Birding and Wildlife Trip to India - February 2026
A short video from a previous trip.
We saw some amazing birds and had many fun moments...
Dates: February 5th - 14th 2026
Small Groups - Max 9
Travel FAQ for this trip
Packing List
We invite you to experience the bird life in the Western Ghats of India – from the amazing hornbills and sleek drongos to colorful barbets and kingfishers. Wild elephants, giant squirrels, gaur (Indian bison) and maybe even tiger! We visit national parks, tiger preserves and local villages. Our accommodations will be in rustic cottages with en suite bathrooms and hot water. Our birding and wildlife tour is an amazing opportunity at a very affordable cost.
Cost per person: $3,950 per person in double/twin occupancy
Single supplement: $900
A $750 deposit is due to confirm
All payments are refundable till 120 days prior to departure minus a $750 cancelation fee
The purchase of personal travel insurance is required, including medical evacuation. To confirm your spot, please contact Mowgli Expeditions at sachin(@/at)mowgliexpeditions.com
Included: All lodging, meals as listed, tips for meals, group airport transfers, all internal transportation including a train ride, park fees, all taxes.
Not Included: International flights, 2 internal flights (approx. $200 total), visa, beverages, laundry, tips, travel insurance, and items of a personal nature.
Tour Planning: Sachin Aggarwal, a Travis Audubon’s member and Austin resident who grew up in India and founder of Mowgli expeditions has organized this trip for Travis Audobon for last several years. Depending on his commitments he may or may not escort the trip.
Guiding: Guiding shall be provided by local birding guides and naturalists.
Vaccinations Required: Standard childhood shots, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid
5-day extension to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Agra and the Rajasthan recommended and available.
Itinerary Summary
Day 1 — Thu Feb 5, Arrive Bangalore (L,D)
Day 2 — Fri Feb 6, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 3 — Sat Feb 7, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 4 — Sun Feb 8, Western Ghats, Molem (B,L,D)
Day 5 — Mon Feb 9, Western Ghats, Molem (B,L,D)
Day 6 — Tue Feb 10, Transit via Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 7 — Wed Feb 11, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 8 — Thu Feb 12, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 9 — Fri Feb 13, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 10 —Sat Feb 14, Departure (B)
B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner
Suggested Flight: Tuesday Feb 3rd British Air 190, departs Austin 7:00 pm (Approx $1400 roundtrip)
** You can also choose multi flight option and fly out Monday Feb 2nd and get a full day rest at Hotel Thistle very close to London Heathrow Airort, and then fly to Bangalore on 4th Feb arriving on 5th morning. Thistle Hotel close by to London Heathrow airport, can be reached by new self driving pods from the terminal T5 (hotel room not included in tour price) for a rest before the next flight.**
*This trip is also open to folks from other cities of course.
Expedition itinerary:
Day 1 Thursday - Arrival at Bangalore
After clearing customs, and picking up your luggage, you shall travel by an AC mini bus from the airport to our hotel.
After breakfast this morning, we’ll visit Lalbagh Botanical Gardens for a few hours. Lalbagh has a famous glass house and boasts India’s largest collection of tropical plants. While Lalbagh is known for plants, there are many birds here as well, like Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), or Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii), Grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus), Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). The afternoon has been kept for some rest and rejuvanation, and you may choose to get a massage(not included). In the evening we shall have dinner at a place that serves good local cuisine. Day 2 -Friday- To Ganeshgudi,Dandeli
This afternoon we’ll fly from Bangalore to Dandeli, but first we will visit Cubbon park where we hope to see white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri),Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus), few species of woodpeckers and more.
We head to the airport around 11:30 a.m, will have lunch there and take a short flight to Hubli en route to Dandeli. (flight not included in tour price)
On arrival, we’ll be picked up in a van/jeeps for the 2 hour drive to our lodge, The old Magazine House for the next four nights. The cottages have en-suite bathrooms with hot water.
