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ASSAM & THE NORTHEAST FRONTIER

Birdquest's Assam & The Northeast Frontier birding tour explores both Assam and the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh, in far northeast India. Our Assam & The Northeast Frontier tour covers an extraordinary range of habitats, from the elephant grass of the Assam plains to a high Himalayan Pass at Mayodia, and everything in between. In doing so we will be looking for everything from White-bellied Heron, Chestnut-backed Laughingthrush and Black-breasted Parrotbill to the gorgeous Sclater's Monal, Bar-winged Wren-Babbler and the strange Cachar Wedge-billed Babbler.

Thursday 13th March - Friday 28th March 2014
(16 days)

Kaziranga & Shillong Extension to Thursday 3rd April (6 days)

Leader: Hannu Jännes

Group Size Limit: 9

Tour Category: Easy at times, but mostly Moderate (and one optional fairly Demanding hike)

One third of the whole world population of the endangered Greater Adjutant can been seen at one rubbish dump outside Guwahati! (Hannu Jännes)

Most of us have a fantasy birding destination. Somewhere remote and largely off-limits to foreign travellers, where the beautiful surroundings are home to rare endemics and regional specialities. Tucked-away in the northeast corner of the Indian subcontinent, is one such place, encompassing the little-visited and culturally varied states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya. Dominating this remote area, the mighty Brahmaputra River sweeps down from southeast Tibet and through the fertile Assam plains before bending south around the hills of Meghalaya towards the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. Only recently has the Indian government allowed access to certain parts of this remote area.

Arunachal Pradesh and Assam comprise one of the most biologically diverse parts of Asia, where a meeting place of Himalayan and Indo-Malayan species forms an extremely rich and varied avifauna. This special tour is a must for anyone with a keen interest in eastern Himalayan birds and is the only Birdquest which takes in the endemics of the ‘Assam Plains Endemic Bird Area’. Very much a journey for those more adventurous birders who want to reap the rich avian rewards of this remotest corner of India, and also enjoy seeing some great mammals as a bonus.

During the first part of the tour we will visit the huge Namdapha National Park bordering northern Myanmar (Burma), one of India’s largest protected areas. Still largely unexplored, the superb evergreen forests and river systems within the park are home to such sought-after specialties as White-bellied Heron, White-winged Duck, Pied Falconet, White-cheeked Partridge, Ibisbill, Hodgson’s Frogmouth, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Blue-naped Pitta, Rufous-vented Laughingthrush, Snowy-throated Babbler, White-naped Yuhina, Beautiful Sibia, Green Cochoa, Beautiful Nuthatch and Collared Treepie.

Further west, in the plains of Assam, we will explore Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and the Digboi oilfields. Wedged between the Brahmaputra and Dibru Rivers, Dibru-Saikhowa is a newly created park which holds some of the last remnants of a once extensive grassland and seasonally-wet-forest mosaic. Here we will search for such rare endemics as Swamp Prinia, Marsh Babbler and the feisty Black-breasted Parrotbill, as well as some other rare and threatened species, including Jerdon’s Babbler and Smoky Warbler. The much-logged forests at Digboi are an excellent place for Chestnut-backed Laughingthrush and Collared Treepie.

From Dibru Saikhowa we will travel northeast and, by way of a small ferry across the vast Brahmaputra River, make our way back into Arunachal Pradesh, this time to the remote and little explored Mishmi Hills, which rise steeply above the small town of Roing to an elevation of about 3000m above the Mayodia Pass. This superb place, which very much rivals the famed Eaglenest region in terms of its huge range of eastern Himalayan specialities, is the new frontier of Himalayan birding. Amazingly, we are likely to be the only birders along the 90km forest-flanked paved road that stretches from Roing to Hunli. Although our main target here will be the endemic Mishmi (or Rusty-throated) Wren-Babbler, which was only rediscovered in December 2004, after having not been definitely recorded since its discovery in 1947, there will be many more exciting species to look for, including Blyth’s Tragopan, Sclater’s Monal, Ward’s Trogon, Rusty-bellied Shortwing, Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler, Long-billed and Bar-winged Wren-Babblers, Cachar Wedge-billed Babbler, Fire-tailed Myzornis and Beautiful Nuthatch.

During the optional extension we will first explore the magnificent Kaziranga National Park. This famous park needs little introduction, what with its world-famous populations of Indian Rhinoceros, Swamp Deer and wild Water Buffalo, as well as Indian Elephants. The extensive wetlands and grasslands of Kaziranga also provide vital habitat for such rarities as Greater Adjutant, Swamp Francolin, Bengal Florican, Slender-billed Babbler, and Bristled Grassbird.

