Nepal March 18 - April 3, 1999

This trip was undertaken with Barry Reed, Mick Ilett, and Terry Goddard. We arrived at our base - 'The Garden Hotel' - on the northern edge of the Thamel district in Kathmandu, late in the afternoon of the 18th. Birding was intensive although on Pulchowki and at Chitwana a short time was taken with identifying the more 'obvious' butterflies. The last afternoon was spent sight-seeing and shopping around Durbar Square in Kathmandu. We left very early on the morning of the 4th.

Apart from a small woody area near to the hotel, the only other area visited (on two mornings) was the smaller hill, Nagarjung, just north of the city.

Transport around Kathmandu and to Pulchowki was via taxi which we hired on a daily basis.

Bridge at Hetauda
The area around the bridge at Hetauda, crossing a wide stony river basin, is the primary site in Nepal for Ibisbill. Unfortunately, we did not see any on the one afternoon we visited whilst en route to Chitwan. Although it is only 44km south of Kathmandu, the mountain road is virtually impassable and so a seven hour taxi drive via Mugling and Narayanghat was necessary.

Chitwan
Five days (four nights) were spent here, the first just outside the park at the 'Royal Wildlife Lodge' at Sauraha and the remainder at the 'Chitwan Jungle Lodge'. Transport to and from the pick up points near Sauraha was by Landrover (arranged by the lodges). All transport inside the park (Landrover or Elephant back) was also arranged by the lodge, as were the guides who proved extremely competent.

The park itself consists of Sal forest (entangled by Killer Vine) interspersed with wetland and grassland. The birding was excellent.

Road between Narayanghat and Mugling
Whilst on the return journey from Chitwan to Kathmandu, short stops were made at the 'Riverside Springs Resort' and the area around Jobang Khola. The habitat is similar to that of Hetauda, with the exception that it has high cliff sides with tributaries cutting through to join the main river.

Kosi Tappu
We made an internal flight from Kathmandu to Biratnagar, where we stopped over for one night at the 'Hotel Namaska'. Transport from here to the park (and back to the airport) was arranged via the 'Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve', where we stayed for three days (two nights). They also provided the transport inside the park (Landrover and a pleasant boat trip) as well as the guides who ranged from fair to annoying!

The park itself is primarily wetland surrounded by grassland and lightly forested Sal. The barrage itself is just outside the park and was visited one morning for ducks. Later the same day, a brief visit was made over the border to India (strictly speaking illegal without a visa), to an area of Tamarisk desert scrub.