Old Magazine house at Ganeshgudi, is one of the prime spots for bird watching in the Western Ghats. The Old Magazine House, was originally a British building that was used to store ammunition. It has now been set up as a lodge with bird blinds, feeders, and bird baths.
As Malabar Giant Squirrels scurry about for food on the ground, we’ll look for Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), Indian Black-lored Tit (Machlolophus xanthogenys), Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea) , Yellow-browed Bulbul (Acritillas indica), Indian Paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), White-rumped Munia (Lonchura striata), Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra), Malabar Trogon (Harpactes fasciatus), White-bellied Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis pallipes), Tickell’s Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae), and the stunning Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella). Did we mention butterflies? They are abundant.
Day 3 - Saturday - Birding at Timber depot
This morning, after our early cup of coffee/tea, we head to the ‘Timber Depot’, a teak plantation and timber auction site filled with birds. It is located about 45 minutes from our lodging and we will spend a few hours birding.
Here, a variety of fig trees offer fruits that attract a greater number of birds. We hope to see Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus), and Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) – along what is commonly called the ‘Hornbill Trail’. Additionally, we hope to see the gorgeous Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes socialis), Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), India Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo), Malabar (or Blue-winged) Parakeet (Psittacula columboides) and a diurnal owl called Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum).
What a wonderful way to begin birding in the Western Ghats!
After lunch we will do an ‘only in India’ type adventure – a coracle boat ride looking for wading birds on the Kali River. A coracle is a small round boat used mostly for crossing the rivers, but they are perfect for birding, giving you the opportunity to see several crocodiles sunning on the riverbank as well Crested (or Changeable) Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus), Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela), White-throated (or White-breasted) Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis), Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis) and hornbills overhead.
Early evening, we head to Anshi National Park. It is an evergreen tropical forest covering an area of about 200 square kilometres. Once mined for manganese, much the wildlife moved away from the forest. Chances of seeing big mammals like elephants are limited, but we hope to see mammals like spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, common langur, sloth bear, bonnet macaque, slender loris, mongoose, jungle cat, jackal, pangolin, Malabar giant squirrel and the porcupine.
About 200 species of birds are listed for the preserve and we may see some hornbills, Ashy Swallow-shirke (Artamus fuscus), Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), Ceylon or Sri Lanka Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela), Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes) and Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus).
Return to the lodge around 6:30 pm for dinner and a good night’s rest.
Night Stay at Old Magazine House
Day 4,5 - Sunday and Monday - Molem
We shall start our day again with an early cup of coffee/tea around 6:30 am, a morning of birding more or less 6:30 – 8:30 am and try and get the birds we have missed the last 2 days.
After breakfast, we shall head to Molem which is another amazing hotspot in the western Ghats. We shall spend 2 days and nights here and also get a chance to go out in the night lookin for owls. We hope to see many birds like Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis), Common Hawk Cuckoo (locally known as Brain fever bird) (Hierococcyx varius), Ashey Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus), Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker, also known as Black-rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense) etc.
Night Stay at Nature's Nest or similar.
Day 6 - Tuesday - Molem to Bangalore
This morning we shall bird on a trail at the lodge, looking for birds we may have missed. After breakfast at the lodge, we’ll head to the Goa airport to catch a flight to Bangalore which is about 1.5 hours.
This evening we will take you to a crafts bazaar where you might find something to take home as a reminder of your trip. Then we’ll have a dinner of typical Indian cuisine. Overnight stay at Bangalore.
Day 7 – Wednesday - Bangalore to Kabini by train
Today we shall get some rest in the morning and then around 9 am, after breakfast, head to the train station. The bus continues, but we’ll travel from Bangalore to Mysore by a comfortable train, with only our day packs. It’s about two hours and gives you another perspective of the country. On arrival we’ll have lunch after we meet up again with the bus and head to Kabini, about 2.5 to 3 hours. Depending on arrival time, we may go straight for a boat Safari on the Kabini river, giving us an opportunity to look for water birds and hopefully seeing elephants on the riverbank.
