Itinerary:

Day 0-Arrival at Delhi International Airport:

Arrive at Delhi International Airport, New Delhi.
Transfer to our resort at the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, where we spend the night

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Day 1 & 2: Birding and Tiger safari at Jim Corbett National Park

We head into the lowland forests of the famous Jim Corbett National Park for more lowland specialised birds like the Crested Treeswift, Palla's Fish Eagle, River Lapwing, Lesser Fish Eagle, Collared Falconet, and an assortment of birds seldom found at higher elevations.

The streams of the national park also offer great opportunities to view some wetland birds like storks, herons and kingfishers. 
Parallely, we will be on the lookout for the most celebrated mammal of India: The majestic Bengal Tiger, which is a must-do experience in India. 
During the evening of day 2, we head towards Kaladhungi, where we will spend the night.

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Day 3 & 4: Birding at Kaladhungi Forests

We spend the day trying our luck for the specialities of the Kaladhungi Forest (400 meters above sea level), namely Great Slaty Woodpecker, Indian Grey Hornbill, Jungle Owlet and early dry forest species. These forests are great for lowland dry forest species, and as we progress to higher elevations(1300-2600m above sea level), the bird density progressively increases towards the summer with drastic change in the bird community assemblages. 

Evening forest walk to catch crepuscular species and nocturnal species like the Brown Boobook and Spotted Owlet

The Kaladhungi leg ends with an afternoon departure to Sattal on Day 4, which is about a 2-hour drive from Kaladhungi. We will spend the evening with a short introductory walk near the resort premises at Sattal.

Day 4: Birding in the hides and streams of Sattal 

Sattal is the most popular birding destination in India, with most of the region's economy dependent on birding and ecotourism. Many bird hides with watering holes in the region serve as a great tool for observing skulky and shy species like Rufous-throated Partridge, Common Green Magpie, Black Francolin, an assortment of laughingthrushes, thrushes and Babblers.

We will spend our first day at Sattal with some relaxed hide-birding.

Alongside the bird hide sessions, we also visit rocky streams by the Chaffi river bed for a chance at spotting the Brown Dipper and the Crested Kingfisher

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Day 5 & 6: Birding at Sattal Studio & forest trails

Sattal studio is a famous bird watching point, which is a watering hole that is frequented by many smaller passerines like flycatchers, thrushes, warblers and also the very skittish Chestnut-headed Tesia. 

The adjoining forest trails have also been known to be a great site for owls like Brown Wood Owl, Asian Barred Owlet and the Tawny Fish Owl

We spent these two days birding by the roadside and exploring forest trails for forest birds that don't frequent the hides

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Day 7 & 8:  Depart from Sattal and birding at Ranikhet

Final early morning birding session to pick up any missed targets, and we depart mid-day to Ranikhet.
Ranikhet is known for the restricted Cheer Pheasant and the Koklass Pheasant, among other high elevation specialities like the Himalayan Woodpecker and Upland Pipit. We spend the evening of Day 7 and the entire Day 8 trying our luck for these species.
 

Day 9: Enroute Birding to Chopta Valley

Chopta Valley is a 7-hour drive from Ranikhet, so we depart early in the morning and do some birding enroute wherever feasible. We aim to reach our resort at Chopta Valley around sunset.

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Day 10, 11, 12: Birding at Chopta Valley & Tungnath

Chopta Valley is situated at an altitude of 2600m above sea level, the highest altitude of the trip. This is a prime birding spot and is also regarded as the best place on earth to see the Himalayan Monal, which will be our main target in Chopta, along with birds like Snow Partridge, Red-headed Bullfinch, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Golden Eagle, Lammergeier(Bearded Vulture) and Fire-capped Tit.

Alongside trying for the high elevation specialities, we will spend the next 3 days in Chopta seeing birds that haven't made it into our tour list yet.

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Day 13: Last morning at Chopta & Depart to Dehradun Airport

Early morning for last-chance birding and late evening departures from Dehradun Airport.
END OF TOUR

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Meal plan across the tour: Most breakfasts & dinners are served at homestays/lodges; lunches vary by day (some included, some packed, and some arranged during long transfers). All dietary preferences (vegetarian, non-vegetarian) will be accommodated when informed in advance.