23 days Western India

Arrive Indira Gandhi International Airport Delhi -Complete customs, immigrations formalities and exit to arrival hall meeting lounge -START OF SERVICE -Met by our representative and transfer to the hotel (Room held from 12.00 noon of previous day for immediate check in) -Overnight at Hotel

Early morning drive to Sultanpur (45 kms / 1 hr) -Full day birding at Sultanpur bird Sanctuary with local guide -Lunch at restaurant in Sultanpur -Evening drive back to Delhi -Overnight at Hotel -B, L

Morning in time transfer to the airport to board the flight to Ahmedabad -Fly Delhi/ Ahmedabad (AI 817 at 0600/0725 hrs) -Met on arrival and drive towards Gir (450 km / 09 hr) -Arrive Gir National park by evening and check in to the lodge -Overnight at Hotel -B, L, D

Two full days to explore Gir, where we avail 3 park drives each day to maximize our chances of wildlife viewing and birding. Best known for the last remaining population of Asiatic Lions, Gir is also one of the finest reserves to see Leopards. Some of the birds found here include the Indian Jungle Nightjar, Mottled Wood Owl, Rock Bush Quail, White-bellied Minivet, Painted Sandgrouse, Black Ibis, Rufous-fronted Prinia & Crested Hawk Eagle -Overnight at Hotel -B, L, D

Today we take a long drive to Bhuj (460 km /10 hr) with limited birding opportunities en route -Arrive Bhuj in the evening and check in to the lodge -Overnight at JP Resort -B, L, D

Morning look for species at Bhuj which we may have missed out on and later we drive south for the state of Gujarat, our destination is the Little Rann of Kutch (approx 300 km / 6 hr), which will be our base for two nights -Arrive at Little Rann of Kutch and check in to the lodge -Overnight at Rann Riders -B, L, D

Two full days to explore LRK. Morning and evening visit the Wild Ass Sanctuary by exclusive jeeps, some of the other mammals besides the Wild Ass, we hope to see are the Desert Fox & Indian Wolf. The star birds here are the wintering McQueens Bustard, Sykes Nightjar, Greater Hoopoe Lark, Indian Courser, White-tailed & Sociable Plovers, Great White & Dalmatian Pelicans, Demoiselle Cranes and raptors like the Pallid & Montagu’s Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Imperial, Tawny & Greater Spotted Eagles -Overnight at Rann Riders -B, L, D

After some final morning’s birding at LRK, we drive to Mount Abu in the state of Rajasthan (approx 250 km / 5 hr) -Arrive at Mount Abu and check in to the hotel -Evening we visit the site of our principal target – the Green Avadavat -Overnight at Hotel -B, L, D

We will have another chance for Green Avadavat at Mount Abu, a small hill station situated below the summit of the mountain of the same name, which at 1722m is the highest peak in the Aravalli range -Later we will make our way to the little village of Siana (approx 125 km / 4 hr), situated in the Jalor region, for a two nights stay -We should arrive in time for a late lunch and will commence our exploration of the area during the evening -Overnight at Siana Garden -B, L, D

We have the full day to explore Siana. The village of Siana was the venue for Richard Attenbouorouh’s film Life of Mammals; the place is home to a small population of Leopards. Some of the birds we hope to see here include the Indian thick-knee, Rock bush Quail, Indian Vulture, Sirkeer Malkoha, the nomadic White-bellied Minivet may be a possibility, Bay-backed Shrike, Black Redstart and Small Minivet to name a few. Night drives may reveal mammals like the Striped Hyena, Desert Cat and the Leopard -Overnight at Siana Garden -B, L, D

After some early morning birding at Siana we will drive to Bikaner (approx 360 km / 7 hr) - Later afternoon we will visit the site of the wintering Yellow-eyed Doves besides a large numbers of vultures are present near a carcass dump -Overnight at Hotel -B, L, D

Morning view the Cranes before driving onwards to Jaisalmer (approx. 370 kms / 6 hours) -Arrive at Jaisalmer in evening and check in to the hotel -Evening at the leisure -Overnight at Hotel -B, L, D

We will have full day to visit the Jaisalmer Fort and some other monuments of interest -Afternoon free for some shopping -Evening transfer to Hotel -Overnight at Hotel -B, L, D

We have the next two full days to explore the Desert National Park. The star attraction of DNP is the Indian Bustard for which the park was created; other notable species here include the Stoliczka’s Bushchat, Cream-coloured Courser, Chestnut-bellied and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Black-crowned Sparrowlark, Asian Desert Warbler, raptors include the White-rumped and Red-headed Vultures, Laggar Falcons, Tawny Eagle, Short-toed Eagle and Long-legged Buzzard. -Overnight at Hotel -B, L, D

Morning birding -Afternoon transfer to Jaisalmer train station -Jaisalmer Delhi Express, Train #14660, AC First Class, (1715/1110 hrs) -Overnight on board train -B, L, D (We will carry packed meals for train)

Arrive Delhi -Met and transferred to the hotel -Overnight at hotel -B (on board train) – (Fruits, Eggs, Tea)

Free day in Delhi or visit to Okhla for birding. -Evening transfer to international airport to board the flight for onward journey -BEnd of services