Kabini River Lodge was the former hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Mysore and is a sprawling colonial estate in the heart of elephant country. We’ll stay two nights at Kabini River Lodge in cottages with en suite bathrooms with hot water.
Day 8 – Thursday - Nagarhole National Park
After our early coffee/tea, we’ll take a jeep safari in Nagarhole National Park.
This national park has some of the best wildlife of india and we shall shift our focus from birding to mammal species - Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), Indian bison or gaur Bos gaurus), Spotted deer or chital (Axis axis), Indian muntjac or Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak).
Just before or right after lunch , we will walk the trails of the lodge for more birding.
We shall go for our second jeep safari in the afternoon looking for Indian wild dog or dhole (Cuon alpinus), Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus), Gray langur or Hanuman Langur (Semnopitheaus entellus), Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi), and Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca).
There is also a chance to spot the Bengal tiger here!
Day 9 – Friday - Return to Bangalore via Mysore.
Our final morning will be spent with our last safari into the national park hoping for an encounter with the elephants or the predators. We’ll return to Bangalore by our private air-conditioned mini-bus, stopping at the amazing Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary comprises of six islets on the banks of the Kaveri river. Roughly 170 bird species have been recorded here. Of these, the Painted stork, Asian openbill stork, Common spoonbill, Woolly-necked stork, Black-headed ibis, Lesser whistling duck, Indian shag, Stork-billed kingfisher, egret, cormorant, Oriental darter, Spot-billed pelican and heron breed here regularly. The Great stone plover, and River tern also nest here.
We should arrive Bangalore around 6:00 pm. It’s your final evening in India and we will shall celeberate the various species seen.
Day 10 Saturday - Departure
You can catch your flight back home or fly to Delhi for the Northern India extension.
NOTE: The order and sites visited and other arts of the itinerary may vary due to weather, road conditions, and other factors.
Come join us for this memorable trip!
For enquiries or to confirm your spot, please contact Mowgli Expeditions at sachin(@/at)mowgliexpeditions.com
A short video from a previous trip.
We saw some amazing birds and had many fun moments...
Dates: February 5th - 14th 2026
Small Groups - Max 9
Travel FAQ for this trip
Packing List
We invite you to experience the bird life in the Western Ghats of India – from the amazing hornbills and sleek drongos to colorful barbets and kingfishers. Wild elephants, giant squirrels, gaur (Indian bison) and maybe even tiger! We visit national parks, tiger preserves and local villages. Our accommodations will be in rustic cottages with en suite bathrooms and hot water. Our birding and wildlife tour is an amazing opportunity at a very affordable cost.
Cost per person: $3,950 per person in double/twin occupancy
Single supplement: $900
A $750 deposit is due to confirm
All payments are refundable till 120 days prior to departure minus a $750 cancelation fee
The purchase of personal travel insurance is required, including medical evacuation. To confirm your spot, please contact Mowgli Expeditions at sachin(@/at)mowgliexpeditions.com
Included: All lodging, meals as listed, tips for meals, group airport transfers, all internal transportation including a train ride, park fees, all taxes.
Not Included: International flights, 2 internal flights (approx. $200 total), visa, beverages, laundry, tips, travel insurance, and items of a personal nature.
Tour Planning: Sachin Aggarwal, a Travis Audubon’s member and Austin resident who grew up in India and founder of Mowgli expeditions has organized this trip for Travis Audobon for last several years. Depending on his commitments he may or may not escort the trip.
Guiding: Guiding shall be provided by local birding guides and naturalists.
Vaccinations Required: Standard childhood shots, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid
5-day extension to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Agra and the Rajasthan recommended and available.
