Luxury Birding Tour of India

(Total Tour - 20 Days)

Day 07

Nainital:

Breakfast will be at the resort.

Enjoy full day birding in and around Nainital. Walk among the area's forests and fields in search of resident and migrant mountain birds. Including Red Flanked Bluetail, Streaked Laughing Thrush, and Golden Bush Robin for some spectacular birding.

Overnight will be in Nainital.

Day 08

Nainital:

Breakfast will be in the resort.

Enjoy birding at the lake and around Nainital. Overnight will be in Nainital.

Day 09

Nainital - Delhi:

By Road : 260 km in 7 hr

Early morning birding will be around the resort.

Proceed for Delhi after breakfast.

This will be a long drive and you will need to relax on reaching Delhi.

Overnight will be in Delhi.

Day 10

Delhi - Agra - Bharatpur:

By Road : 250 km in 6 hr

Taj Mahal & Keoladeo Ghana National Park

Proceed to Agra in the morning after breakfast.

AGRA: Two great Mughal monarchs, Akbar and Shah Jahan, transformed the little village of Agra into a befitting second capital of the Mughal Empire - giving it the name Dar-ul-Khilafat (seat of the Emperor). Today a visitor to Agra is caught up in a world of contrasting edifices, of red sandstone and white marble, narrow galleys and quaint buggies, and that irresistible charm that this favorite city of the Mughals still retains. It is not surprising, that modern Agra still reflects its Mughal heritage most conspicuously. A walk down the narrow bustling streets of the city will introduce the visitor to the wafting aroma of Mughlai cuisine.

Proceed to Agra in the evening.

TAJ MAHAL: Little needs to be said about this architectural wonder, which is always the reason for every tourist's visit to Agra. Built by Shah Jahan, the Taj is a white marble memorial to his beautiful wife Mumtaz Mahal. This monument took 22 years to be completed and was designed, and planned by Persian architect Ustad Isa. Apart from its stunning design balance and perfect symmetry, the Taj is also noted particularly for its elegant domes, intricately carved screens and some of the best inlay work ever seen.

Continue the drive to Bharatpur.

The Keoladeo Ghana National Park is one of the finest water-bird sanctuaries in the world. The Maharaja of Bharatpur artificially created the lake and wetland in the 19th century. By building small dykes and dams and diverting water from an irrigation canal, he converted this low-lying area into a fine wild fowl shooting preserve. In a few years, the new wetland surrounded by marginal forests was able to support thousands of water birds.

Commonly referred to as Bharatpur, the Park is a delight for bird watchers. Over 375 species of birds are found here and raised paths, camouflaged by babul trees and undergrowth make viewing easy. A quiet ride by boat in the early hours of the morning is also unforgettable experience. The cacophony is unbelievable as painted storks, open bills, spoonbills, egrets, cormorants, white ibis and multitudes of others, tend their young. Jacanas with their iridescent colors and elegant tail feathers and purple moorhen can be seen delicately treading over the floating vegetation.

Every year Bharatpur waits with bated breath for the arrival of the Siberian cranes. There are only two wintering places for this rare species one in Iran and the other Bharatpur and these beautiful birds with their distinctive red beaks and facial patches, fly over 6400 km from their summer retreats.

Colorful kingfishers, graceful pelicans rare Siberian cranes and Trans-continental fliers - the migratory water - fowl are amongst the 375 species of birds found in the Keoladeo National Park. The most spectacular nesting is that of the egrets, storks, herons and cormorants, which make over 10,000 nests every year. This makes outstanding bird havens of the world. The park covers an area of 28.73km.

The story of Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is incomplete without an account of the migratory waterfowl. The most prominent waterfowl coming to this park are bareheaded and greylag geese. Ducks also create a lot of fluttering in the lakes. The ducks usually found here are pintail, widgeon, common shelduck, shoveler, teal, etc.

Attracted by the influx of waterfowl the predatory birds-tawny eagles, spotted eagles short-toed eagles imperial eagles and fishing eagle also arrive. They all form the apex of the biological pyramid of the sanctuary and complete the avian food chain of the ecosystem. There are large herds of the nilgai, chital and wild boar in addition to a few herds of sambar.

Reach and check in at the hotel. Stay overnight at Bharatpur.