Chopta in the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary provides some excellent winter and spring birding, and fantastic landscapes. A mix of pine and deodar forest with rhododendrons, amidst lush ‘bugyals’ or grassy meadows, it is probably the best and most easily accessible place in India to see the stunning ‘nine-coloured’ state bird of Uttarakhand, the Himalayan Monal. It has a lot more to offer though, with Snow Partridge, Koklass Pheasant, Bearded Vulture, Golden Eagle, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Black-faced Warbler, Golden Bush Robin, Grey Crested Tit, Chestnut Thrush, Red-headed Bullfinch, Scarlet Finch, Spot-winged Rosefinch, and Black-and-yellow Grosbeak, all possible.
Target Species
- Snow Partridge
- Chukar Partridge
- Hill Partridge
- Koklass Pheasant
- Himalayan Monal
- Kalij Pheasant
- Grey Nightjar
- Himalayan Cuckoo
- Snow Pigeon
- Speckled Wood Pigeon
- Oriental Turtle Dove
- Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon
- Bearded Vulture
- Himalayan Vulture
- Mountain Hawk-Eagle
- Golden Eagle
- Himalayan Buzzard
- Collared Owlet
- Crested Kingfisher
- Yellow-rumped Honeyguide
- Rufous-bellied Woodpecker
- Scaly-bellied Woodpecker
- Slaty-headed Parakeet
- Long-tailed Minivet
- Himalayan Shrike-babbler
- Maroon Oriole
- Black-headed Jay
- Yellow-billed Blue Magpie
- Red-billed Blue Magpie
- Grey Treepie
- Red-billed Chough
- Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher
- Yellow-browed Tit
- Rufous-vented Tit
- Grey Crested Tit
- Himalayan Black-lored Tit
- Himalayan Bulbul
- Nepal House Martin
- Scaly-breasted Cupwing
- Nepal Cupwing
- Black-faced Warbler
- Aberrant Bush Warbler
- Grey-sided Bush Warbler
- Chestnut-headed Tesia
- Black-throated Bushtit
- White-throated Bushtit
- Buff-barred Warbler
- Ashy-throated Warbler
- Whistler’s Warbler
- Grey-hooded Warbler
- Himalayan Prinia
- Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler
- Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler
- Black-chinned Babbler
- Striated Laughingthrush
- Variegated Laughingthrush
- Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush
- Bar-throated Minla
- White-throated Laughingthrush
- White-browed Fulvetta
- Whiskered Yuhina
- Stripe-throated Yuhina
- White-tailed Nuthatch
- Wallcreeper
- Bar-tailed Treecreeper
- Rusty-flanked Treecreeper
- Long-billed Thrush
- White-collared Blackbird
- Grey-winged Blackbird
- Chestnut Thrush
- Dark-sided Flycatcher
- Rufous-bellied Niltava
- Small Niltava
- Verditer Flycatcher
- Himalayan Bluetail
- Golden Bush Robin
- Spotted Forktail
- Ultramarine Flycatcher
- Slaty-blue Flycatcher
- Blue-capped Redstart
- White-capped Redstart
- Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush
- Blue-capped Rock Thrush
- Brown Dipper
- Fire-breasted Flowerpecker
- Green-tailed Sunbird
- Alpine Accentor
- Altai Accentor
- Rosy Pipit
- Black-and-yellow Grosbeak
- Red-headed Bullfinch
- Spectacled Finch
- Scarlet Finch
- Pink-browed Rosefinch
- Spot-winged Rosefinch
- Rock Bunting
- Near Endemic
Itinerary
Day 1: Dehradun to Chopta
Arrival at Dehradun, where you will be met by our representative. The drive to Chopta is quite long—180km, c7 hours—, so on arrival you will check in to the Magpie Camp.
Days 2-3: Chopta area
With two full days to explore, birding will be flexible depending on your wishes and local information. What species are around and where can be very dependent on recent weather, including snowfall in the higher reaches of the Himalayas forcing altitudinal migrants to move to lower areas with more easily accessible food. This often makes for very exciting birding in the Chopta area.
One excursion will almost certainly be to ascend to the Tungnath temple at about 3,700 m. Although not difficult, this is a steep trek—there is no shame in cheating and taking advantage of a pony ride to the top before walking down! This can help get to the higher reaches earlier, where you may find a covey of Snow Partridges before they are disturbed by other trekkers. The chances of seeing Himalayan Monals are very high.
Aside from this, birding around the villages of Makku Math and Duggalbitta can be productive, for it is often an altitude of about 2,000 m which tends to have the greatest diversity of birds.
Day 4: Chopta to Dehradun
After an early breakfast, leave on the drive back to Dehradun.
Checklist
For all our bookings we provide the most accurate and useful printable checklists available, specific to the actual areas you are likely to visit. In the meantime, use our interactive state checklists, or view the species bar chart for this area on eBird:
Important information
As with all Bubo Birding tours, your booking is handled by Asian Adventures.
- We may change the itinerary described due to various reasons such as latest birding information, availability of accommodation, state of the roads, and other unexpected factors that, this being India, do pop up from time to time!
- We would be happy to make any additional travel bookings, e.g. domestic flights, car and driver, that you require.
- The final price and itinerary will be confirmed before booking and depending on your expected arrival and departure plans.
See Asian Adventures for full tour details, including accommodation, meal plans, what's included, other exclusions, prices for different group sizes, single room supplements, cancellation policy, and booking process.
Interested in Chopta, Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand?
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