Leaving the plains behind, we will ascend to 1500m at the old hill-station of Shillong in Meghalaya. The uplands around Shillong are sometimes referred to as the ‘Scotland of the east’ and the wonderful mixed evergreen and pine forests which clothe the ridge above the town harbour a good range of interesting montane species and, along with the magnificent wooded cliffs and waterfalls of the Cherrapunjee escarpment, are home to three particular specialities, Dark-rumped Swift, Tawny-breasted Wren Babbler and the near-endemic Assam Laughingthrush, as well as other good birds such as Grey Sibia, Rusty-capped Fulvetta and Brown Bush Warbler.

Birdquest has operated tours to northeast India since 1989.

(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels/lodges at Tinsukia, Kaziranga and Shillong are of normal Birdquest standard. The resthouse at Deban in Namdapha National Park and the small lodge at the Mayodia Pass are pleasantly situated but very basic, although the rooms have private bathrooms. For four nights at Namdapha we will stay in simple tented camps specially erected by our friendly local camp staff. Sleeping tents are 2-person size (but are available for single occupancy) and we will also have a toilet tent, a wash tent and a large dining tent, so the whole experience is quite comfortable and the settings often delightful. Road transport is by large, jeep-like cars and roads are variable in quality (on average mediocre).

Walking: The walking effort is mostly easy to moderate (with some quite long walks). There will be one optional harder hike at the Mayodia Pass.

Climate: Conditions at this season in the plains are cool and overcast to hot, dry and sunny. In the hills it is cold to warm, and sunny periods alternate with occasional wet and overcast spells.

Bird/Mammal Photography: Opportunities are worthwhile.

Part-Tour Option: Subject to space being available, it is possible to take the Dibru-Saikhowa and Mishmi Hills section only (with or without the extension). Please contact us for further information.

Tour Price: (provisional): $4570 Dibrugarh/Dibrugarh. Post-Tour Extension: $1860 (ending in Guwahati). Price includes all transportation, all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.

Single Room/Tent Supplement: (provisional): $559. Post-Tour Extension: $301.

Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.

We can arrange internal flights in India for anyone needing only those flights.

With great deal of luck the secretive and very rare White-bellied Heron can be found by the fast flowing rivers at Namdapha National Park (Craig Robson)

... whereas the stylish Ibisbill, which shares the same habitat, is almost guaranteed (Hannu Jännes)

Kaziranga is the strongholds of the endangered Indian One-horned Rhinoceros, and many other large mammals (Hannu Jännes)

Many passerines like this stunning Crimson Sunbird are drawn to flowering trees, and often allow great views (Hannu Jännes)

The colourful Golden-fronted Leafbird is another species favouring flowering trees (Hannu Jännes)

View Map Download Detailed Itinerary 729kb

Report From March 2009/April 2009 Report From March 2010/April 2010 Report From March 2012/April 2012 42 photos View Gallery Photos From ASSAM & THE NORTHEAST FRONTIER

Excellent close-up views of the majestically ugly creature (Greater Adjutant) can be obtained at the dump (Hannu Jännes)

Pallas's Fish Eagle breeds in Kaziranga National Park, and both adults and juveniles are usually easy to see (Hannu Jännes)

Grey-headed Fish Eagle is another eagle breeding in Kaziranga (Hannu Jännes)

The diminutive Pied Falconet is a speciality of Namdapha National Park (Hannu Jännes)

Brown Fish Owl, yet another large avian predator, which is relatively easy to see at Kaziranga (Hannu Jännes)

The mighty Great Hornbill is still doing well in the mature lowland forests of Namdapha (Hannu Jännes)

Small groups of elegant Pin-tailed Green Pigeons can be seen in fruiting trees (Hannu Jännes)

This gorgeous Blue-throated Flycatcher is one of the 15 or so flycatchers recorded on this tour (Craig Robson)

With the inclusion of Mismi Hills in the itinerary we have improved our chances to find many exciting Himalayan specialities like this Golden Bush Robin (Hannu Jännes)

Taiga (or Red-throated) Flycatcher is a winter visitor and transient migrant here (Hannu Jännes)

This cute Red Giant Flying Squirrel and the recently discovered Namdapha Flying Squirrel are both possible to seen at Namdapha (Hannu Jännes)

A view from Namdapha National Park (Craig Robson)

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