Langtang Birdwatching Trek

Birds to look for

None of them is promised: wild birds keep their own plans.

• Himalayan Monal

  Lophophorus impejanus

  Ghoda Tabela · 3,030 m · usually seen

  “Nepal's national bird, and it glows like a jewel when the first sun hits the ridge.”

• Blood Pheasant

  Ithaginis cruentus

  Ghoda Tabela · 3,030 m · sometimes seen

  “Tame and tiny, a crested little pheasant that picks through the snowy rhododendron.”

• Snow Pigeon

  Columba leuconota

  Kyanjin Gompa · 3,870 m · usually seen

  “White and slate flocks that swirl across the cliffs of the sanctuary.”

• Himalayan Griffon

  Gyps himalayensis

  Langtang Village · 3,430 m · usually seen

  “Enormous, pale and unhurried, riding the mountain thermals above the valley.”

• Lammergeier

  Gypaetus barbatus

  Langtang Village · 3,430 m · usually seen

  “A long-winged, rust-chested giant that sails along the cliffs and drops bones to crack them.”

• Golden Eagle

  Aquila chrysaetos

  Kyanjin Gompa · 3,870 m · sometimes seen

  “Power and grace over the high ridges.”

• Fire-tailed Sunbird

  Aethopyga ignicauda

  Ghoda Tabela · 3,030 m · usually seen

  “A tiny jewel with a long scarlet tail, sipping rhododendron nectar.”

• Red-billed Chough

  Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

  Langtang Village · 3,430 m · almost always seen

  “Aerobatic black crows with red bills, tumbling along the cliffs.”

• Spotted Nutcracker

  Nucifraga caryocatactes

  Ghoda Tabela · 3,030 m · almost always seen

  “Spotted like a starling and bold as brass in the high forest.”

• Himalayan Snowcock

  Tetraogallus himalayensis

  Kyanjin Gompa · 3,870 m · sometimes seen

  “A big mountain game bird whose ringing whistles bounce around the high amphitheatre.”

• Wallcreeper

  Tichodroma muraria

  Syabrubesi · 1,460 m · sometimes seen

  “On the cliffs by the river in winter”

• Red-headed Trogon

  Harpactes erythrocephalus

  Bamboo · 1,970 m · sometimes seen

  “A crimson-breasted trogon sitting very still in the shadows of the forest.”

A day on this trip

Birding starts at dawn around the lodge, then four to six hours of walking through the gorge forest, unhurried, with long stops for flocks. Above Langtang village the days are short, and the afternoons are free for photographs, sketching or the river flats.

The way, day by day

1. Day 1
   Kathmandu1,400 m · Black Kite, Large-billed Crow

   1. Kathmandu1,400 m · 1 night

      Airport pickup, hotel check-in and the trip briefing.

   Birds 10: Black Kite, Large-billed Crow, Common Myna, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Red-vented Bulbul, Spotted Dove, Himalayan Bulbul, Eurasian Kestrel, Grey Wagtail, Egyptian Vulture

   Seen from here: Phulchowki (2,782 m)

2. Day 2
   Syabrubesi1,460 m · Wallcreeper, Plumbeous Water Redstart

   1. Syabrubesi1,460 m · 1 night

      A scenic drive (7–8 hours) to the trailhead village of Syabrubesi.

   Birds 14: Plumbeous Water Redstart, Grey Treepie, Himalayan Bulbul, Blue Whistling-Thrush, Oriental White-eye, Great Barbet, Brown Dipper, Spotted Forktail, Slaty-headed Parakeet, Verditer Flycatcher, Black Bulbul, Crested Kingfisher, White-capped Redstart, Wallcreeper

   Mammals 1: Himalayan Goral

   Seen from here: Langtang Lirung (7,227 m)

3. Day 3
   Lama Hotel2,470 m · Red-headed Trogon, Grey-hooded Warbler

   1. Bamboo1,970 m

      Through the warm lower gorge of the Langtang Khola, where forktails work the stream and mixed flocks move through the trees.

   2. Lama Hotel2,470 m · 1 night

      A trek through dense subtropical and temperate forest, one of the best birding stretches of the trek, watching for minivets, niltavas and woodpeckers.

   Birds 22: Black Bulbul, Grey-hooded Warbler, Whiskered Yuhina, Rufous Sibia, Scarlet Minivet, Long-tailed Minivet, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Large Niltava, Greater Yellownape, Spotted Forktail, Little Forktail, Red-headed Trogon, Green-backed Tit, Blue-winged Minla, Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Darjeeling Woodpecker, Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, Kalij Pheasant, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Koklass Pheasant, Satyr Tragopan

   Mammals 6: Assamese Macaque, Himalayan Langur, Yellow-throated Marten, Himalayan Goral, Red Panda, Himalayan Black Bear

   Plants 1: Tree Rhododendron

   Seen from here: Langtang Lirung (7,227 m)

4. Day 4
   Langtang Village3,430 m · Himalayan Monal, Blood Pheasant

   1. Ghoda Tabela3,030 m

      The forest opens out at Ghoda Tabela, and the first views of Langtang Lirung appear up the valley.

