Birding and Wildlife Trip to India - February 2027
A short video from a previous trip.
We saw some amazing birds and had many fun moments...
Dates: Trip 1 - Jan 28th - Feb 6th - 6 spots left
Trip 2 - February 18th - February 27th 2027 - 1 spot left
Small Groups - Max 9
Travel FAQ for this trip
Packing List
We invite you to experience the bird life in the Western Ghats of India – from the amazing hornbills and sleek drongos to colorful barbets and kingfishers. Wild elephants, giant squirrels, gaur (Indian bison) and maybe even tiger! We visit national parks, tiger preserves and local villages. Our accommodations will be in rustic cottages with en suite bathrooms and hot water. You will be escorted by Sachin Aggarwal, founder of Mowgli Expeditions, an Austin resident and TAS member, originally from India. Sachin will be assisted by local naturalist birding guides. Our birding and wildlife tour is an amazing opportunity at an affordable cost.
Cost per person: $4,200 per person in double/twin occupancy
Single supplement: $950
A $750 deposit is due to confirm
All payments are refundable till 120 days prior to departure minus a $750 cancelation fee
The purchase of personal travel insurance is required, including medical evacuation. To confirm your spot, please contact Mowgli Expeditions at sachin(@/at)mowgliexpeditions.com
Included: All lodging, meals as listed, tips for meals, group airport transfers, all internal transportation including 2 train rides, park fees, all taxes.
Not Included: International flights, 2 internal flights (approx. $200 total), visa, beverages, laundry, tips, travel insurance, and items of a personal nature.
Guiding: Sachin Aggarwal, a Travis Audubon’s member and Austin resident who grew up in India will escort the trip. Guiding will be provided by local birding guides and naturalists. Vaccinations Required: Standard childhood shots, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid
5-day extension to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Agra and the Rajasthan recommended and available.
Itinerary Summary
Day 1 — Thu Jan 28, Arrive Mumbai (L,D)
Day 2 — Fri Jan 29, Dandeli National Park (B,L,D)
Day 3 — Sat Jan 30, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 4 — Sun Jan 31, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 5 — Mon Feb 01, Northern Western Ghats (B,L,D)
Day 6 — Tue Feb 02, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 7 — Wed Feb 03, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 8 — Thu Feb 04, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 9 — Fri Feb 05, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 10 — Sat Feb 06, Departure (B)
B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner
Day 1 — Thu Feb 18, Arrive Mumbai (L,D)
Day 2 — Fri Feb 19, Dandeli National Park (B,L,D)
Day 3 — Sat Feb 20, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 4 — Sun Feb 21, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 5 — Mon Feb 22, Northern Western Ghats (B,L,D)
Day 6 — Tue Feb 23, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 7 — Wed Feb 24, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 8 — Thu Feb 25, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 9 — Fri Feb 26, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 10 — Sat Feb 27, Departure (B)
B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner
Flights: To make travel easier, we recommend a half day rest in London Heathrow Thistle hotel.
Fly from Austin to Mumbai via London
Suggested flight: British Air 190, departs Austin 6:55 pm
Day room in London, fly to Mumbai
Arrive London Heathrow 10:05 am. Go to your day room at Thistle Hotel close by to London Heathrow airport, reached by new self driving pods from the terminal T5 (hotel room not included in tour price) for a rest before the evening flight.
*This trip is also open to folks from other cities of course.
Expedition itinerary:
Day 1 Thursday - Arrival at Mumbai
After clearing customs, and picking up our luggage, we shall travel by an AC mini bus from the airport to our hotel. After some rest, we shall head out for sight seeing and dinner. Our first visit shall be the Victoria Terminus - one of the few operational UNESCO World Heritage sites. We shall then head to Gateway of India that was built to represent the grandeur of the British Raj in India. The Gateway was built in 1924 to welcome King George V and Queen Mary to India and years later, the last of the British troops left India through this gateway. With a possible visit to the hanging gardens, we shall head to an amazing local restaurant that serves local delicacies "Thali" style. Night stay at Mumbai. Hotel Trident or similar. Day 2 -Friday- To Ganeshgudi,Dandeli
This afternoon we’ll fly from Mumbai to Dandeli, but first we will visit Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a green island amidst the bustling metropolis of Mumbai. SGNP has over 1,300 species of plants and 274 of birds, including many species of sunbirds (old world equivalent of the hummingbirds), various kingfishers, woodpeckers and drongos, parakeets, and more.