Itinerary Summary
Day 1 — Thu Feb 5, Arrive Bangalore (L,D)
Day 2 — Fri Feb 6, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 3 — Sat Feb 7, Dandeli (B,L,D)
Day 4 — Sun Feb 8, Western Ghats, Molem (B,L,D)
Day 5 — Mon Feb 9, Western Ghats, Molem (B,L,D)
Day 6 — Tue Feb 10, Transit via Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 7 — Wed Feb 11, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 8 — Thu Feb 12, Nagarhole (B,L,D)
Day 9 — Fri Feb 13, Bangalore (B,L,D)
Day 10 —Sat Feb 14, Departure (B)
B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner
Suggested Flight: Tuesday Feb 3rd British Air 190, departs Austin 7:00 pm (Approx $1400 roundtrip)
** You can also choose multi flight option and fly out Monday Feb 2nd and get a full day rest at Hotel Thistle very close to London Heathrow Airort, and then fly to Bangalore on 4th Feb arriving on 5th morning. Thistle Hotel close by to London Heathrow airport, can be reached by new self driving pods from the terminal T5 (hotel room not included in tour price) for a rest before the next flight.**
*This trip is also open to folks from other cities of course.
Expedition itinerary:
Day 1 Thursday - Arrival at Bangalore
After clearing customs, and picking up your luggage, you shall travel by an AC mini bus from the airport to our hotel.
After breakfast this morning, we’ll visit Lalbagh Botanical Gardens for a few hours. Lalbagh has a famous glass house and boasts India’s largest collection of tropical plants. While Lalbagh is known for plants, there are many birds here as well, like Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), or Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii), Grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus), Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). The afternoon has been kept for some rest and rejuvanation, and you may choose to get a massage(not included). In the evening we shall have dinner at a place that serves good local cuisine. Day 2 -Friday- To Ganeshgudi,Dandeli
This afternoon we’ll fly from Bangalore to Dandeli, but first we will visit Cubbon park where we hope to see white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri),Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus), few species of woodpeckers and more.
We head to the airport around 11:30 a.m, will have lunch there and take a short flight to Hubli en route to Dandeli. (flight not included in tour price)
On arrival, we’ll be picked up in a van/jeeps for the 2 hour drive to our lodge, The old Magazine House for the next four nights. The cottages have en-suite bathrooms with hot water.
Old Magazine house at Ganeshgudi, is one of the prime spots for bird watching in the Western Ghats. The Old Magazine House, was originally a British building that was used to store ammunition. It has now been set up as a lodge with bird blinds, feeders, and bird baths.
As Malabar Giant Squirrels scurry about for food on the ground, we’ll look for Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), Indian Black-lored Tit (Machlolophus xanthogenys), Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea) , Yellow-browed Bulbul (Acritillas indica), Indian Paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), White-rumped Munia (Lonchura striata), Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra), Malabar Trogon (Harpactes fasciatus), White-bellied Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis pallipes), Tickell’s Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae), and the stunning Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella). Did we mention butterflies? They are abundant.
Day 3 - Saturday - Birding at Timber depot
This morning, after our early cup of coffee/tea, we head to the ‘Timber Depot’, a teak plantation and timber auction site filled with birds. It is located about 45 minutes from our lodging and we will spend a few hours birding.
Here, a variety of fig trees offer fruits that attract a greater number of birds. We hope to see Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus), and Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) – along what is commonly called the ‘Hornbill Trail’. Additionally, we hope to see the gorgeous Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes socialis), Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), India Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo), Malabar (or Blue-winged) Parakeet (Psittacula columboides) and a diurnal owl called Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum).
What a wonderful way to begin birding in the Western Ghats!
After lunch we will do an ‘only in India’ type adventure – a coracle boat ride looking for wading birds on the Kali River. A coracle is a small round boat used mostly for crossing the rivers, but they are perfect for birding, giving you the opportunity to see several crocodiles sunning on the riverbank as well Crested (or Changeable) Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus), Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela), White-throated (or White-breasted) Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis), Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis) and hornbills overhead.
Early evening, we head to Anshi National Park. It is an evergreen tropical forest covering an area of about 200 square kilometres. Once mined for manganese, much the wildlife moved away from the forest. Chances of seeing big mammals like elephants are limited, but we hope to see mammals like spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, common langur, sloth bear, bonnet macaque, slender loris, mongoose, jungle cat, jackal, pangolin, Malabar giant squirrel and the porcupine.
