South Indian Birding Tours
Western Ghats Endemic Birding - Kerala
The Western Ghats, locally known as Sahyadri Hills, a chain of low mountain range running parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Southern India is home to some of the best wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the country and most of them are located along the slopes of the majestic Western Ghats. These mountains play an important role in the climate of the subcontinent by intercepting the south western monsoon winds. Wide disparity in rainfall on both sides along with altitude variations creates a variety of forest types and habitats along these mountains. With an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism, Western Ghats is recognized as one of world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. Read more…
Birding with the Experts...
Based near Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, one of the richest bird habitat in South India, Thattekad Trails is a tour company specialized in bird watching related tour programs. We have been successfully conducting birding tours across various popular birding locations in South India. Over the last several years we have catered to the needs of both hard core birders and bird photography enthusiasts alike.
There are a few key features that make our packages standout, the primary one being flexibility. Most of the similar programs available out there are fixed date departures with a minimum of 4-5 participants required for the program to operate. Our tour dates are not pre determined, instead we organize the trips according to the request of our clients. Also the minimum number of participants required for the program is only 2, which means a couple can book private trip at affordable price. In case of enquiries for groups, we accommodate only small groups so that each participant gets the service they deserve.
Given below is a list of some of our popular birding/ Photography tour packages. These programs can be modified according to the clients requirements.
Thattekad-Munnar (3 Nights & 4 Days)
Day 1– Arrival at Cochin International Airport, transfer to Thattekad. Afternoon birding/ bird hide. Night session for nocturnal birds. Overnight stay at Thattekad.
Day 2– Start early morning for forest bird trails, return to hotel by lunch time. After some rest, leave for afternoon birding/ hide photography. Night session and overnight stay.
Day 3– Leave early morning for Munnar, which is around 2 hours drive from Thattekad. Full day birding around Munnar and back to Thattekad for overnight stay
Day 4– Morning birding. Check out and drop to Cochin.
Thattekad-Munnar-Chinnar (4 Nights/5 Days)
Day 1– Arrival at Cochin International Airport, transfer to Thattekad. Afternoon birding/ bird hide. Night session for nocturnal birds. Overnight stay at Thattekad.
Day 2– Start early morning for forest bird trails, return to hotel by lunch time. After some rest, leave for afternoon birding/ hide photography. Night session and overnight stay.
Day 3– Leave early morning for Munnar, which is around 2 hours drive from Thattekad. Full day birding around Munnar/ hide optional. Overnight stay at Munnar.
Day 4– Start early morning for Chinnar Bird Sanctuary. Back to Munnar for night stay.
Day 5– Morning birding around Munnar. Check out and drop to Cochin.
Thattekad-Periyar-Munnar-Chinnar (6Nights/7Days)
Arrival at Cochin International Airport, transfer to Thattekad. Afternoon birding/ bird hide. Night session for nocturnal birds. Overnight stay at Thattekad.
Start early morning for forest bird trails, return to hotel by lunch time. After some rest, leave for afternoon birding/ hide photography. Night session and overnight stay.
After morning birding, leave for Periyar National Park, which is around 3 and half hours drive from Thattekad. Overnight stay.
Full day birding at Periyar.
After morning session, start for Munnar (3 hours drive). Afternoon session and overnight stay in Munnar.
Leave early morning to Chinnar for full day program. Back to Munnar for night stay.
After morning birding in Munnar, check out and drop to Cochin airport.
Inclusions
- Accommodation with food in birder friendly hotels / homestays.
- AC cab for all transfers mentioned as per the itinerary.
- Expert bird guide accompany.
- All entry tickets/ bird hide charges.
- All currently applicable taxes
Click to learn more about each destination,
Booking & Policy
- Booking confirmation against 50% advance payment only.
The Western Ghats...
This 1600 kms long forested mountain chain stretches from Gujarat to southern Kerala, between 30-50 kms Inland along the coast. The Western Ghats contain 39 protected areas as they shelter at least 325 globally threatened species including around 51 that are critically endangered. Vegetation mainly consists of tropical evergreen, moist deciduous, dry deciduous, montane grass lands and sholas. Though it covers less than 6% of the land area of India, the Western Ghats contain more than 30% of all species of plant, fish, reptile, amphibian, bird and mammal found in the whole country. Western Ghats are home to some 17 percent of the world’s tigers and about 30 percent of the world’s Asian elephants.
The Western Ghats have several peaks that rise above 2,000 m (6,600 ft while the average elevation is around 1,200 m (3,900 ft). ). Anamudi in the southern part being the highest peak with an elevation of 2,695 m (8,842 ft). Average annual temperatures range from around 15°C in winter to 35°C during summer. At high elevations temperatures drop below 0°C during winter.