Southern India - Annular Eclipse and Nagarhole Naturetrek Tour Itinerary Outline itinerary Day 1 Depart London Day 2 Arrive Mumbai and fly to Mangalore. Transfer to Bekal Day 3 Bekal (Christmas Day) Day 4 Bekal (Annular Eclipse) Day 5 Transfer to Nagarhole, pm jungle activity Day 6/9 Nagarhole - am and pm jungle activities Day 10 Transfer to Bangalore and fly to Mumbai Day 11 Arrive Mumbai and fly to London Extension Day 10 Nagarhole to Wayanad Day 11/13 Explore the area around Wayanad on foot Day 14 Transfer to Calicut and fly to Mumbai Day 15 Arrive Mumbai and fly to London From top: Annular Eclipse and Tiger Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf’s Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Dates Monday 23rd December 2019 – Thursday 2nd January 2020 Cost: £4,995 Extension to Nagarhole till Monday 6th January 2020 Cost: £895 Single room supplement £1,695 (extension add: £495) Grading Grade A (easy). Day walks only. Asian Elephants © Naturetrek 2 Southern India - Annular Eclipse and Nagarhole Tour Itinerary © Naturetrek 3 Southern India - Annular Eclipse and Nagarhole Tour Itinerary Introduction India boasts a mammal fauna of over 450 species. Many visitors are familiar with the well-known national parks in the north of the country, and of course the magnificent Bengal Tiger. In fact, this supreme predator occurs over a much wider range than might be expected, and in the south of the country there are Project Tiger reserves which also offer the opportunity to observe some of the very rare mammals found only in south India and Sri Lanka. The moist, tropical Indian Elephants in Nagarhole hill forests of the state of Kerala form a distinct vegetation zone in the Western Ghats hills, which has resulted in the evolution of many bird species unique to this region of the country and a corresponding rich diversity of endemic mammals. The focus of this exciting new tour will be the annular eclipse on 26th December 2019 which will be observed from a beautiful beach location. The second part of the trip visits the Nagarhole National Park with the chance of seeing many widespread Indian species such as Indian Elephant, Sloth Bear, Tiger and Leopard, as well as Gaur and Dhole and a selection of the endemic south Indian mammals, including Nilgiri Tahr, Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Travancore Flying Squirrel, Grizzled Giant Squirrel, Stripe-necked Mongoose and Nilgiri Marten. Although rare, but if lucky, Melanistic Leopard (also called Black Panther) can be sighted in Nagarhole. If you would like to extend your stay, why not join us for a trip to the Wayanad. © Naturetrek 1 Tour Itinerary Southern India - Annular Eclipse and Nagarhole Day 1 In Flight We depart London in the afternoon on a scheduled Jet Airways flight to Mumbai and connect with a flight to Mangalore. Day 2 Bekal After the morning flight to Mangalore in the state of Karnataka we have a two-hour drive along the coast and across the state boundary to Bekal in Kerala. The Taj Bekal Resort and Spa will be our very comfortable hotel for the next three nights. We will arrive around lunch time and have time to relax and recuperate after flight. The hotel has elegant rooms and a restaurant that serves a range of food from authentic Kerala cuisine to international cuisine. The hotel is set in beautiful gardens with swimming pool and spa facilities. Day 3 Bekal – Christmas Day – Eclipse Talk The day will be free for you to enjoy as you wish. 2 © Naturetrek Southern India - Annular Eclipse and Nagarhole Tour Itinerary © Naturetrek 3 Tour Itinerary Southern India - Annular Eclipse and Nagarhole The hotel gardens and lagoon offer excellent birdwatching opportunities and a naturalist guide will help you to locate and identify the local avian species. Just a few hundred meters from the hotel is Kappil Beach, a broad stretch of palm fringed sand that is usually almost deserted. An ideal place to relax and watch the Indian Ocean waves breaking on the shore. In the evening there will be a Christmas dinner (as of now the hotel has not announced a mandatory Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner for resident guests. However, if it is decided by the hotel at a later stage to arrange a mandatory dinner, it will have to be paid directly) after which you will be informed about the following morning’s eclipse. Day 4 Bekal (Annular Eclipse) On the morning of day 4 the eclipse begins just after 8am local time with the annular phased lasting for three minutes, just before 9:30am. The amazing sight of the sun shining like a ring of fire around the moon and blocking out 93% of sunlight. During December the weather is typically dry and sunny along the Malabar Coast of India providing a very good