We head to the airport around 11 a.m, will have lunch there and take a short flight to Goa Airport en route to Dandeli. (flight not included in tour price)
On arrival, we’ll be picked up in a mini bus for the 2 hour drive to our lodge, The old Magazine House for the next four nights. The cottages have en-suite bathrooms with hot water.
Old Magazine house at Ganeshgudi, one of the prime spots for bird watching in the Western Ghats. The Old Magazine House, was originally a British building that was used to store ammunition. It has now been set up as a lodge with bird blinds, feeders, and bird baths.
As Malabar Giant Squirrels scurry about for food on the ground, we’ll look for Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), Indian Black-lored Tit (Machlolophus xanthogenys), Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea) , Yellow-browed Bulbul (Acritillas indica), Indian Paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), White-rumped Munia (Lonchura striata), Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra), Malabar Trogon (Harpactes fasciatus), White-bellied Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis pallipes), Tickell’s Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae), and the stunning Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella). Did we mention butterflies? They are abundant.
Day 3 - Saturday - Birding at Timber depot
We shall begin our days with an early cup of coffee/tea around 6:00 am, a morning of birding more or less 6:30 – 9:30 am, return for breakfast, and rest. Lunch mid-day and an afternoon adventure from around 3:30 – 6:30 pm. Evenings include a bon fire, dinner, and either a movie or talk by your local guide.
This morning, after our early cup of coffee/tea, we head to the ‘Timber Depot’, a teak plantation and timber auction site filled with birds. It is located about 45 minutes from our lodging and we will spend a few hours birding.
Here, a variety of fig trees offer fruits that attract a greater number of birds. We hope to see Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus), and Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) – along what is commonly called the ‘Hornbill Trail’. Additionally, we hope to see the gorgeous Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes socialis), Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), India Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo), Malabar (or Blue-winged) Parakeet (Psittacula columboides) and a diurnal owl called Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum).
What a wonderful way to begin birding in this beautiful foreign land!
Day 4 - Sunday - Anshi National Park
To ease the pace of the trip, today we shall get up at leisure at 8:00 and have breakfast. The morning will be spent birding at the lodge.
Around 11:00 am we will do an ‘only in India’ type adventure – a coracle boat ride looking for wading birds on the Kali River. A coracle is a small round boat used mostly for crossing the rivers, but they are perfect for birding, giving you the opportunity to see several crocodiles sunning on the riverbank as well Crested (or Changeable) Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus), Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela), White-throated (or White-breasted) Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis), Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis) and hornbills overhead.
After lunch, we head to Anshi National Park. It is an evergreen tropical forest covering an area of about 200 square kilometres. Once mined for manganese, much the wildlife moved away from the forest. Chances of seeing big mammals like elephants are limited, but we hope to see mammals like spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, common langur, sloth bear, bonnet macaque, slender loris, mongoose, jungle cat, jackal, pangolin, Malabar giant squirrel and the porcupine.
About 200 species of birds are listed for the preserve and we may see some hornbills, Ashy Swallow-shirke (Artamus fuscus), Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), Ceylon or Sri Lanka Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela), Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes) and Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus).
Return to the lodge around 6:30 pm for dinner and a good night’s rest.
Night Stay at Old Magazine House
Day 5 - Monday - Northern western Ghats
This morning we shall bird on a trail at the lodge, looking for birds we may have missed. After breakfast we shall head to a unique lodge in Northern Western Ghats. We shall arrive for a late lunch and get some rest after that.
In the evening we shall go birding at a sanctuary near the lodge, looking for more Western Ghats birds that are more common in this area of the Northern Western Ghats. Key species include Malabar trogon (Harpactes fasciatus), Sri Lanka frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), Malabar parakeet (Psittacula columboides), Nilgiri flowerpecker (Dicaeum concolor), Blue-eared kingfisher (Alcedo meninting), Oriental dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca), and many others.
