Birdwatching Holiday Gujarat India

India: the West - Gujarat and the Rann of Kutch

Sunday 30 November to Sunday 14 December 2008

Sunday 28 November to Sunday 12 December 2010

Please note that this tour will alternate with India: the South and the Andaman Islands, and will therefore run in 2008 and again in 2010

Cost: £3680 (2008)

Single room supplement: £290

Maximum group size: 8 with 1 leader.

Bird List

Booking Form

'I thought that I knew India and its birds pretty well but was shocked when I scouted this tour recently - Gujarat’s got birds in profusion, thousands of wetland species such as pelicans, flamingos, and shorebirds and yet more larks. Add to this a generous helping of regional specialities such as Grey Hypocolius and White-naped Tit plus a wealth of other wildlife such as Asiatic Lions and you’re sure of an exciting and rewarding trip..' - Paul Holt

Gujarat, in extreme north-western India, is ornithologically one of the subcontinent’s richest and yet least well-known areas. The home of Blackbuck, Asian Wild Ass and Asiatic Lions, the avifauna of this region is arguably on a par with Bharatpur in its prime.

Huge mixed flocks of flamingos, pelicans, waterfowl, waders as diverse as Crab Plovers and Sociable Lapwings, gulls and terns will vie for our attention alongside desert specialities such as Macqueen’s Bustard, Grey Hypocolius and Asian Desert Warbler while regional specialities like White-bellied Minivet and White-naped Tit will add extra spice to our birding.

Gujarat, even by Indian standards, has a particularly ancient and tumultuous history. It has suffered numerous foreign incursions, hosted frequent battles and been ruled by innumerable cultures from Muslims to Moghals. The State was also an early point of contact with the west and the first British commercial outpost in India was in Gujarat. It boasts some massively varied environments - a 1600 kilometre coastline which is inundated every year, first by tremendous monsoon tidal surges and later by the monsoon rains themselves and yet inland the State is prone to frequent droughts which give rise to some superb desert areas whilst elsewhere superb extensive grasslands can be found.

This will be our first tour to Gujarat and its not for the faint hearted. For one thing this is a dry state in more ways than one - alcohol is banned. In order to cover the region adequately, some of the accommodation we use is of a poor quality and some of the roads are not good either, resulting in a few long journeys to cover relatively short distances. But for those with a sense of adventure Gujarat offers a true wildlife experience and one that perfectly complements our other tours to the Indian subcontinent.

Day 1: The tour begins with a flight from London to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) India’s vibrant economic hub. Arriving late in the evening we’ll be met by our ground agents and transfer to a nearby hotel for the rest of the night.

Day 2: From the domestic airport we take an early, one hour flight north to Bhavnagar, a bustling textile and cotton trading city in south-eastern Gujarat. Arriving mid-morning we’ll head straight to our hotel and for breakfast before driving out of the city. Our destination, a little over one-and-a-half hours north of Bhavnagar, is the beautiful savannah grassland reserve at Velavadar. Better known as Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, at just 34 km square, is a small sanctuary yet it’s a worthy introduction to Gujarat’s abundant wildlife. The sanctuary holds about 3500 Blackbuck with the males being particularly gorgeous in their black-and-tan dress and conspicuous white goggles. Velavadar is one of the last remaining refuges of the severely threatened Indian Wolf and also one of the best places in the subcontinent to see Striped Hyena. The National Park also boasts the world’s largest harrier roost where a massive 3000 birds have been estimated! Montagu’s Harriers dominate but impressive numbers of both ghostly Pallids and Western Marsh Harriers also occur and we’re sure to see an abundance of all three. Among the many other birds we’re likely to encounter at Velavadar are Ashy-crowned, Rufous-tailed and Bimaculated Larks, Isabelline Shrike and Sykes’s and Paddyfield Warblers. We’ll return to Bhavnagar and our hotel, an old Maharaja’s Palace, for the night.

Day 3: After an early breakfast we’ll return to Velavadar for another game drive and the chance to pick up any species we missed the previous afternoon. Following that we’ll drive on, heading northwest but pausing at several bird-thronged pools and low-lying wetlands as we travel. Birds here should include our first Great White and Dalmatian Pelicans, Greater Flamingos, a wealth of waterfowl and waders and possibly even Sarus Crane. Greater Spotted Eagles are a fairly common winter visitor to this part of Saurashtra (the central portion of Gujarat) and we should encounter a few of these. Our final destination will be Rann Riders, a comfortable lodge at Dasada, right on the edge of the Little Rann of Kutch.

Days 4-5: Spending two full days here we’ll have plenty of time to explore the Little Rann. At first glance an unforgiving, stark, barren and often blindingly white area famed for its desert mirages, the Little Rann, has actually much to offer the keen naturalist willing to pause and enjoy its serenity. Home to India’s last remaining Asiatic Wild Ass, a majestic creature we’re virtually guaranteed to see, the Little Rann also harbours an abundance of bird life. Tidal surges in advance of the summer monsoon flood the Rann with huge amounts of salt water that the ensuing rains do little to dilute. For the entire summer the area is a huge, impenetrable mud bath and swamp but, as the rains cease, the area rapidly dries out and the mud bakes, leaving vast expanses of pancake-flat, iron-hard earth punctuated by brackish lagoons that hold impressive numbers of birds – both Greater and Lesser Flamingos are common and conspicuous as are the flotillas of pelicans and millions of wintering waterfowl.