chance of clear skies for the eclipse. Naturetrek will provide you with eclipse glasses to watch the eclipse in safety. Universal Time (UT) Local time (IST = UT + 5½ hours) Start of Partial Eclipse (C1) 02:34 08:04 Start of annular eclipse (C2) 03:54:03 09:24:03 End of annular eclipse (C3) 03:57:12 09:27:12 End of Partial Phase (C4) 05:34 11:04 The duration of annularity will be around 3 minutes 8 seconds. After the eclipse you will have the rest of the day to relax and enjoy the surroundings 4 © Naturetrek Southern India - Annular Eclipse and Nagarhole Tour Itinerary Day 5 – 9 Nagarhole National Park Today we will drive to Nagarhole National Park, to the west of Mysore, where we will spend five nights at the Serai Resort. From here we can explore this 640-square kilometer National Park, sitting in the Western Ghats, the lengthy chain of mountains running right down the western side of peninsula India. A region of hills and hollows, Nagarhole contains a mixture of Teak and Mathi forest, little villages and cultivated land. Travelling by canter, we will explore these grasslands and forests where we will see some of the 1,000 Elephants that range through the area. The Park should also provide us with our first chance of seeing the Gaur or Indian Bison, the largest and most impressive of all the world’s wild cattle. With luck we may see Tiger, Leopard or Sloth Bear, or perhaps a pack of Dhole (Asiatic Wild Dog). Chital (Spotted Deer), Common Langurs and Wild Boar are numerous here. Although rare, but if lucky, Melanistic Leopard (also called Black Panther) can be sighted in Nagarhole. The Serai is a beautiful resort, with accommodation in sixteen rooms set directly on the edge of the Kabini River. All of the rooms have lovely views of the river with air conditioning and other amenities. It is a wonderful place to relax and watch the birds and mammals from the comfort of your private veranda. There is a well-equipped gym, a fantastic pool, spa, and a well-stocked library (No Television in the rooms, only one in the common area). This resort also provides complimentary wireless internet. The Wild Grass restaurant provides buffet spreads including vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies. Lunch and dinner are of a traditional Indian style. © Naturetrek 5 Tour Itinerary Southern India - Annular Eclipse and Nagarhole There are several activities available at the resort, from bike trails to star gazing and nature walks. The biggest draw is of course Nagarhole National Park, with canter safaris and boat safaris to explore the park. We will be looking for some of southern India’s bird specialties here, such as Grey-headed Fishing Eagle, Brown Fish Owl, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Green Imperial Pigeon, Black-backed Woodpecker and Malabar Crested Lark. Nearby, where the river has been dammed, we may take to the water in coracles in search of the waterbirds that favour its marshy fringes. Indian Shags, Little Cormorants, and a variety of storks and kingfishers are all to be found here Day 10 Nagarhole – Bangalore – Mumbai We transfer on a five hour drive from Nagarhole to Bangalore airport. Depart Bangalore in the evening on a scheduled Jet Airways evening flight to Mumbai. Day 11 Mumbai – London On arrival at Mumbai, connect with your flight to London, arriving at 7am. NB. Please note that the itinerary above offers our planned programme of excursions. However, adverse weather and other local considerations can necessitate some reordering of the programme during the course of the tour, though this will always be done to maximise best use of the time and weather conditions available. 6 © Naturetrek Southern India - Annular Eclipse and Nagarhole Tour Itinerary Wayanad Extension (The minimum number of people required to run this extension is six; however, we may decide to operate it with fewer people, at our discretion, with local cultural guides as there are no birding guides available there.) Day 10 Nagarhole – Wayanad Today those of you joining the extension will travel by road for three hours to Wayanad and stay in a comfortable Wayanad Wild for four nights. It is situated in the heart of the rainforest, with rooms peeking out of the treetops and an infinity pool tipping over into foliage. The spacious rooms at Wayanad Wild are well-equipped with modern facilities and amenities. The balconies give you a stunning view of the tree lines further down the slope. Salvaged ship- wood and bamboo accessories lend a warm and earthy counterpoint to the light steel structures that are set built without removing the trees on the sloped terrain; together defining the living experience here! A time at Wayanad Wild is going to be a felt experience we can assure you.