In the night you shall have the option to go night birding, looking for owls and also some other rare mammals that call this place home. We shall look for Scops owl (Otus scops), Eagle owl (Bubo bubo), Jungle nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus), and Jerdon's nightjar (Caprimulgus atripennis).
Night stay at Nature Nest or similar.
Day 6 - Tuesday - Northern western Ghats to Bangalore
This morning we shall bird on a different birding hotspot near the lodge. We shall look for Forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus), Western crowned warbler (Phylloscopus occipitalis), Paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), and Fairy bluebird (Irena puella). After breakfast at the lodge, we shall head to the Goa airport to catch a flight to Bangalore. The ride from the lodge to the airport is about 2 hours and the flight to Bangalore is also a short one hour and forty-five minutes.
This evening we will take you to a crafts bazaar in Bangalore (time-permitting) where you might find something to take home as a reminder of your trip, especially if you are not going on the North India extension.. Then we’ll have a dinner of typical Indian cuisine. Overnight in Bangalore. Stay at Chancary Pavilion or similar.
Day 7 – Wednesday - Bangalore to Kabini by train
Early morning before breakfast this morning, we’ll visit Lalbagh Botanical Gardens for an hour. Lalbagh has a famous glass house and boasts India’s largest collection of tropical plants. While Lalbagh is known for plants, there are many birds here as well, like Indian Myna (Acridotheres tristis), Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), or Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii), Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus), Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).
On our return, we’ll pack up our things onto the bus and head to the train station. The bus continues, but we’ll travel from Bangalore to Mysore by a comfortable train, with only our day packs. It’s about two hours and gives you another perspective of the country. On arrival we’ll have lunch after we meet up again with the bus and head to Kabini, about 2.5 to 3 hours. Depending on arrival time, we may go straight for a boat Safari on the Kabini river, giving us an opportunity to look for water birds and hopefully seeing elephants on the riverbank.
Kabini River Lodge was the former hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Mysore and is a sprawling colonial estate in the heart of elephant country. We’ll stay two nights at Kabini River Lodge in cottages with en suite bathrooms with hot water.
Day 8 – Thursday - Nagarhole National Park
After our early coffee/tea, we’ll take a jeep safari in Nagarhole National Park.
This national park has some of the best wildlife of india and we shall shift our focus from birding to mammal species - Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), Indian bison or gaur Bos gaurus), Spotted deer or chital (Axis axis), Indian muntjac or Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak).
Just before or right after lunch , we will walk the trails of the lodge for more birding.
We shall go for our second jeep safari in the afternoon looking for Indian wild dog or dhole (Cuon alpinus), Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus), Gray langur or Hanuman Langur (Semnopitheaus entellus), Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi), and Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca).
There is also a chance to spot the Bengal tiger here!
Day 9 – Friday - Return to Bangalore via Mysore.
Our final morning will be spent with our last safari into the national park hoping for an encounter with the elephants or the predators. We’ll return to Bangalore by our private air-conditioned mini-bus, stopping at the amazing Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary comprises of six islets on the banks of the Kaveri river. Roughly 170 bird species have been recorded here. Of these, the Painted stork, Asian openbill stork, Common spoonbill, Woolly-necked stork, Black-headed ibis, Lesser whistling duck, Indian shag, Stork-billed kingfisher, egret, cormorant, Oriental darter, Spot-billed pelican and heron breed here regularly. The Great stone plover, and River tern also nest here.
We should arrive Bangalore around 6:00 pm. It’s your final evening in India and we will try and make it memorable.
Day 10 Saturday - Departure
You can catch your flight back home or fly to Udaipur, Rajasthan for the Northern India extension to see the Taj Mahal, see the old palaces of Rajasthan, visit a village where leopards roam free and bird in Bharatpur bird sanctuary now part of Keoladeo NP.
NOTE: The order and sites visited and other parts of the itinerary may vary due to weather, road conditions, and other factors.
Come join us for this memorable trip!
For enquiries or to confirm your spot, please contact Mowgli Expeditions at sachin(@/at)mowgliexpeditions.com
A short video from a previous trip.
