A one week tour of the Cardamom Hills, part of the biologically diverse Western Ghats, in the south Indian state of Kerala, incorporating visits to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, the hill station of Munnar, and Eravikulam National Park with the good possibility to see most, if not all, of the region's endemics.

Species highlights:  28 regionally endemic and near-endemic species, including Black and Orange Flycatcher, Kerala, Wynaad, and Black-chinned Laughingthrushes, White-bellied and Nilgiri Blue-robins, Indian Broad-tailed Grass-warbler, and White-bellied Treepie, plus Ceylon Frogmouth, Malabar Trogon, and Malabar Pied Hornbill, and the endemic Nilgiri Tahr.

Best season to visit:  November to March

Tour price:  on request - please contact us for availability & prices

Days 1-3:  Kochi – Thattekad

Arrive in Kochi.  Drive inland to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary at the foot of Kerala’s Cardamom Hills (2hrs) to spend the remainder of the day, along with a further two full days, birding in this small patch of lush lowland forest.  Officially named Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary in honour of the eminent Indian ornithologist, Thattekad is situated on the banks of the Periyar River, preserving the last remnant of a habitat that was once extant across much of the region, now largely converted to agricultural land and extensive plantations.  The gently undulating terrain is densely covered with tropical deciduous and evergreen forest dissected by waterways, riverine vegetation, and patches of scrub and grassland, its birdlife rich and varied as a result.  Specialities here include endemics such as White-bellied Treepie, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Grey-headed Bulbul, and Malabar Parakeet, among Dollarbird, Black-naped and Black-hooded Orioles, Tickell’s and Blue-throated Flycatchers, Speckled Piculet, Malabar Trogon, Black-throated Munia, Red Spurfowl, the striking Black Baza, Grey-headed Fish-eagle, and Crested Serpent-eagle.  The sanctuary and surrounding areas are exceptional for night birds, including Ceylon Frogmouth, Grey and Great-eared Nightjars, Brown Fish Owl, and Oriental Scops Owl, with the chance of rarer Mottled Wood-owl, Ceylon Bay Owl, and Forest Eagle-owl.

Days 4-6:  Munnar and Eravikulam

Journey up through the dramatic scenery of the foothills of the ghats into the Kannan Devan Hills to spend the remainder of day 4, plus a further two full days, at Munnar (4hrs) and nearby Eravikulam National Park.  Munnar is uniquely picturesque, and although the vast expanses of tea estates that envelop this colonial hill station have all but decimated the natural vegetation of the area the vista they have created is spectacular, while the resultant combination of open grassland, vegetated gullies, and patches of woodland shading cardamom crops has allowed a variety of species to flourish here.  Kerala and Black-chinned Laughingthrushes, Malabar Whistling-thrush, and Indian Scimitar-babbler can be found foraging in the understorey, while Alpine and Fork-tailed Swifts, Brown-throated Needletail, Indian Swiftlet, and Pacific Swallow are regularly seen over the hillslopes.  Nearby Eravikulam preserves the largest and least least-disturbed patch of the montane Shola (stunted forest) grassland ecosystem unique to the southern portion of the Western Ghats, once prevalent throughout the region but largely devastated in the bid to raise tea plantations.  The interspersion of forest within the extensive rolling montane grassland creates a mosaic of habitats which encourages species diversity, and this environment is home to some of the most restricted range of endemic species having affinities only in the distant evergreen forests of northeast India or Southeast Asia, and in many cases nowhere else in the world.   Key species here include White-bellied and Nilgiri Blue-robins, Black and Orange and Nilgiri Flycatchers, Kerala, Black-chinned, and Wynaad Laughingthrushes, Nilgiri Pipit, the nomadic Nilgiri Woodpigeon, and the elusive Indian Broad-tailed Grass-warbler, alongside the endemic Nilgiri Tahr and Dusky Striped Squirrel, and butterflies such as the Red-disc Bushbrown, confined solely to the Shola-grassland ecosystem.

Day 7: Munnar - Kochi

Spend the morning at Munnar, departing after lunch for the return drive to Kochi (6hrs).

Day 8: Depart

Depart Kochi on your onward journey.

ACCOMMODATION

A comfortable birding lodge perfectly situated at the edge of the sanctuary at Thattekad, a wonderfully restored colonial planter’s lodge or mountainside resort at Munnar, and comfortable hotel in Kochi, all with private en-suite facilities. 

TRANSPORT

Jeeps, cars, or minibus to travel depending on group size.  Most birding will be on foot at all sites included in the itinerary.

CLIMATE                                                                                                                  

Thattekad is expected to be warm to hot by day, with high humidity in moist forest areas, and with cooler nights and early mornings.  At higher altitude Munnar will be markedly cooler, creating agreeable conditions for birding by day followed by clear frosty nights.  Although almost all precipitation falls during the monsoon light showers are possible at any time and should be anticipated, even in the dry winter months.

For more detailed information, or to book this tour, please contact us.