Bird Watching in Nepal

The best time for this tour is spring (March to June) and autumn (October to early December). Both seasons offer pleasant temperatures across the Kathmandu Valley and Chitwan, clear skies and active bird populations.

Winter (December to February) is a very interesting alternative. Kathmandu daytime temperatures run around 15°C–20°C / 59°F–68°F, which visitors from cooler climates will find mild rather than cold. In Chitwan, mornings can be foggy—creating an atmospheric setting for early wildlife drives though with reduced visibility—and temperatures drop to 10°C–15°C / 50°F–59°F before dawn. Winter is the season when waterfowl and waterbirds are at their most concentrated in the national park.

On average, Kathmandu temperatures range from around 9°C / 49°F in winter to a high of around 30°C / 86°F in the hot months just before the monsoon. Chitwan is warmer: spring sees 25°C–34°C / 77°F–93°F, rising to 35°C / 95°F in May and June, while the monsoon averages 25°C–30°C / 77°F–86°F.

Swotah does not recommend this tour during the monsoon (late June to mid-September). Roads outside Kathmandu may flood or face landslides, and the river crossing into Chitwan National Park can become too high for jeep travel. Birding is still possible but conditions are difficult.

Everyone requires a permit to enter a national park in Nepal. Entrance fees to Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park and Chitwan National Park are included in the tour cost, as are entrance fees to the other birdwatching sites visited in the Kathmandu Valley. Entrance fees to cultural sites—Patan Durbar Square and museum, or alternative heritage sites if you choose the non-hiking day-3 option—are not included and are payable on the day.

Most nationalities can obtain a tourist visa on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. Current fees are USD 30 for 15 days, USD 50 for 30 days or USD 125 for 90 days. Bring two passport-size photos and the visa fee in USD cash. Swotah sends up-to-date visa guidance before your departure.

In Kathmandu you will stay in a comfortable 3-star hotel with breakfast included. All rooms are twin-bedded with private en-suite facilities. In Chitwan National Park you will stay in a jungle lodge more suited to the natural environment—again twin-bedded with private facilities. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included in Chitwan.

If you require a single room, please let us know at the time of booking and we will check availability and advise on any additional single-supplement charge.

Breakfast in your Kathmandu hotel may be a buffet or plate service, typically consisting of cereal, eggs, toast, fruit, tea or coffee. During the three birding days in the Kathmandu Valley, a packed lunch is provided. Dinner in Kathmandu is at your own expense; there is a wide variety of restaurants and cafes near the hotel to choose from.

In Chitwan National Park, all meals are included—breakfast, lunch and dinner—and will be a combination of Continental and Nepali food such as dal bhat (lentil soup, curry and rice) and momo dumplings. Please let us know in advance if you are vegetarian or vegan. It is standard in Nepal to purchase your own drinking water. Cold drinks and alcohol are also readily available to purchase.

Within the Kathmandu Valley, all transfers are in a private vehicle. For the journey to and from Chitwan National Park (approximately 150 km / 93 miles), transport is by tourist bus, which takes 4 to 5 hours and makes stops for food and toilet facilities. If you prefer a private vehicle for the Chitwan transfer, this is available at an additional cost—the advantage being the freedom to stop for photographs along the way and a slightly faster journey. Daily flights from Kathmandu to Chitwan (landing at Bharatpur, then a short jeep ride into the park) are another option. Please ask Swotah about all transport alternatives and upgrades.

All airport transfers on your arrival and departure days are included in a private vehicle. A Swotah representative meets you at Tribhuvan International Airport on day 1 and arranges your transfer to the airport on the final day.

The history of the Kathmandu Valley is one of myths, gods and bloodshed. Swambhunath Stupa, sitting high above the city, marks the site where the god Manjushri looked down on the lake that was once the Kathmandu Valley, then took a sword and cut into it, carving the Chobar Gorge and draining the lake. The Bagmati River, which still flows through the centre of the city, was said to flow from the hair of Lord Shiva. On a hill where Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park stands today, legend holds that Shiva and his wife Parvati were so impressed by the forests they turned themselves into deer and refused to leave—leading the other gods to name Shiva 'Pashupatinath', lord of all animals. The temple of Pashupatinath grew up along the banks of the Bagmati River and remains an important Hindu pilgrimage site.

The Newars are the indigenous group of the valley, with their own language and culture of primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman origin. The many different kingdoms across what is now Nepal were unified in 1769 by Prithvi Narayan Shah. Today Nepal is a republic, and the Kathmandu Valley, while increasingly urbanised, still holds important places to observe wildlife—especially birds. Swotah can arrange additional cultural tours of the valley on request.

Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park is approximately 12 km / 7.5 miles from the centre of Kathmandu and is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded, including the slender-billed scimitar babbler, golden-throated barbet (Psilopogon franklinii) and Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo). The park holds a reported 65 mammal species, including threatened species such as Chinese pangolin, leopard, clouded leopard and Assamese macaque. Its evergreen, pine, oak and rhododendron forests provide a wide range of habitats. Shivapuri Nagarjun is also a major watershed for the Kathmandu Valley, feeding the holy Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers.

