Photograph of Indian Rhinoceros

A magnificent Indian Rhinoceros by Coke & Som Smith.

NEPAL

Best Wildlife in Nepal

Mammals
Indian Rhinoceros, Asian Water Buffalo, Gaur, (Terai) Grey Langur, Rhesus Macaque, Nilgai, Sambar, Himalayan Tahr, Common Goral and Royal's Pika. Also a chance of Tiger, Asian Elephant, Sloth Bear, Ganges River Dolphin, Fishing and Jungle Cats, and Yellow-throated Marten, and an outside chance of Red Panda.

Birds
Indian Peafowl, Great and Oriental Pied Hornbills, Lammergeier, Ibisbill, Crested Kingfisher, (Red-billed) Blue and Yellow-billed Blue Magpies, Wallcreeper, White-crested Laughingthrush, Himalayan Monal, Satyr Tragopan, Bengal Florican, Fire-tailed Sunbird, Pied Thrush (mostly May-Sep), Grandala, Himalayan Cutia, Fire-tailed Myzornis and Spiny Babbler (Nepal's only endemic), as well as Bar-headed Goose (mostly Nov-Mar), Ruddy Shelduck (mostly Nov-Mar), Falcated Duck (mostly Nov-Mar), Snow Partridge, Tibetan Snowcock, Blood and Kalij Pheasants, Red Junglefowl, Swamp Francolin, Oriental Darter, Indian Pond Heron, Black Ibis, Black Stork (mostly Nov-Mar), Lesser Adjutant, vultures including Himalayan Griffon and Eurasian Black, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Black and Golden Eagles, Collared Falconet, Great Thick-knee, River Lapwing, Black-winged Stilt, Bronze-winged and Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, Small Pratincole, Great Black-headed Gull (mostly Nov-Mar), Black-bellied and River Terns, Snow Pigeon, Plum-headed and Red-breasted Parakeets, Green-billed Malkoha, owls including Brown Hawk Owl, Crested Treeswift, Red-headed Trogon, Pied, Stork-billed and White-throated Kingfishers, Blue-bearded, Chestnut-headed and Green Bee-eaters, Indian Roller, Hoopoe, barbets, woodpeckers, Ashy Woodswallow, Common Iora, minivets, Long-tailed Shrike, Maroon Oriole, drongos including Greater Racket-tailed, Yellow-bellied Fantail, Green Magpie, Black-throated Tit, White-browed Tit Warbler, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Brown Dipper, bulbuls, leaf warblers, Chestnut-headed Tesia, niltavas, Siberian (mostly Nov-Mar) and White-tailed Rubythroats, (Himalayan) Red-flanked Bluetail, bush robins, White-rumped Shama, redstarts, forktails, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, White's and other thrushes, laughingthrushes, scimitar, shrike and wren babblers, Red-billed Leiothrix, Rufous Sibia, minlas, fulvettas, yuhinas, starlings and mynas, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, Gould's and Green-tailed Sunbirds, accentors including Maroon-backed, buntings including Crested, rosefinches, bullfinches, grosbeaks, weavers and Red Avadavat. Also a chance of Black-necked Stork, Spot-billed Pelican, Pallas's Fish Eagle, (Eastern) Imperial (mostly Nov-Mar), Great Spotted (mostly Nov-Mar), Indian Spotted, Steppe (mostly Nov-Mar) and White-tailed (mostly Nov-Mar) Eagles, Brown and Buffy Fish Owls, Pied Harrier (mostly Nov-Mar), Grey-headed and Yellow-wattled Lapwings, Solitary Snipe, Indian Courser, Greater Painted Snipe, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Black-throated Parrotbill, Gould's Shortwing and Scarlet Finch. Also, about 50,000 Demoiselle Cranes migrate south through the upper Kali Gandaki Valley, over passes as high as 6500 m (21,325 ft), during October.

Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
Gharial and Mugger Crocodile.

Plants
The superb Alpine flora includes many rhododendrons which are usually at their best in May.

Other Natural Wonders of Nepal

Himalayas Nepal is dominated by the awesome Himalayas. Eight of the ten highest mountains on Earth are there and it is possible to see four of the world's top five from the Makalu Trek; Everest at 8848 (29,028 ft), Kangchenjunga at 8586 (28,169 ft), Lhotse at 8516 m (27,939 ft) and Makalu at 8463 m (27,765 ft). Via the same trek it is also possible to reach Everest base camp at a giddy 5360 m (17,600 ft). Equally if not more stunning and one of the most beautiful sights in the world is the Annapurna Range as seen from Pokhara. Four sharp peaks shine above this massive, isolated, 50 km (30 mile) long mountain ridge, including three of the world's ten highest mountains, all rising above 8000 m (26,000 ft); Dhaulagiri 1, Manaslu and Annapurna 1.

Best Sites for Wildlife in Nepal

Best Times for Wildlife in Nepal

The best time to visit the lowlands is between November and March, especially March when the numbers of wintering birds from the north and the high Himalayas are usually at their peak. The lowland monsoon season usually lasts from June to September. The best time to trek into the high mountains is from mid-April to late May when most of the middle and high altitude bird specialities usually breed and are therefore at their most active. Mountain viewing conditions however are usually best during the northern autumn.

Recommended Books etc. for Nepal

Field Guide to Indian Mammals by V Menon. Helm, 2009.

Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent by K K Gurung and R Singh. Helm, 1998.

Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by R Grimmett, and C and T Inskipp. Helm, due 2011.

A Field Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by K Kazmierczak. Helm, 2008.

Field Guide to the Birds of Nepal by R Grimmett, and C and T Inskipp. Helm, 2000.

Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by R Grimmett, and C and T Inskipp. Helm, 1999.

Trip Reports for Nepal

Many trip reports, some for Nepal, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Nepal. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Nepal' below.

Local Guides and Tours in Nepal

The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.

Accommodation in Nepal


Some Organized Tours to Nepal

There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

Tour companies who run organized tours or can arrange custom tours to Nepal include the following.