Tour Dates:

1st November 2010 to 14th November 2010
17th January 2011 to 30th January 2011

The amazing diversity in Gujarat is manifested in its remarkable biodiversity. The topography of the State varies from the hilly and rocky mountainous region the South-East and East to the vast flatlands in the West. Besides the State has the longest coastline among all the States of over 1600 kms. Gujarat is a drought prone State with some areas of Saurashtra and Kutch predominantly under drought conditions. Another two thirds of the State is arid or semi arid. Interestingly the State has one third of the wetlands of the country. The shallow soil in the semi arid regions have extensive grasslands, which support some important grassland birds such as Great Indian Bustard, Houbara bustards, Lesser Florican, and some harriers which use these grasslands to roost.

The Asiatic Lion is the Flagship species of Gujarat. Gir Forest in the West is the only place they can be found in the country. Talk is on of having another sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh getting a few Lions, however the Govt of Gujarat has been opposing the same for years.

A visitor would normally start from Ahemdabad, which is well connected by Air and Rail from all the metros of the Country.

Areas we would cover: Little Rann of Kutchh, Velavadar National Park, Gir National Park, Little Rann of Kutchh and Greater Rann of Kutchh Likely Species: White-rumped, Egyptian and griffon vultures, Red necked falcon, shikra, blue throat, rosy starling, black ibis, white pelican, grey and pond heron, pied, common and white-throated kingfisher, Crested and Sykes larks, Oriental skylark, bimaculated lark, greater short-toed lark, singing and Indian bushlarks, ashy-crowned and black-crowned sparrow-larks, Greater hoopoe lark, Desert and variable wheatears, southern grey, long-tailed, rufous-tailed and bay-back shrike, common woodshrike, chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, Indian courser (cream-coloured visits occasionally), quails, yellow-legged and barred buttonquails, grey francolin, wryneck, brown-rock chat, pied bushchat, rufous-tailed scrub robin, blue-headed rock thrush, Macqueen's bustard. Long-legged, common and white-eyed buzzard, booted eagle, Bonneli's eagle, demmossile and common cranes, Greater and lesser flamingos, wooly-necked, white, black and blacknecked stork, comb duck, Great-crested grebe, black-necked stork, Caspian tern, crab-plover, Kentish plover, oystercatcher, ruddy turnstone, broad-billed sandpiper, sanderling, dunlin, curlew sandpiper, black-headed gull, Pallas' gull, temmincks stint, lesser-crested tern, gull-billed tern, common tern, little tern, black-bellied tern, whiskered tern, whiskered tern, darters, western reef egret, painted sandgrouse, common iora, Asian paradise flycatcher, tickell's blue, red-throated, verditer and Asian brown flycatchers, yellow-crowned, brown-capped pygmy, black-rumped flameback woodpeckers, green and blue-cheeked bee-eaters, coppersmith barbet, common, lesser pied and white-throated kingfisher, blossom-headed parakeet, hoopoe, black, ashy and white-bellied drongos, rufous treepie, large cuckoo shrike, small minivet, red-vented and white-eared bulbul, tawny-bellied, yellow-eyed, jungle and large grey babblers, grey-breasted, ashy, rufous-fronted, plain, jungle and graceful prinias, zitting cisticola, clamorous reed-warbler, booted warbler, greenish warbler, lesser and Hume's warbler, orphean warbler and blyth's reed warbler, rufous-tailed, crested and Sykes' larks, red-rumped swallows, desert and variable wheatears, White-naped Tit - Marshall's Iora, Tickell's Flycatcher, White-bellied Minivets