North India Birding Grand Tour
What you'll see
The journey, one day at a time
Into Sattal & Pangot
Drive up from Kathgodam into the Kumaon foothills for a first afternoon's birding. Birding the oak and pine forest and the water hides, with forktails, laughingthrushes and a long foothill list.
Foothill birding
Birding the oak and pine forest and the water hides, with forktails, laughingthrushes and a long foothill list. Working the hides and ridges for Himalayan foothill birds, comfortable and rich.
Foothill birding
Working the hides and ridges for Himalayan foothill birds, comfortable and rich. Sattal and Pangot pair genuine birding quality with easy comfort, which is rare in the Himalaya. They work for serious birders and for first-timers alike, and their proximity to Nainital and Corbett makes them simple to combine into a wider Uttarakhand trip.
On to Chopta
Transfer to Chopta and settle in, with an afternoon outing to get your bearings.
High meadows & monal
Birding the high meadows and rhododendron for the Himalayan monal and other pheasants, with the Tungnath trek on offer. Early starts for the monal, plus the climb toward Tungnath and the peak views.
High meadows & monal
Early starts for the monal, plus the climb toward Tungnath and the peak views. Chopta brings you into genuine alpine country — meadows, snow peaks, high-altitude wildlife — without a major expedition, by road and a short trek. It is one of the more accessible windows onto the high Himalaya's birds and scenery, with pilgrimage and views folded in.
On to Rajaji
Transfer to Rajaji and settle in, with an afternoon outing to get your bearings.
Shivalik elephants
Drives through sal forest and riverbeds for wild elephants, leopard and rich foothill birds, with king cobra country around.
On to Corbett
Transfer to Corbett and settle in, with an afternoon outing to get your bearings.
Tigers and elephants
Morning and afternoon safaris in the Ramganga grasslands and sal forest, with tigers and big elephant herds.
Tigers and elephants
Drives in the core zones, working the river and grassland where the game gathers.
Departure
A final morning in onward — a last outing or a slow start as time allows — before the transfer onward and the journey home.
The season changes what you see.
Winter
Wintering species and comfortable conditions — the prime birding months.
Spring
Breeding birds in song as the season warms.
Where this journey goes
Hand-picked camps & lodges
Magpie Eco Retreat
A standout retreat at Chopta, a high-meadow base for the monal and the Tungnath trek.
Aahana Resort
A standout safari resort at Jim Corbett, a base for the Ramganga and the core zones.
Aalia Resort
A standout safari resort at Rajaji, within reach of the Shivalik forest and the elephants.
Soulitude
A standout lodge at Sattal & Pangot, a foothill base for the hides and the birding.
Blue Poppy Resort
A polished safari resort, a high-meadow base for the monal and the Tungnath trek.
The Riverview Retreat
A polished retreat, a base for the Ramganga and the core zones.
Make it yours.
Add nights, swap a park, extend to the coast — this route is a starting point, not a fixed menu. Tell us how you travel and we'll route the rest.