India - 2023

In February 2023, I departed for a 3-week visit to Northern India. The aim of the trip was bird photography. To increase my chances of seeing a substantial number of species, I booked a trip with a well-renowned company I found recommended on a bird forum. I booked the trip with Asian Adventure about 5 months before departure and had the itinerary in place ahead of arrival in New Delhi. Asian Adventure recommended five main destinations near New Delhi (up to 8 hours' drive away), with 3 days at each birding hotspot.

The trip went from Delhi to Bharatpur with a half-day stopover at Sultanpur National Park. After two days at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, and a daytrip to Chambal River to see the Gharial Crocodile and the Indian Skimmer, we headed north to Jim Corbett National Park. Here I hoped to see the Tiger, but we were not lucky. On our way from Bharatpur to Jim Corbett, we had a stopover in Agra and visited Taj Mahal and the Red Fort (mandatory stopover!). From Jim Corbett the trip went to the Himalayas and Sat Tal. The last destination was Pangot, also in the Himalayas. In Pangot I stayed for six days in total.

I had a bird guide with me for 15 days, and a car with a driver for the whole trip. All in all, it was a great trip and with the help from the excellent guide Dalveer Singh we managed to see about 330 bird species. I managed to get photos of about 300 species, and decent photos of about 200 species.