   2. Langtang Village3,430 m · 1 night

      We continue upward through forest transitioning to alpine shrubland, with views of Langtang Lirung opening up, to Langtang village.

   Birds 21: Rufous-vented Tit, Grey-crested Tit, White-browed Fulvetta, Spotted Nutcracker, Himalayan Monal, White-collared Blackbird, Fire-tailed Sunbird, Himalayan Griffon, Lammergeier, Blood Pheasant, Rufous-breasted Accentor, Large-billed Crow, Yellow-billed Chough, Red-billed Chough, Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch, Dark-breasted Rosefinch, Grey-backed Shrike, White-capped Redstart, Common Rosefinch, Hodgson's Redstart, Snow Pigeon

   Mammals 3: Himalayan Goral, Himalayan Tahr, Red Panda

   Seen from here: Langtang Lirung (7,227 m)

5. Day 5
   Kyanjin Gompa3,870 m · Golden Eagle, Himalayan Snowcock

   1. Kyanjin Gompa3,870 m · 2 nights

      A shorter trekking day reaching Kyanjin Gompa, with time to explore high-altitude habitat for snow pigeons and alpine species.

   Birds 16: Yellow-billed Chough, Red-billed Chough, Rufous-breasted Accentor, Plain Mountain Finch, Snow Pigeon, Robin Accentor, White-winged Redstart, Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch, Lammergeier, Himalayan Griffon, Brown Dipper, Himalayan Snowcock, Golden Eagle, Ibisbill, Alpine Accentor, Grandala

   Mammals 2: Himalayan Tahr, Large-eared Pika

   Seen from here: Langtang Lirung (7,227 m)

6. Day 6
   Kyanjin Ri4,773 m · Snow Pigeon, Himalayan Griffon

   1. Kyanjin Ri4,773 m

      An optional hike up Kyanjin Ri (4,773 m) for panoramic Himalayan views and high-altitude birding, or a rest day in the valley.

   Birds 10: Snow Pigeon, Yellow-billed Chough, Lammergeier, Himalayan Griffon, Himalayan Snowcock, Golden Eagle, Wallcreeper, White-winged Redstart, Alpine Accentor, Grandala

   Mammals 2: Large-eared Pika, Blue Sheep

   Seen from here: Langtang Lirung (7,227 m), Langtang Himal (0 m)

7. Day 7
   Lama Hotel2,470 m · Rufous Sibia, Whiskered Yuhina

   1. Lama Hotel2,470 m · 1 night

      We descend back through the forest zones, birding en route in daylight for full coverage.

   Birds 16: Rufous Sibia, Whiskered Yuhina, Green-backed Tit, Blue-winged Minla, Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Large Niltava, Darjeeling Woodpecker, Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, Long-tailed Minivet, Scarlet Minivet, Kalij Pheasant, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Koklass Pheasant, Satyr Tragopan

   Mammals 5: Himalayan Langur, Himalayan Goral, Yellow-throated Marten, Red Panda, Himalayan Black Bear

   Plants 1: Tree Rhododendron

   Seen from here: Langtang Lirung (7,227 m)

8. Day 8
   Syabrubesi1,460 m · Wallcreeper, Plumbeous Water Redstart

   1. Syabrubesi1,460 m · 1 night

      The final descent to the trailhead village.

   Birds 14: Plumbeous Water Redstart, Grey Treepie, Himalayan Bulbul, Blue Whistling-Thrush, Oriental White-eye, Great Barbet, Brown Dipper, Spotted Forktail, Slaty-headed Parakeet, Verditer Flycatcher, Black Bulbul, Crested Kingfisher, White-capped Redstart, Wallcreeper

   Mammals 1: Himalayan Goral

   Seen from here: Langtang Lirung (7,227 m)

9. Day 9
   Kathmandu1,400 m · Black Kite, Large-billed Crow

   1. Kathmandu1,400 m · 1 night

      The return drive to Kathmandu, and a free evening.

   Birds 10: Black Kite, Large-billed Crow, Common Myna, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Red-vented Bulbul, Spotted Dove, Himalayan Bulbul, Eurasian Kestrel, Grey Wagtail, Egyptian Vulture

   Seen from here: Phulchowki (2,782 m)

10. Day 10
    Kathmandu1,400 m · Black Kite, Large-billed Crow

    1. Kathmandu1,400 m

       Final breakfast and the departure transfer.

    Birds 10: Black Kite, Large-billed Crow, Common Myna, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Red-vented Bulbul, Spotted Dove, Himalayan Bulbul, Eurasian Kestrel, Grey Wagtail, Egyptian Vulture

    Seen from here: Phulchowki (2,782 m)