Bird Watching in Kerala

Birding in Kerala

Kalakkad-Periyar National Park-Munnar-Thattekad
08 nights & 09 days
Best season: October to March

Day 01 Trivandrum-Kalakkad
Meals: dinner
Arrive Trivandrum and drive to Kalakkad (3-hours). Arrive Mayuram Farm. This farm house is set against the backdrop of the Kalakkad hills and surrounded by deciduous forests. A river cuts across the farm and the nearby village has many water tanks and ponds, which attract birds in large numbers. Short trip for birding near the tanks & bunds in the local village. Overnight at Mayuram Farm.

Day 02 Kalakkad National Park
Meals: breakfast, lunch & dinner
Early morning drive to Ariyakulam and Kundakulam. Stop over at Tirunnelveli for breakfast followed by morning birding at Ariyakulam. After lunch, proceed to Kundakulam (1-hour), a small village of around 200-300 houses. Birds and people live together at peace with one another. Water birds such as painted stork, the globally threatened spotbill pelican, night heron, little cormorant, little egret have been making Kundakulam their breeding station. They arrive at the village by October. Return by evening.

Day 03 Kalakkad-Periyar National Park
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Early morning trip for birding around the farm house and the open grasslands to the changing eco tones of dry deciduous to evergreens. Lunch at the riverside, evening depart Mayuram and proceed to Periyar (3-hours). Overnight stay in Periyar House or similar.

Day 04 Periyar National Park
Meals: breakfast, dinner
Birding at Periyar National Park. Thick forests and open grasslands dominate this region and is home to over 360 species of birds. One can expect wayanad laughing thrush, oriental darter, wooly-necked stork, rufous-bellied eagle, grey junglefowl, pompadour green pigeon, malabar parakeet, great hornbill, vernal hanging parrot, grey nightjar, malabar grey hornbill. Overnight stay in Periyar House or similar.

Day 05 Periyar National Park-Munnar
Meals: breakfast
Depart for Munnar, the hill station and tea town. Munnar is a combination of rolling grasslands and shola forests (high altitude montane forests). Weather is cool throughout the year. Tall Trees Resort. Chances of seeing 15 of the 16 endemics is very high at Munnar. Afternoon birding at Rajamalai (Eravikulam National Park) and the sholas en-route. One can expect to see black baza, painted bush quail, nilgiri woodpigeon, red-rumped swallow, yellow-throated bulbul, black & orange flycatcher, grey-breasted laughing thrush, nilgiri pipit, white-bellied shortwing, white-rumped needletail. Overnight at the resort.

Day 06 Munnar-Manavan Shola-Marayur
Meals: breakfast
Early morning drive to Manavan Shola (1 hour), a pristine shola and Asia's largest. Lunch at Manavan Shola. Return by evening. Overnight at the resort

Day 07 Munnar- Thattekad
Meals: breakfast, dinner
Morning birding at Munnar. After lunch, depart for Thattekad. Overnight at Hornbill Camp.

Day 08 Thattekad
Meals: breakfast, lunch & dinner
Thattekad is a lowland forest area of about 25 sq. km. and very rich in bird life and easy to spot. One can expect broad-billed roller, chestnut bittern, grey-headed fish eagle, orange-breasted green pigeon, spot-bellied eagle owl, brown fish owl, mottled wood owl, sri lankan frogmouth, great-eared nightjar, malabar trogon, malabar grey hornbill. In the evening proceed to the watch-tower for night birding. Overnight at Hornbill Camp.

Day 09 Thattekad-Kochi-onward destination
Meals: breakfast
Transfer to airport to connect flight to onward destination. OR opt for an extension to Kumarakom (back waters) or bird watch in Karnataka via Ooty, Mudumalai, Bandipur, BR Hills, Nagarhole & Dandeli Wildlife Reserve OR proceed to Goa.

TOUR COST (on per person basis)
Valid till September 2006