Ahmedabad-Bhavnagar-Gir-Zainabad-Ahmedabad.
10 Days Day 1 You Depart London by Air
India For a direct flight to Ahmedabad in the state of Gujrat India.
Day 2 Reach at about 10 A.M. at Ahmedabad
International Airport. Our ground staff will meet & receive you at the
airport. We will have breakfast at the river-facing Cama Park Plaza, where
your bird list will begin with many garden birds in the hotel premises and
waterside birds along the Sabarmati River. After breakfast we will move
onwards for our first wildlife destination Bhavnagar. The Journey is approx.
200 K.M. & will take about 4 hrs.We reach Bhavnagar at about 5 P.M.
Check in at The Nilambag Palace Hotel a Heritage property & rest for the
evening to over come jetlag.
Day 3 We
will have Morning & Evening game drives at Velavadar National Park.
Blackbuck National Park Velavadar in the Bhal region of Saurashtra is a
unique grassland ecosystem that has attracted fame for the successful
conservation of the blackbuck, the wolf and the lesser florican. Once found
in open plains throughout the country and the state of Gujarat. Its largest
population at present occurs in Velavadar N.P. This exclusively Indian
animal is perhaps the most graceful and beautiful of its kind. It has ringed
horns that have a spiral twist of three to four turns and are up to 70 cm
long. The bodys upper parts are black and the under parts and a ring
around the eyes are white.. The wolf and the jackals are the main predators
in the park. More than 1500 Blackbucks are found within the park.
Day 4 Early Morning after having breakfast we will move to Gir
National Park by Road,which is about 200 K.M from Bhavnagar & will take
about 5 Hrs to reach. We will have Lunch at Gondal at the Riverside
Palace/Orchard Palace. Its a heritage hotel good for birding with many
species coming in to the orchards and on the river-shores. After Lunch we
proceed to Gir National Park & Check in at Taj or similar. We will try
to take an Evening Game safari.
Day 5 Morning
Evening game Safari. The Indian lion is another name for the
Asiatic lion, Panthera Leo persica, the sub-species that once ranged from
Greece to central India. Before they were completely wiped out, the lions
came under the protection of the Nawab of Junagadh, a local monarch, who
banned all lion hunting in the area. Soon, the lion population began to rise
in number. By the declaration of Indian independence in 1947, the government
had come to realize the importance and fragile nature of this last bastion
of the Asiatic lion, and the Nawabs conservation policy was upheld.
Naturalists were assigned to study and take a census of the Girs lion
population. At that time there were around 200 lions. The Indian government
then created the Gir National Park and Lion Sanctuary - collectively known
as the Gir Protected Area (PA), covering over 1000 km². The area is
made up of dry scrubland with hills, rivers, and teak forest. In addition to
the lion population, the Gir PA contains leopards, antelope, deer, jackals,
hyenas, and marsh crocodiles. The largest Asiatic lion on record measured
2.9 m from nose to tail-tip & the current population is in excess of
300.
Day 6 Morning Evening Game drive.
Day 7 After morning Game drive we drive to Zainabad the Little Rann
of Kutch (280 K.M.) A safari through the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary in the
Little Rann of Kutch in northwest of Gujrat. A safari through this region
gives one a chance to come face to face with a wide variety of birds and
other wildlife. A safari through the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary is a unique
experience. A safari through this region gives one a chance to come face to
face with a wide variety of birds and other wildlife. Besides the Wild Ass,
the sanctuary is home to a host of other animals and nearly 350 different
species of birds, including the common crane, pelican and the lesser
flamingo. Apart from this, one can also get a rare insight into the
lifestyles of the numerous ethnic groups and local tribes, which live in and
around the Rann.
Interestingly, the Little Rann gets a fair number
of winged visitors in the winter months. Among these, the blue-tailed
bee-eater that comes all the way from Europe, the common crane and the
demoiselle crane from Siberia, the ceraneous vulture from Egypt and the
houbara bustard from Iran and Iraq are the ones most commonly sighted.
Day 8 Morning Evening Game drive
Day 9 Morning Evening Game drive
Day 10
After early break fast we leave for Ahmedabad international Airport to catch
our onward flight to London. (Zainabad Ahmedabad is 100 K.M. 2 Hrs
Drive.)