We saw some amazing birds and had many fun moments...
Dates: Trip 1 - Jan 28th - Feb 6th - 6 spots left
Trip 2 - February 18th - February 27th 2027 - 1 spot left
Small Groups - Max 9
Travel FAQ for this trip
Packing List
We invite you to experience the bird life in the Western Ghats of India – from the amazing hornbills and sleek drongos to colorful barbets and kingfishers. Wild elephants, giant squirrels, gaur (Indian bison) and maybe even tiger! We visit national parks, tiger preserves and local villages. Our accommodations will be in rustic cottages with en suite bathrooms and hot water. You will be escorted by Sachin Aggarwal, founder of Mowgli Expeditions, an Austin resident and TAS member, originally from India. Sachin will be assisted by local naturalist birding guides. Our birding and wildlife tour is an amazing opportunity at an affordable cost.
Cost per person: $4,200 per person in double/twin occupancy
Single supplement: $950
A $750 deposit is due to confirm
All payments are refundable till 120 days prior to departure minus a $750 cancelation fee
The purchase of personal travel insurance is required, including medical evacuation. To confirm your spot, please contact Mowgli Expeditions at sachin(@/at)mowgliexpeditions.com
Included: All lodging, meals as listed, tips for meals, group airport transfers, all internal transportation including 2 train rides, park fees, all taxes.
Not Included: International flights, 2 internal flights (approx. $200 total), visa, beverages, laundry, tips, travel insurance, and items of a personal nature.
Guiding: Sachin Aggarwal, a Travis Audubon’s member and Austin resident who grew up in India will escort the trip. Guiding will be provided by local birding guides and naturalists. Vaccinations Required: Standard childhood shots, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid
5-day extension to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Agra and the Rajasthan recommended and available.
Itinerary Summary
Day 1 — Thu Jan 28, Arrive Mumbai (L,D)
Day 2 — Fri Jan 29, Dandeli National Park (B,L,D)
Day 3 — Sat Jan 30, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 4 — Sun Jan 31, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 5 — Mon Feb 01, Northern Western Ghats (B,L,D)
Day 6 — Tue Feb 02, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 7 — Wed Feb 03, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 8 — Thu Feb 04, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 9 — Fri Feb 05, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 10 — Sat Feb 06, Departure (B)
B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner
Day 1 — Thu Feb 18, Arrive Mumbai (L,D)
Day 2 — Fri Feb 19, Dandeli National Park (B,L,D)
Day 3 — Sat Feb 20, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 4 — Sun Feb 21, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 5 — Mon Feb 22, Northern Western Ghats (B,L,D)
Day 6 — Tue Feb 23, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 7 — Wed Feb 24, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 8 — Thu Feb 25, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 9 — Fri Feb 26, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 10 — Sat Feb 27, Departure (B)
B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner
Flights: To make travel easier, we recommend a half day rest in London Heathrow Thistle hotel.
Fly from Austin to Mumbai via London
Suggested flight: British Air 190, departs Austin 6:55 pm
Day room in London, fly to Mumbai
Arrive London Heathrow 10:05 am. Go to your day room at Thistle Hotel close by to London Heathrow airport, reached by new self driving pods from the terminal T5 (hotel room not included in tour price) for a rest before the evening flight.
*This trip is also open to folks from other cities of course.
Expedition itinerary:
Day 1 Thursday - Arrival at Mumbai
After clearing customs, and picking up our luggage, we shall travel by an AC mini bus from the airport to our hotel. After some rest, we shall head out for sight seeing and dinner. Our first visit shall be the Victoria Terminus - one of the few operational UNESCO World Heritage sites. We shall then head to Gateway of India that was built to represent the grandeur of the British Raj in India. The Gateway was built in 1924 to welcome King George V and Queen Mary to India and years later, the last of the British troops left India through this gateway. With a possible visit to the hanging gardens, we shall head to an amazing local restaurant that serves local delicacies "Thali" style. Night stay at Mumbai. Hotel Trident or similar. Day 2 -Friday- To Ganeshgudi,Dandeli
This afternoon we’ll fly from Mumbai to Dandeli, but first we will visit Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a green island amidst the bustling metropolis of Mumbai. SGNP has over 1,300 species of plants and 274 of birds, including many species of sunbirds (old world equivalent of the hummingbirds), various kingfishers, woodpeckers and drongos, parakeets, and more.
