Kathmandu Valley

The valley floor is terraced farmland, settlements and temples, but the hills around it hold some of the most accessible forest birding in Nepal, and more than 400 species have been recorded in and around the valley. Phulchowki, the highest hill around the valley, has oak and rhododendron forest with kalij pheasants, hill partridges, scarlet minivets and rufous-bellied niltavas, and the scrub on the lower slopes holds the spiny babbler, Nepal's only endemic bird. Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park, to the north, covers similar forest from about 1,000 metres upwards.

The trips here are short outings from the city, so a single morning is often enough to see the main forest types. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with clear views of the Himalaya from the ridges and migrants passing through. The monsoon, from June to September, brings mist and wet trails.