Wild Walk Tours
North East- Eaglenest Tour
Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, nestled in the Dafla Hills of the eastern Himalayas. Eaglenest and adjoining areas (Sessa Orchid and Pakhui Sanctuary) are among the last large tracts of contiguous wilderness in India and part of the East Himalayan Bird Area. An advantage Eaglenest has over other areas in Arunachal Pradesh is a jeep track cutting through the park from the pass at 2900 m down to the floodplains of Assam at 100 m. Our strategy would be to watch birds at different altitudes, therefore, we will camp at least at two sites. We will watch birds in tropical and semi tropical forests, broadleaved temperate forests (1800-2800 m) and coniferous temperate forests (above 2800 m). Birding is on foot along the jeep track but we will frequently use our vehicles to cover distance. Our target birds would be Temminck’s and Blyth’s Tragopan, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Ward’s Trogon, Lesser and White-browed Shortwings, Beautiful Nuthatch, Wedge-billed Wren Babbler, Fire-tailed Myzornis. There is a possibility of finding Bugun Liocichla near Lama Camp, a new species to the science. We will look for woodpeckers (14 species) Barbets (6 species) Tits (8 species) Laughingthrushes (12 species) Barwings (3 species) Minlas (3 species) Fulvettas (7 species) Parrotbills (4 species) and good variety of leaf warblers and yuhinas. The sanctuary also has interesting mammals including Clouded Leopard, Red Panda, Pallas’s Squirrel, Southern Serow, Himalayan Goral. Elephants occasionally also appear in the sanctuary.
Itinerary ​
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DAY 1: GUWAHATI TO EAGLENEST WILDLIFE SANCTUARY VIA BHALUKPONG
Arrive at Guwahati by the early morning flight and after breakfast, we drive to Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh via Bhalukpong check post (restricted area permits of foreigners are checked here). The drive beyond Bhalukpong is relatively unexplored and full of surprises and it is possible to watch birds from the road up to Tenga as this passes through the eastern border of the Eaglenest and Sessa sanctuaries. Birds like Rufous-necked Hornbill, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Spotted Wren Babbler, Lesser Rufous-headed Parrotbill and Fire-tailed Myzornis can turn up on this drive. We should reach in time for lunch at Lama Camp (around this camp there are good possibilities of Bugun Liocichla). Birding around the camp is usually excellent. Other specialties near the camp include Long-tailed Thrush, Bhutan Laughingthrush, Lesser, Oriental and Hodgson’s Hawk Cuckoo, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Red-headed and Grey-headed Bullfinches.
Night stay at Lama Camp.
DAY 2 TO 14: EAGLENEST (600-2900 M)
During our full five days in Eaglenest we will be mostly walking/birding on the jeep track passing through the temperate cloud forest, patches of broadleaved evergreen forest, and dense stands of bamboo in the sanctuary covering a large altitudinal range. The road descends from Eaglenest Pass (highest point on the track circa 2900 m) close to the northern border of the sanctuary (Lama Camp) to the Brahmaputra plains (100 m) in the south and Sunderview, Bompu and Sessni are the camps that lie along the track in descending order of altitude.
The campsites in Lama Camp (2350 m), Bompu (1940 m), and Sessni (1250) offer basic but comfortable tented accommodations. We will use at least two campsites during our stay. During our stay we can encounter birds like Rufous-bellied and Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Rufous-throated and Chestnut-breasted Partridge, Blyth’s and Temminck’s Tragopans, Tawny Wood-Owl, Specked and Ashy Wood Pigeons, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Ward’s Trogon, Chestnut-winged and Indian Cuckoos, Bay and Pale-headed Woodpeckers, Grey-chinned Minivet, Blue-fronted Robin, Golden Bush-Robin, Spotted, Grey-sided, Scaly and Black-faced Laughingthrushes, Red-faced Liocichla, Coral-billed and Slender-billed Scimitar-Babblers, Wedge-billed, Eye-browed, Bar-winged, Long-billed and Spotted Wren Babblers, Golden Babbler, Black-headed Shrike-Babbler, Cutia, Black-eared and Green Shrike-Babblers, Red-tailed and Blue-winged Minlas, Golden-breasted, Brown-throated, Streak-throated and Yellow-throated Fulvettas, Beautiful and Rufous-backed Sibias, Rufous-vented and White-naped Yuhinas, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Red-billed Leiothrix, Greater Rufous-headed Parrotbill, Hoary-throated, Streaked-throated and Rusty fronted Barwings, Chestnut-headed, Slaty-bellied and Yellow-bellied Tesias, Yelow-bellied Bush-Warbler, Broad-billed and Chestnut-crowned Warblers, Vivid and Large Niltavas, Ultramarine, Sapphire, Slaty-blue, Dark-sided and White-gorgeted Flycatchers, Mrs Gould’s and Fire-tailed Sunbirds, Yellow-browed, Rufous-vented , Fire-capped, Rufous-fronted and Sultan Tits, White-tailed and Beautiful Nuthatches, Rusty-flanked and Brown-throated Treecreepers, Yellow-bellied and Fire-breasted Flowerpeckers, Collared and White-winged Grosbeaks, Scarlet and Gold-naped Finches, Grey-headed and Brown Bullfinches and Yellow-billed Blue-Magpie.
Night stay in tented accommodations.
DAY 15: DRIVE TO GUWAHATI
After morning birding around the campsite at Nameri, we will drive for 5 hours to catch our flight to Delhi.
ACCOMMODATION
We will use comfortable tented accommodations at the two campsites at Eaglenest.
TRANSPORT
Domestic flights are available till Guwahati In Assam and in Arunachal Pradesh, we will use cars or jeeps, at Eaglenest we will be walking. To avoid any discomfort, at Eaglenest where all our birding is on foot, vehicles will be kept handy.
CLIMATE
Eaglenest has a cool climate depending on the altitude of the camp. Rain protection is recommended at all locations.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Eaglenest is a great place for bird photography, though the light conditions can vary depending upon the weather.
EXTENSIONS
A four days extension to Dirang (1500-4500 m) can be arranged. Areas around Dirang and Sela Pass (4500 m) are very good for certain specialties. Himalayan Monal, Blood Pheasant, Grandala, Long-billed Plover, Spotted Laughingthrush, and Beautiful Rosefinch are quite regularly encountered in this area.
additionally, extensions can be arranged to Nameri and Kaziranga National park for birdlife as well as larger mammals like the One-horned Rhino, elephant, and tigers.