We head to the airport around 11 a.m, will have lunch there and take a short flight to Goa Airport en route to Dandeli. (flight not included in tour price)
On arrival, we’ll be picked up in a mini bus for the 2 hour drive to our lodge, The old Magazine House for the next four nights. The cottages have en-suite bathrooms with hot water.
Old Magazine house at Ganeshgudi, one of the prime spots for bird watching in the Western Ghats. The Old Magazine House, was originally a British building that was used to store ammunition. It has now been set up as a lodge with bird blinds, feeders, and bird baths.
As Malabar Giant Squirrels scurry about for food on the ground, we’ll look for Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), Indian Black-lored Tit (Machlolophus xanthogenys), Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea) , Yellow-browed Bulbul (Acritillas indica), Indian Paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), White-rumped Munia (Lonchura striata), Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra), Malabar Trogon (Harpactes fasciatus), White-bellied Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis pallipes), Tickell’s Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae), and the stunning Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella). Did we mention butterflies? They are abundant.
Day 3 - Saturday - Birding at Timber depot
We shall begin our days with an early cup of coffee/tea around 6:00 am, a morning of birding more or less 6:30 – 9:30 am, return for breakfast, and rest. Lunch mid-day and an afternoon adventure from around 3:30 – 6:30 pm. Evenings include a bon fire, dinner, and either a movie or talk by your local guide.
This morning, after our early cup of coffee/tea, we head to the ‘Timber Depot’, a teak plantation and timber auction site filled with birds. It is located about 45 minutes from our lodging and we will spend a few hours birding.
Here, a variety of fig trees offer fruits that attract a greater number of birds. We hope to see Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus), and Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) – along what is commonly called the ‘Hornbill Trail’. Additionally, we hope to see the gorgeous Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes socialis), Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), India Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo), Malabar (or Blue-winged) Parakeet (Psittacula columboides) and a diurnal owl called Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum).
What a wonderful way to begin birding in this beautiful foreign land!
Day 4 - Sunday - Anshi National Park
To ease the pace of the trip, today we shall get up at leisure at 8:00 and have breakfast. The morning will be spent birding at the lodge.
Around 11:00 am we will do an ‘only in India’ type adventure – a coracle boat ride looking for wading birds on the Kali River. A coracle is a small round boat used mostly for crossing the rivers, but they are perfect for birding, giving you the opportunity to see several crocodiles sunning on the riverbank as well Crested (or Changeable) Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus), Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela), White-throated (or White-breasted) Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis), Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis) and hornbills overhead.
After lunch, we head to Anshi National Park. It is an evergreen tropical forest covering an area of about 200 square kilometres. Once mined for manganese, much the wildlife moved away from the forest. Chances of seeing big mammals like elephants are limited, but we hope to see mammals like spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, common langur, sloth bear, bonnet macaque, slender loris, mongoose, jungle cat, jackal, pangolin, Malabar giant squirrel and the porcupine.
About 200 species of birds are listed for the preserve and we may see some hornbills, Ashy Swallow-shirke (Artamus fuscus), Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), Ceylon or Sri Lanka Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela), Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes) and Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus).
Return to the lodge around 6:30 pm for dinner and a good night’s rest.
Night Stay at Old Magazine House
Day 5 - Monday - Northern western Ghats
This morning we shall bird on a trail at the lodge, looking for birds we may have missed. After breakfast we shall head to a unique lodge in Northern Western Ghats. We shall arrive for a late lunch and get some rest after that.
In the evening we shall go birding at a sanctuary near the lodge, looking for more Western Ghats birds that are more common in this area of the Northern Western Ghats. Key species include Malabar trogon (Harpactes fasciatus), Sri Lanka frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), Malabar parakeet (Psittacula columboides), Nilgiri flowerpecker (Dicaeum concolor), Blue-eared kingfisher (Alcedo meninting), Oriental dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca), and many others.
