Travel style
Birds and orchids
Hornbills, laughingthrushes and 500-odd orchids
The eastern Himalaya is one of the richest bird regions in Asia because the altitude changes so fast: tropical forest in the Dooars, temperate oak and rhododendron at 2,000 m and alpine meadows above 3,500 m, all within a day's drive.
Sikkim alone records more than 500 species of orchid, and Kalimpong's nurseries have grown and exported orchids and cacti for generations. Birding is best at first light; hire a local bird guide, who will know where the hornbills are feeding this week.
Journeys
Routes in this style
per person, twin₹13,000
per person, twin₹17,500
per person, twin₹20,500
per person, twin₹15,500
per person, twin₹11,500
per person, twin₹13,500
per person, twin₹13,000
per person, twin₹10,000
per person, twin₹37,500
per person, twin₹13,500
per person, twin₹6,500
per person, twin₹12,000
per person, twin₹10,000 Build your own route Tell us your dates, who is coming and what you want to see. We draw the route and price it three ways. Start Working to a budget? Give us a number per person. We will tell you honestly what it buys, and where to save. Start Ask someone who has been A first plan and price within one working day. No payment to start. Start
Places
Where it fits best
An eco-village inside Senchal forest, above Sonada
A pine-forest hamlet past Ghum, quieter than Darjeeling
West Bengal's highest point, with Everest on the skyline
Orange orchards and hornbill forest below Kurseong
Sunrise on Kangchenjunga from the top of Senchal
A small homestay village of forest trails, birds and mountain views
A trade town on a ridge above the Teesta
Homestay village on the edge of the Neora forest
Pine-forest bazaar at the gate of Neora Valley
Canopy walk, cypress forest and a Jhandi Dara sunrise
Red panda forest from the foothills to Rachela Danda
A pine-ridge homestay village above the Teesta, close to Kalimpong
Oak, rhododendron and red panda country an hour from Gangtok
The Lepcha reserve across the Teesta from Mangan
Forty-odd rhododendron species on the road to Yumthang
The tea-and-permit halt on the road to Gurudongmar
Meadows, hot spring and rhododendrons above Lachung
Guras forest on the Singalila Range, a 4 km walk from Hilley
Sikkim's classic high trek, from Yuksom to the face of Kangchenjunga
The wish-fulfilling lake where, legend says, birds clear every leaf
Sherpa homestays on the road to Barsey's rhododendrons
108 chortens and a Himalayan skyline on the Punakha road
A wide glacial valley where black-necked cranes spend the winter
A Bhutanese fort, a freedom fighters' jail and a forest that climbs to Bhutan
The elephant corridor between Jaldapara and Buxa
Small park, big watchtowers, and rhinos on the Murti and Jaldhaka
Bengal's rhino country on the Torsa grasslands
A wide riverbed at the foot of the Bhutan hills, inside Buxa
The Jaldhaka valley on the Bhutan border, river and forest
Forest on Siliguri's doorstep and the 1941 bridge over the Teesta
Build your own route Tell us your dates, who is coming and what you want to see. We draw the route and price it three ways. Start Working to a budget? Give us a number per person. We will tell you honestly what it buys, and where to save. Start Ask someone who has been A first plan and price within one working day. No payment to start. StartStays
Rooms that suit it
