Valparai is a pristine hill station located in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The place stands majestically with mountains and forests all around. It shares its border with Anamalai and Parambikulam Tiger Reserves, Eravikulam National Park, and Vazhachal forest division. Asian Elephant, Leopard, Gaur, Wild Boar, and Indian Giant Squirrels, are commonly encountered here, and you should see two very restricted endemic mammals: Lion-tailed Macaque and Nilgiri Tahr.
Read more about birds of the Anamalais in this article by Jeganathan, well-known birder and researcher with Nature Conservation Foundation, and experience the majesty of the place and its wildlife, and threats, in this video from Rajesh Kannan.
Target Species
- Painted Bush Quail
- Red Spurfowl
- Grey Junglefowl
- Sri Lanka Frogmouth
- Indian Swiftlet
- Brown-backed Needletail
- Oriental Turtle Dove
- Common Emerald Dove
- Grey-fronted Green Pigeon
- Green Imperial Pigeon
- Mountain Imperial Pigeon
- Crested Honey Buzzard
- Red-headed Vulture
- Crested Serpent Eagle
- Changeable Hawk-Eagle
- Legge’s Hawk-Eagle
- Black Eagle
- Crested Goshawk
- Sri Lanka Bay Owl
- Brown Fish Owl
- Brown Wood Owl
- Jungle Owlet
- Brown Hawk-Owl
- Malabar Trogon
- Great Hornbill
- Malabar Grey Hornbill
- Oriental Dollarbird
- Blue-bearded Bee-eater
- Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
- Malabar Barbet
- Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
- Lesser Yellownape
- Greater Flameback
- Blue-winged Parakeet
- Indian Pitta
- Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike
- Malabar Woodshrike
- Brown Shrike
- White-bellied Drongo
- Bronzed Drongo
- White-spotted Fantail
- White-bellied Treepie
- Indian Black-lored Tit
- Grey-headed Bulbul
- Flame-throated Bulbul
- Yellow-browed Bulbul
- Square-tailed Bulbul
- Hill Swallow
- Green Warbler
- Large-billed Leaf Warbler
- Thick-billed Warbler
- Indian Scimitar Babbler
- Dark-fronted Babbler
- Brown-cheeked Fulvetta
- Palani Laughingthrush
- Rufous Babbler
- Wayanad Laughingthrush
- Asian Fairy-bluebird
- Malabar Starling
- Orange-headed Thrush
- Indian Blackbird
- White-rumped Shama
- Asian Brown Flycatcher
- Brown-breasted Flycatcher
- White-bellied Blue Flycatcher
- Nilgiri Flycatcher
- Indian Blue Robin
- Malabar Whistling Thrush
- Blue-capped Rock Thrush
- Nilgiri Flowerpecker
- Crimson-backed Sunbird
- Little Spiderhunter
- Black-throated Munia
- Forest Wagtail
- Nilgiri Pipit
- Endemic
- Near Endemic
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive at Coimbatore and drive to Valparai
On arrival in Coimbatore, you will be driven to Valparai and your historic accommodation, Sinna Dorai’s tea estate bungalow. The rest of the day will be spent looking for local wildlife.
Days 2-3: Valparai
Two full days in the area will be flexible depending on your interests and how you get on with sightings. The Lion-tailed Macaque occurs in large troops, and you will hopefully see them on the first morning. A night drive is well worth it here, for Leopard sightings are very regular. Birds are very plentiful. The Anamalai area is one of the main strongholds of the huge, and definitely worthy of its name, Great Hornbill. Other interesting birds include Malabar Trogon, Black and Rufous-bellied Eagles, Crimson-backed Sunbirds, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Palani and Wayanad Laughingthrushes, White-bellied Sholakili (or Blue Robin), Nilgiri Pipit, Nilgiri Woodpigeon, and White-bellied Treepie. In fact, most of the Western Ghats endemic birds have been seen in the Anamalais, and with many wintering migrants from the Himalayas and further north it really is superb birding.
Day 4: Depart Valparai for Coimbatore
After some early birding and breakfast, it is time to depart by car for Coimbatore.
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 Valparai and Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu?
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