This year our regular group of travelling birders decided to visit Bhutan in a bid to see as many of the scarce Himalayan birds as possible. It all started after a trip to the Birdfair at Rutland Water in August 2018 when I had a good talk with Chubzang Tangbi from Langur Nature Travels. Later communications by email with Chubzang were very good and we received a competitive quotation. In the end only three of our group could actually find the time and the money to make the trip, so on 8th March 2019 Jackie Newcombe, Neil Fletcher and Jim Rose flew out of Heathrow on route to Bhutan.
Our journey entailed flying to Delhi, staying overnight in a hotel close to Delhi airport and then getting an early morning flight to Paro Airport in Bhutan. Delhi Airport was rather frustrating in the long queues in security and the rather pedantic officials but we eventually caught our flight but not with much time to spare! The flight paid a brief stop in Kathmandu (Nepal) before flying onto Paro. This leg of the flight gave us superb views of the Himalayas including mount Everest.
The Flight
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| The Himalayas lit up by the early morning sun. |
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As we approached Paro the terrain below us was very mountainous.
The approach to the airport is along a valley with the plane having to make a couple of turns along the way! |
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| Royal Bhutanese Airlines - The only airline that is permitted to fly this tricky route and then only with pilots specifically trained for the route. |
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| Paro Airport - Not like any airport we had previously visited. Built in typical Bhutanese style. |
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| Paro Airport - Even the control tower is Bhutanese style! |
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| Paro Airport - the approach is certainly interesting! The aircraft has to make a few turns on the approach to follow the flight path between the mountains. |
The Langur Team
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| Langur Nature Tours - Our vehicle for the trip. |
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Sonam Tshering - Our birding guide for the whole trip.
Sonam proved to be a brilliant guide and also a very pleasant person who was easy to deal with. |
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| The complete team - Sonam, the "breakfast boys" and our driver. |
The whole of the Langur team were very pleasant and helpful and made the trip extremely enjoyable. We highly recommend Langur Nature Tours for anyone wishing to make a birding trip to Bhutan. Contact
Chubzang Tshering for more information.
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| The Langur team with Neil, Jim and Jackie. At one of the amazing breakfast stops. |
On the Road
Bhutan must surely be the most mountainous country in the world! There were virtually no straight roads or any that were not going up or down hill! Many of the roads were of a good standard, although the main road running west to east was undergoing major roadworks. With no alternative routes, they had to keep the roads open while the work was continuing. This made for some interesting driving!!
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| Driving through the road works. There were many miles like this. |
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| There were some unusual road signs! |
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| Also some fabulous scenery. |
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| The clouds sometimes remind you just how high we were! |
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| Some impressive skies. |
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| There were a few other hold ups along the road! |
The Accommodation
All of the accommodation was to a good standard, comfortable and with good food. We stayed between one and three nights in each hotel. Most we only saw in the dark as we were birding during the daylight hours. A few are shown below.
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Hotel Olathong - Our first hotel. We spent two nights at this comfortable hotel.
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Trogon Villa - A three night stay at this pleasant hotel.
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| Druk Deotjung Resort - An impressive frontage to this hotel with equally impressive views. |
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| Dungsam Trashiling Resort - Separate bedroom block. |
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| Tashi Gatshel Hotel - Our last hotel at Samdrup Jongkhar |
Impressive and Unusual Buildings
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Tigers Nest Monastery - For visitors to Bhutan this is a "must see".
See the "People and Places" page for more photos. |
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| Punakha Dzong - An administrative centre with amazing architecture. |
For more photos of scenes and places of interest go to the "People and Places" page.
