RED PANDA EXPEDITION: DETAILED ITINERARY
Red Panda: Day 1 Our expedition begins this morning at Bhadrapur airport, situated at the base of the Himalayas in southeast Nepal. From there we climb into the Himalayas, enjoying some spectacular views, to Singalila Ridge for a six nights stay. After a time we enter the reserved forest and wind our way upwards to our accommodation which is situated right on the ridge. We will make a few stops along the way.
[There are regular flights to Bhadrapur from Kathmandu. We can easily arrange just the internal flights for you if you are not having us handle your intercontinental air travel.]
Red Panda: Days 2-6 Singalila National Park protects a huge area of Himalayan forest and open meadows on the Singalia Ridge that forms the border between Nepal and West Bengal state in India. The park covers an area of 78.6 square kilometres (30.3 square miles) and its elevation ranges from around 2100m (6900ft) to around 3600m (11800ft), although we will likely not get much above 3000m (9800ft) during our visit.
At this time of year, the Himalayan vistas are often quite extraordinary and from different places on the Singalila Ridge, you can see panoramas of Himalayan ridges stretching away into the distance to the great ice-clad peaks of the Main Range. The scene is often dominated by the huge massif of Kangchenjunga (or Kanchenjunga), at 8,586m or 28,169ft this is one of the highest peaks on earth.
Each day our expert trackers will sortie out and try to locate approachable Red Pandas. Not only should we see and photograph this wonderful animal, but at this time of year, we can reasonably hope for multiple encounters!
There is also a hide/blind we can visit where many birds and sometimes even Red Pandas come to feed!
Lots of bird species inhabit Singalila, and while cuckoos, flycatchers, warblers and some other species head for the foothills and plains in the colder months, many species remain, including some of the most spectacular birds of the Eastern Himalayas.
Among the best birds at Singalila are the magnificent Satyr Tragopan (those males glow like fireballs, especially if seen against the snow) and the beautiful Fire-tailed Myzornis, although the latter is often a tricky bird to find.
Among the many other species that are possible at the Singalila Ridge at this season are: Himalayan Griffon, Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Himalayan Buzzard, Kalij and Blood Pheasants, Darjeeling and Crimson-breasted Woodpeckers, Green Shrike-babbler, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Grey Treepie, Spotted Nutcracker, Large-billed Crow, White-collared Blackbird, Alpine Thrush, Black-throated Thrush (and perhaps Red-throated also), Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Golden and White-browed Bush Robins, Himalayan Bluetail, Blue-fronted and White-throated Redstarts, the bizarre Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler, Striated, Streaked, Chestnut-crowned, Scaly, Black-faced and Spotted Laughingthrushes, Hoary-throated Barwing, Rufous Sibia, Stripe-throated and Rufous-vented Yuhinas, Red-tailed and Chestnut-tailed Minlas, the gorgeous Golden-breasted Fulvetta, White-browed and Rufous-winged Fulvettas, Brown and Black-throated Parrotbills, Goldcrest, Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, White-tailed Nuthatch, Rufous-fronted Bushtit, Yellow-browed, Red-vented, Coal, Grey-crested and Green-backed Tits, Rufous-breasted Accentor, Green-tailed Sunbird, Dark-rumped, Pink-browed, Dark-breasted and Himalayan White-browed Rosefinches, Plain Mountain Finch, Red (or Common) Crossbill, Red-headed Bullfinch, Gold-naped Finch and White-winged Grosbeak.
Apart from the Red Pandas, there are also fair chances for such mammals as Yellow-throated Martin, Himalayan Serow and Himalayan Ghoral.
Note: It is important to appreciate that this is a Red Panda Expedition and that priority will be given to gaining sightings and good photographs of this endearing critter. There will be lots of birds to see and enjoy but seeing as many bird species as possible is not the goal of this special expedition.
Red Panda: Day 7 Today we will descend to Bhadrapur airport where our expedition ends this afternoon.