feeding
station for wintering Demoiselle Cranes and now, every morning and
afternoon, thousands of these graceful birds crowd in to a
fenced-off area to take the grain put out for them. Kheechan is also
a good area to see Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse. Continuing our
journey westwards we'll keep an eye open for Tawny and Spotted
Eagles, Long-legged Buzzard, and Pallid and Montagu's Harriers,
which can be numerous in this part of India. As the day draws to a
close, we'll get our first and never-to-be-forgotten glimpse of
Jaisalmer rising from the golden sands of the Thar Desert. Night in
Jaisalmer.
Day 12: We'll begin the day by birdwatching around the outskirts
of the town. The Thar Desert straddles the India-Pakistan border and
many desert birds on the eastern edge of their range can be found
here. At the man-made lake just outside the town we could see
Chestnut-bellied and Black-bellied Sandgrouse coming to drink in the
early morning. In the adjacent desert we'll search for Laggar
Falcon, Cream-coloured Courser, Desert Warbler, Isabelline, Variable
and Red-tailed Wheatears, Trumpeter Finch, and House Bunting.
Although not particularly stunning to look at, the little-known
Plain Leaf Warbler winters in this area and can sometimes be found
flitting around the tall acacia trees. In the afternoon we'll
explore the city, wandering its cool narrow streets, admiring its
ancient buildings, and perhaps haggling with some local trader over
the price of a rug or some local silverwork. Night in Jaisalmer.
Day 13: Providing we can obtain permission from the local
authorities, we'll make a full day visit to the Desert National Park
close to the border with Pakistan, leaving very early in order to
arrive at the park for dawn. Established in 1980, the park covers
3,100 square kilometres. Some of the area is a classic desert of
rolling sand dunes, with patchy scrub, trees and flowers, while
other places are covered in sparse stony grassland. Animals to be
seen include Chinkara, Wolf, Desert Fox, Indian Hare, and Desert
Cat. The park is one of the strongholds of the Great Indian Bustard
and a sighting of this magnificent bird would be the highlight of
the day. We'll also look for the smaller Macqueen's Bustard, Spotted
Sandgrouse, Bimaculated, Hoopoe and Short-toed Larks, Black-crowned
Finch-Lark, Desert Wheatear, Isabelline Shrike, and Spanish Sparrow.
Stoliczka's Bushchat, another little-known species, regularly
winters in this area and we'll keep a sharp eye open for this
desirable species. Night in Jaisalmer.
Day 14: This morning we'll drive back to Jodhpur, which stands
on a range of sandstone hills surrounded by a wall nearly ten
kilometres in length with a total of seven gates. Dominating the
city is an eminence surmounted by a massive fortress (1459 AD). The
walls of this rise up from a rocky base that made the fortress well
nigh impregnable. Within the walls can be found royal palaces,
priceless jewels, a striking collection of arms, and a breeding
colony of Indian Long-billed Vultures. Our tour of Jodhpur includes
visits to the fort, palaces, armory, and Jaswant Tara. Night in
Jodhpur.
Day 15: The area around Jodphur is inhabited by the Bishnoi
people. This community has developed a remarkable affinity with
nature which results in the birds and animals being even more
approachable than they are in the rest of India and this is an
excellent place to see the handsome and rare Blackbuck. Some of
these protected areas are ideal for birds and we'll search here for
White-eyed Buzzard, White-bellied Minivet, Tawny and Long-billed
Pipits, and Booted Warbler, among many others. The area has also
produced a few records of White-winged Black Tit, a rare local
endemic which we'll be very lucky to see. We'll also have time to
visit the fascinating bazaar before we take the overnight sleeper
train to Delhi.
Day 16:
Believed to be the Inderprastha described in the epic Mahabharat,
Delhi has been the seat of power for a number of dynasties and the
old city, built by Shah Jahan in the 17th century, stands today as
the epitome of the whole history of Indo-Islamic architecture. New
Delhi, designed and constructed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert
Baker is a mixture of East and West. Our city tour will visit the
Red Fort, the Friday Mosque, Gandhi's memorial, Humayun's Tomb
surrounded by newly-restored Persian gardens, and the Qutb Minar, 72
metres high and one of the most perfect of Persian towers. After
dinner in an airport hotel we'll catch an overnight flight for
homeward journey, arriving there on the morning of.
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