The salt makes the land xerophitic and largely barren but there are scattered ‘islands’ of coarse grass and alongside the regions more typical desert species birds we’ll be looking for Macqueen’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Hoopoe Lark and Asian Desert Warbler. A few critically endangered Sociable Plovers winter in the fields around the edge of the Little Rann and these can often be found in the company of the gorgeous Indian Courser. Large numbers of Common Cranes and even more larks frequent these same areas. We’ll use open-topped jeeps to explore the Little Rann and will spend the nights back at the Rann Riders near Dasada.

Day 6: Leaving the Little Rann we’ll head west, pausing to look for Laggar Falcon as we leave the Kathiawar Peninsula and drive to Bhuj, capital of Kutch and an area that, during the summer monsoon, is a seasonal island! Devastated by a powerful earthquake in 2001 Bhuj is in the process of being gradually rebuilt but still retains much of its Wild West atmosphere. Night near Moti Virani south of Bhuj.

Days 7-8: With two full days in the area south of Bhuj, our time will be spent in a quest to see the region’s specialities. Chief among these is the enigmatic Grey Hypocolius. A difficult species elsewhere in the world, Hypocolius are particularly partial to berries of the ‘Toothbrush Tree’ and small numbers winter south of Bhuj and we should be able to find a number of these attractive birds. The globally vulnerable White-naped Tit is also here and this very attractive Indian endemic will be high on our wish list. One day we plan to travel south to another grassland reserve where small numbers of the little-known White-browed (or Stoliczka's) Bushchat winters. The reserve also holds Spotted Sandgrouse and a few rare Indian Bustards, although we’ll need a deal of luck to see the latter. Eastern Imperial and impressive numbers of Steppe Eagles spend the winter in this area and with luck, we should be able to find a Sykes’s Nightjar roosting on one of the roads near our guest house. Nights near Moti Virani.

Day 9: After a final morning south of Bhuj we’ll retrace our route north and then east, re-crossing the mighty Gulf of Kutch as we head to Jamnagar, another of Gujarat’s major cities that is rarely visited by tourists but which is overflowing with old buildings and colourful bazaars. Time permitting we’ll stop at the impressive Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary less than an hour’s drive from the city. This wetland reserve is unique in that about half of water is fresh while the other half is saline and consequently it harbours a staggering variety of wildlife. Huge numbers of flamingos and cranes (often including impressive numbers of Demoiselle) winter here, as do large numbers of pelicans and shorebirds. Indian Nightjars breed and we should be able to find a few, while other species we’ll look for include Baillon’s Crake, Small Pratincole, Black-necked Stork and Indian Reed-warbler. Night in Jamnagar.

Day 10: Spending a full day around Jamnagar we’ll have ample time to explore other areas near the city including the Marine National Park at Narara. If we can time the visit to coincide with a high tide we should be treated to a real feast of waders, gulls and terns. Our principle quarry will be the striking Crab Plover and with large numbers present we are assured of some great views. Lots of other waders also occur – both Lesser and Greater Sand Plovers, Terek and, with luck, Broad-billed Sandpipers should be mingling with Great Black-headed and Heuglin’s Gulls as well as Lesser Crested Terns and Western Reef-herons. Time permitting we’ll possibly make a second visit to Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary. Night in Jamnagar.

Day 11: Leaving Jamnagar we’ll drive to famous Gir Lion Sanctuary and National Park arriving in time for lunch. In the afternoon we’ll have a game drive inside the reserve using open-topped jeeps. This reserve covers some 1400 square kilometres of rugged hill country and is a wonderful and unspoilt place to visit. Night in a comfortable luxury camp just outside the sanctuary.

Day 12: We’ll have a full day, with a game safari in the morning and another in the afternoon, during which we’ll explore the rich forests of this attractive reserve. Once widespread and ranging from Gir right across Northern India to Bihar (almost as far east as Calcutta) Asiatic Lions are less sociable than their African counterparts and differ in appearance by having shorter manes and a prominent fold of skin on the underside. Today Gir is their last refuge as Lion numbers were decimated by chronic over-hunting which reduced their numbers to a mere 12 animals. Thanks to a farsighted Maharaja who established the sanctuary, lion numbers are now actually increasing and many authorities now believe that the reserve, at 1400 square kilometres is too small for the 311 lions it reputedly supports and with a total of four game drives we stand a good chance of encountering this magnificent predator. Large populations of Spotted Deer, Sambar and Nilgai form the prey base while other mammals in the park include the even more elusive Leopard. We’re sure to see an array of new species, perhaps including Indian Black Ibis, Crested Hawk-eagle, Rock Bush-quail, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon and possible even White-bellied Minivet. Night just outside Gir Sanctuary.

Day 13: We’ll leave Gir after a further game drive and lunch and drive south back to the coast. We should arrive at the tiny island of Diu in time for some more birding or to explore one of its many attractive beaches, white-washed churches or imposing fort. Most famous as an ex-Portuguese colony Diu actually reached prominence as a 14th century naval base from where the Ottoman’s controlled shipping routes in the northern Arabian sea. Night in Diu.

Day 14: After a final morning in Diu we’ll fly back to Mumbai where, after dinner, we’ll catch an overnight flight back to London where the tour concludes on the morning of Day 15.