In the night you shall have the option to go night birding, looking for owls and also some other rare mammals that call this place home. We shall look for Scops owl (Otus scops), Eagle owl (Bubo bubo), Jungle nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus), and Jerdon's nightjar (Caprimulgus atripennis).
Night stay at Nature Nest or similar.
Day 6 - Tuesday - Northern western Ghats to Bangalore
This morning we shall bird on a different birding hotspot near the lodge. We shall look for Forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus), Western crowned warbler (Phylloscopus occipitalis), Paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), and Fairy bluebird (Irena puella). After breakfast at the lodge, we shall head to the Goa airport to catch a flight to Bangalore. The ride from the lodge to the airport is about 2 hours and the flight to Bangalore is also a short one hour and forty-five minutes.
This evening we will take you to a crafts bazaar in Bangalore (time-permitting) where you might find something to take home as a reminder of your trip, especially if you are not going on the North India extension.. Then we’ll have a dinner of typical Indian cuisine. Overnight in Bangalore. Stay at Chancary Pavilion or similar.
Day 7 – Wednesday - Bangalore to Kabini by train
Early morning before breakfast this morning, we’ll visit Lalbagh Botanical Gardens for an hour. Lalbagh has a famous glass house and boasts India’s largest collection of tropical plants. While Lalbagh is known for plants, there are many birds here as well, like Indian Myna (Acridotheres tristis), Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), or Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii), Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus), Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).
On our return, we’ll pack up our things onto the bus and head to the train station. The bus continues, but we’ll travel from Bangalore to Mysore by a comfortable train, with only our day packs. It’s about two hours and gives you another perspective of the country. On arrival we’ll have lunch after we meet up again with the bus and head to Kabini, about 2.5 to 3 hours. Depending on arrival time, we may go straight for a boat Safari on the Kabini river, giving us an opportunity to look for water birds and hopefully seeing elephants on the riverbank.
Kabini River Lodge was the former hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Mysore and is a sprawling colonial estate in the heart of elephant country. We’ll stay two nights at Kabini River Lodge in cottages with en suite bathrooms with hot water.
Day 8 – Thursday - Nagarhole National Park
After our early coffee/tea, we’ll take a jeep safari in Nagarhole National Park.
This national park has some of the best wildlife of india and we shall shift our focus from birding to mammal species - Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), Indian bison or gaur Bos gaurus), Spotted deer or chital (Axis axis), Indian muntjac or Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak).
Just before or right after lunch , we will walk the trails of the lodge for more birding.
We shall go for our second jeep safari in the afternoon looking for Indian wild dog or dhole (Cuon alpinus), Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus), Gray langur or Hanuman Langur (Semnopitheaus entellus), Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi), and Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca).
There is also a chance to spot the Bengal tiger here!
Day 9 – Friday - Return to Bangalore via Mysore.
Our final morning will be spent with our last safari into the national park hoping for an encounter with the elephants or the predators. We’ll return to Bangalore by our private air-conditioned mini-bus, stopping at the amazing Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary comprises of six islets on the banks of the Kaveri river. Roughly 170 bird species have been recorded here. Of these, the Painted stork, Asian openbill stork, Common spoonbill, Woolly-necked stork, Black-headed ibis, Lesser whistling duck, Indian shag, Stork-billed kingfisher, egret, cormorant, Oriental darter, Spot-billed pelican and heron breed here regularly. The Great stone plover, and River tern also nest here.
We should arrive Bangalore around 6:00 pm. It’s your final evening in India and we will try and make it memorable.
Day 10 Saturday - Departure
You can catch your flight back home or fly to Udaipur, Rajasthan for the Northern India extension to see the Taj Mahal, see the old palaces of Rajasthan, visit a village where leopards roam free and bird in Bharatpur bird sanctuary now part of Keoladeo NP.
NOTE: The order and sites visited and other parts of the itinerary may vary due to weather, road conditions, and other factors.
Come join us for this memorable trip!
For enquiries or to confirm your spot, please contact Mowgli Expeditions at sachin(@/at)mowgliexpeditions.com