Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
The smallest of the Terai’s national parks, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Consisting of 175 sq km of wet and grassland habitat, Koshi Tappu (translating to ‘river islands’) is home to at least 493 species of birds, as well as being the last habitat of the endangered arna (long, pointy-horned wild water buffalo). It was founded in 1976 to protect a small triangle of phanta and tappu (small islands) in the flood plain of the Sapt Kosi River – one of the three main tributaries of the Ganges.
It’s a wonderfully serene spot and most travellers who visit are birdwatchers in search of rare species such as the swamp francolin, Bengal florican and sarus crane. Migratory species from Siberia and Tibet take up residence from November to February. While it lacks heavy hitters like tigers and rhinos, there’s still plenty to see – including Gangetic dolphins, blue bulls, deer, golden jackals, marsh muggers, fishing cats, mongooses, civet cats and porcupines. Gangetic dolphin are best spotted from the bridge at Koshi Barrage.
We have desined the three differnt itineraries for the tour to Koshi Tappu wild life Reserve as given below.
Standard Bird Watching and Safari Program (2 Nights/3Days)
Trip Itinerary:
Day 01: Arrival in the morning and brief introduction to the program. Lunch. Ornithological walk to see storks, ibises, snipes, water fowl, birds of prey etc. Evening slide show presentation on the Reserve's natural history followed by a Nepali dinner.
Day 02: Early breakfast. Full day's excursion by boat and 4 wheel drive (with packed lunch) to see waders, water fowl, birds of prey, marsh crocodiles, otters, wild water buffalo and Gangetic dolphins (includes a visit to the Pink Tower). Evening program of traditional dance followed by BBQ meal.
Day 03: Bird watching around the camp area or free time. Breakfast. Farewells and departure
Standard Bird Watching and Safari Program (3 Nights/ 4 Days)
Itinerary:
Day 01: Arrival in the morning and brief introduction to the program. Lunch. Ornithological Walk to see storks, ibises, snipes, water fowl, birds of prey etc. Evening slide show presentation on the Reserve's natural history followed by a Nepali dinner.
Day 02: Early breakfast. Full day's excursion by boat and 4 wheel drive (with packed lunch) to see waders, water fowl, birds of prey, marsh crocodiles, otters, wild water buffalo and Gangetic dolphins (includes a visit to the Pink Tower). Evening program of traditional dance followed by BBQ meal.
Day 03: Bird watching in scrub forest, grasslands and wetlands habitats with packed lunch to see swamp partridges, black-necked storks, buntings, bulbuls, etc. Afternoon (either) continue bird watching (or) take an optional elephant ride to see Arna the wild water buffalo, blue bulls, hog deer, species of fish etc. Evening: stargazing followed by Chinese dinner.
Day 04: Bird watching around the camp or leisure time. Breakfast. Farewells and departure.
Standard Bird Watching and Safari Program ( 4Nights/5 days)
Itinerary:
Day 01: Arrival in the morning and brief introduction to the program. Lunch. Ornithological Walk to see storks, ibises, snipes, water fowl, birds of prey etc. Evening slide show presentation on the Reserve's natural history followed by a Nepali dinner.
Day 02: Early breakfast. Full day's excursion by boat and 4 wheel drive (with packed lunch) to see waders, water fowl, birds of prey, marsh crocodiles, otters, wild water buffalo and Gangetic dolphins. (Includes a visit to the Pink Tower.) Evening program of traditional dance followed by BBQ meal.
Day 03: Breakfast. Bird watching in scrub forest, grasslands and wetlands habitats with packed lunch to see swamp partridges, black-necked storks, buntings, bulbuls, etc. Afternoon (either) continue bird watching (or) take an optional elephant ride to see Arna the wild water buffalo, blue bulls, hog deer, species of fish etc. Evening: stargazing followed by Chinese dinner.
Day 04: Breakfast. Full day's trip by four wheel drive to Chatara to see racket-tailed drongos, golden-backed woodpeckers, pied horn bills, leaf birds, red-thighed falconers etc. (packed lunch). Continental dinner.
Day 05: Bird watching around the camp or leisure time. Breakfast. Farewells and departure.