Godavari Botanical Garden, established in 1962, covers over 82 hectares with 30 different thematic gardens including a Japanese garden, orchid house, bonsai house and a garden for endangered plants. As the centre for plant conservation and research in Nepal, it has recorded over 250 bird species. Among them is the Spiny Babbler (Argya nipalensis), Nepal's only endemic bird, which was thought to be extinct and was found again only after 104 years. Magpies and mynas are commonly seen here; the common myna is considered one of the world's most invasive species by the IUCN. A wide variety of butterflies can also be seen throughout the garden.

Godavari Forest, situated near and around the botanical garden, has trails suitable for different fitness levels and many viewpoints. Bird species regularly recorded here include the laughing thrush, Himalayan cutia (Cutia nipalensis), chestnut-headed tesia, blue-naped pitta (Hydrornis nipalensis), blue-bearded bee-eater, parrotbills and green magpie.

Phulchowki Hill is the highest hill in the Kathmandu Valley at 2,782 m / 9,127 ft and offers outstanding views of surrounding mountains including Langtang, Gaurishankar and Annapurna on a clear day. The ascent takes around four hours and returns the same way, approximately three hours back down. You walk through forests where it is common to see the Himalayan griffon vulture (Gyps himalayensis), woodpeckers and the Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus)—Nepal's national bird. Around 300 species have been recorded on the hill, making it one of the most productive birding sites in the Kathmandu Valley.

Chitwan National Park was established in 1973 and is the largest national park in Nepal. With a sub-tropical climate and monsoon rains, the park, buffer zone and surrounding areas have lush forests and grasslands alive with wildlife. There are 68 species of mammals and around 544 bird species—both migratory and non-migratory—plus fish, crocodiles and other aquatic species.

Two of Chitwan's great conservation success stories are the Asian One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the Gharial Crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus), both protected species whose populations have recovered under park management. You are almost guaranteed to see rhinoceros on your jeep safari and jungle walk. The park is also home to the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), Asian Elephant, various deer species, two types of monkey and a wide range of smaller mammals. The Rapti River runs along the northern park boundary, providing ideal canoe access and excellent waterbird habitat.

In recent years, villages and hotels previously within the park boundaries have been relocated outside as wildlife and human settlements came into closer contact. The local people are still permitted into the park to cut grass for their thatched roofs during winter—a delicate balance between conservation and community. Private elephant rides are no longer offered; some former elephant camps now provide responsible 'walks with elephants' instead, reflecting changes in international wildlife welfare standards.

The lowland area of Nepal is called the Terai. Chitwan National Park lies in the Inner Terai, which spans Chitwan and Makwanpur Districts. The Terai stretches across the entire south of the country from east to west, bordering India. The two indigenous peoples of the Terai are the Tharus and the Dhimals, with several Tharu subgroups covering most of the Terai region in both Nepal and India.

Originally semi-nomadic, the Tharus practised shifting cultivation and collected wild vegetables, medicinal plants and fruit. They are believed to have had a resistance to malaria, which historically kept outsiders out of the Terai. During the 1960s a DDT programme to eradicate malaria-carrying mosquitoes opened the region to an influx of hill people, many of whom took over Tharu land. The system of bonded Tharu labour, known as Kamaiya, was officially abolished in the early 2000s.

In Chitwan you will visit a traditional Tharu village where houses are built from mud, clay and bamboo with thatched roofs—designed to stay cool in summer, with small windows to keep out mosquitoes and heat. These traditional homes are increasingly replaced by brick and concrete, though many still carry murals painted with natural pigments showing nature scenes or themes from the Mahabharata. Traditional furniture uses bamboo and grasses from the forests. After dinner on your first night in Chitwan, you will attend a Tharu Cultural Show and learn more about this fascinating way of life.

Swotah tries to operate as responsibly as possible on this tour. As birdwatchers, you are aware how climate and environmental change affects not only birds but all forms of life and vegetation. Swotah follows the principle of leaving nothing but footprints and taking nothing away except photographs and memories.

In practice, this means staying on established trails at Phulchowki and Shivapuri, keeping noise low in forest plots and hides, not using playback calls near active nests, and supporting national park permit systems whose fees fund conservation directly. The park entrance fees included in your tour cost contribute to the management of both Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park and Chitwan National Park. Swotah uses local guides whose livelihoods depend on sustainable tourism in these protected areas, supporting long-term conservation incentives at the community level.

You will be accompanied by an English-speaking licensed tour guide and a specialist birdwatching guide at all times. Your birdwatching guide has site-specific species knowledge and bird-call recognition for every zone on the tour. Binocular hire is possible in Kathmandu—Swotah will direct you to reliable hire shops if needed—but for the best identification results, bringing your own 8x42 or 10x42 roof-prism binoculars is strongly recommended. Do not bring bright clothing, as it competes with the birds and makes you more visible to wildlife.

A spotting scope is carried by the guide for distant species at open sites. The guide compiles a day-by-day species tally and provides the full trip list as a record at the end of the tour. Nepal uses Type C and Type D power sockets; bring a universal travel adapter and a power bank for long field days. A tourist SIM card is provided on arrival to keep you connected throughout the journey.