Bhutan Apr 06—May 01, 2009
Posted by David Bishop
David Bishop
David Bishop loves his vocation and cannot imagine anything better than exploring wild and beautiful places in Asia and the Pacific in the company of friends and clients. H...Related Trips
This was VENT's 21st tour to Bhutan since 1994 when we first began operating in this magical kingdom. We regularly offer two tours a year and they always fill very early. So what is it that makes this particular tour so attractive? Quite simply, Bhutan is in a class of its own. Yes, it's an expensive tour, largely because the Bhutanese have decided (in my opinion quite rightly) that they would rather not compromise their culture and spectacular natural environment to hundreds of thousands of tourists, and, consequently, they charge a princely sum for being among the privileged few to visit their country. Similarly we feel that we have a very special product to offer, and while we could make it shorter and thus less expensive, we feel that that would diminish the experience. By taking more time in Bhutan we can literally take the opportunity to "smell the roses," or rather the daphnia, and imbibe the various serendipitous cultural opportunities that offer themselves, as well as really enjoy the birds, mammals, butterflies, and flowering plants that are so profuse in spring in the eastern Himalayas. Many of these species and experiences require time, and we don't want to short-change our participants. How often have you heard on tour after tour that one wishes one was here 40 or more years ago? In the case of Bhutan, we are there 40 years ago, but with all the joys and comforts that a good infrastructure brings.
"The Paro Dzong (monastery), guarded by icy crags,
sits warming under the late afternoon sun. It seems
to welcome our approach to our beautifully located
hotel. An Ibisbill, so subtle as to be taken for a
glacial stone, dips quietly in the snowmelt. This is
indeed the Kingdom of Bhutan and the land of the
peaceful Dragon." As Steve Hilty remarked on first
setting foot in the kingdom, "This is fairytale land."
— K. David Bishop
Bhutan was literally everything we had hoped it would be and more. And it just gets better and better. Our ground agent, Gangri Tours and Travel, treated us like royalty and was absolutely professional, sometimes to the point of this leader's amazement. Our ground crew from Wangdi, our truly world-class bus driver, to the newest dining room recruit contributed in a major way to the fun, happiness, comfort, and enjoyment everyone derived from this special tour.
On our tour we typically record well in excess of 400 species of birds and 15–25 species of mammals. It has to be said that our mammal list seems to be getting better and bigger each year, perhaps a reflection of my personal interest in the mammalian critters of Asia, and, in particular, the Himalayas, and perhaps because of the enthusiasm of our clients and our driver for night-drives and spotlighting! The brand new field guide to the butterflies of the Indian subcontinent will undoubtedly result in butterflies on this and other tours in and around India.
While clearly everyone wants to see such mega-charismatic species as Satyr Tragopan, Ward's Trogon, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Himalayan Monal, Ibisbill, Beautiful Nuthatch, and a host of other specialties, there is always a tremendous sense of excitement at experiencing the unknown on our Bhutan tours. Some years we have done very nicely with the enigmatic and globally critically endangered White-bellied Heron, while on other years no one has seen it at all. Sometimes we struggle with Satyr Tragopans while in other years they behave like a dream and males show off to us. Beautiful Nuthatch is yet another blue-ribbon bird, but has become very difficult at one site, possibly because of excessive use of tape play-back. Because we know Bhutan so well, we not only know the birds very well, but know Bhutan well enough to take our participants to less utilized sites.
Migration adds enormously to the excitement of Bhutan tours; for example, sometimes you can go for several days without seeing a species you would typically expect to find fairly easily, and then you bump into a migrating flock of 200 or so. And then there is the real thrill of something completely off the wall such as this year's very responsive, singing male Purple Cochoa—arguably one of Asia's most difficult to find species!
Flowering plants are a constant distraction and the more you get into them the more you see. A spray of orchids gracing lichen-dappled rock and mountain sides ablaze with as many as 8–10 species of flowering rhododendrons—most of them in giant tree-like growth-forms—merely hints at the floristic joys of the "kingdom of the thunder dragon."
I consider myself very privileged to have traveled so often and so extensively throughout the kingdom of Bhutan (1994 to the present). To have the opportunity to regularly explore such an incredible and special destination, and in company with my wonderful Bhutanese friends, is something I treasure and look forward to every year. Our Bhutan tour is memorable indeed. The vastness and beauty of Bhutan's forests—a window onto what Asia and the Himalayas once were like—combined with the opportunity to make very real discoveries, never fails to rejuvenate my soul, and makes me want to return time after time.
This was a very special tour, one of the very best I have ever had the pleasure of leading to Bhutan. In large part this success was due to a wonderful group of participants and our wonderful… no, change that, fantastic ground crew. I would like to thank you all for making the entire tour such a great experience.
The summary of our daily activities includes some of the trip's highlights together with a list of what we heard and saw. Nevertheless it only conveys part of the story, and can never really express the wonderful sights and sounds of Bhutan, its land, its forests, its wildlife, and its people. I doubt any of us will ever forget the White-bellied Heron that we watched for 30 minutes or more as he gulped down a gigantic fish; the pair of aptly named Beautiful Nuthatches that we enjoyed on two consecutive days; that gorgeous orange apparition on a tree at eye level alongside our bus one night near our Yongkola Camp—one of, if not THE world's largest flying squirrel; and the fine views of a flock of very infrequently encountered Lesser Rufous-headed Parrotbills and lovely White-hooded Babblers. Of course the birding is always great in Bhutan, and any time you find a Ward's Trogon as well as we did is very special. But, as seems to be a recurring theme on VENT's Asia tours, it was a very good trip for mammals with a total of 20 species seen, including many golden langurs (some at very close range), looks at the goat-like antelope goral, and spectacular views of the gigantic Hodgson's flying-squirrel.
Our Bhutan tour is a wonderful exposition of the rich biodiversity, landscapes, and culture of this fascinating kingdom. I cannot wait to return!