About 200 species of birds are listed for the preserve and we may see some hornbills, Ashy Swallow-shirke (Artamus fuscus), Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus), Ceylon or Sri Lanka Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela), Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes) and Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus).
Return to the lodge around 6:30 pm for dinner and a good night’s rest.
Night Stay at Old Magazine House
Day 4,5 - Sunday and Monday - Molem
We shall start our day again with an early cup of coffee/tea around 6:30 am, a morning of birding more or less 6:30 – 8:30 am and try and get the birds we have missed the last 2 days.
After breakfast, we shall head to Molem which is another amazing hotspot in the western Ghats. We shall spend 2 days and nights here and also get a chance to go out in the night lookin for owls. We hope to see many birds like Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis), Common Hawk Cuckoo (locally known as Brain fever bird) (Hierococcyx varius), Ashey Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus), Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker, also known as Black-rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense) etc.
Night Stay at Nature's Nest or similar.
Day 6 - Tuesday - Molem to Bangalore
This morning we shall bird on a trail at the lodge, looking for birds we may have missed. After breakfast at the lodge, we’ll head to the Goa airport to catch a flight to Bangalore which is about 1.5 hours.
This evening we will take you to a crafts bazaar where you might find something to take home as a reminder of your trip. Then we’ll have a dinner of typical Indian cuisine. Overnight stay at Bangalore.
Day 7 – Wednesday - Bangalore to Kabini by train
Today we shall get some rest in the morning and then around 9 am, after breakfast, head to the train station. The bus continues, but we’ll travel from Bangalore to Mysore by a comfortable train, with only our day packs. It’s about two hours and gives you another perspective of the country. On arrival we’ll have lunch after we meet up again with the bus and head to Kabini, about 2.5 to 3 hours. Depending on arrival time, we may go straight for a boat Safari on the Kabini river, giving us an opportunity to look for water birds and hopefully seeing elephants on the riverbank.
Kabini River Lodge was the former hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Mysore and is a sprawling colonial estate in the heart of elephant country. We’ll stay two nights at Kabini River Lodge in cottages with en suite bathrooms with hot water.
Day 8 – Thursday - Nagarhole National Park
After our early coffee/tea, we’ll take a jeep safari in Nagarhole National Park.
This national park has some of the best wildlife of india and we shall shift our focus from birding to mammal species - Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), Indian bison or gaur Bos gaurus), Spotted deer or chital (Axis axis), Indian muntjac or Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak).
Just before or right after lunch , we will walk the trails of the lodge for more birding.
We shall go for our second jeep safari in the afternoon looking for Indian wild dog or dhole (Cuon alpinus), Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus), Gray langur or Hanuman Langur (Semnopitheaus entellus), Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi), and Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca).
There is also a chance to spot the Bengal tiger here!
Day 9 – Friday - Return to Bangalore via Mysore.
Our final morning will be spent with our last safari into the national park hoping for an encounter with the elephants or the predators. We’ll return to Bangalore by our private air-conditioned mini-bus, stopping at the amazing Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary comprises of six islets on the banks of the Kaveri river. Roughly 170 bird species have been recorded here. Of these, the Painted stork, Asian openbill stork, Common spoonbill, Woolly-necked stork, Black-headed ibis, Lesser whistling duck, Indian shag, Stork-billed kingfisher, egret, cormorant, Oriental darter, Spot-billed pelican and heron breed here regularly. The Great stone plover, and River tern also nest here.
We should arrive Bangalore around 6:00 pm. It’s your final evening in India and we will shall celeberate the various species seen.
Day 10 Saturday - Departure
You can catch your flight back home or fly to Delhi for the Northern India extension.
NOTE: The order and sites visited and other arts of the itinerary may vary due to weather, road conditions, and other factors.
Come join us for this memorable trip!
For enquiries or to confirm your spot, please contact Mowgli Expeditions at sachin(@/at)mowgliexpeditions.com