Southern India Birding and Wildlife Photography Expedition

A midday-or-later arrival in Bengaluru is followed by the hotel transfer. Settle in at Royal Orchid Central, meet the group over dinner and rest before the first field day.

Begin the drive toward Mysore with a stop at Kokkare Bellur for storks, pelicans and birds of the surrounding fields and wetlands. At Ranganathittu, take a boat onto the Cauvery River for close observation and photography of waterbirds along the banks.

Drive about 90 kilometres to Nagarhole, pausing for birds and wildlife along the way. Forest birding may reveal hornbills, barbets, junglefowl, minivets and parakeets, while the evening coracle outing on the Kabini River adds waterside photography and the possibility of elephants.

Begin with an early jeep safari accompanied by a resident naturalist. Depending on local conditions, the program may also include a motorboat or coracle trip, with time for raptors, owls, woodpeckers, storks, peafowl and the mammals of the Nagarhole landscape.

Spend another full day around Kabini, using morning and afternoon jeep, boat or coracle sessions according to park conditions and wildlife movement. Field instruction covers changing forest light, long-lens technique, behavior and environmental compositions while searching for both birds and mammals.

Drive approximately 85 kilometres to Mudumalai National Park and Tiger Reserve. An afternoon jeep safari combines wildlife observation with searches for vultures, lapwings, woodpeckers, larks and other dry-forest birds.

Take morning and afternoon wildlife safaris, with breakfast and lunch between field sessions. Time around the lodge and nearby habitat may provide additional relaxed birding and photography.

Travel roughly 50 kilometres through the Nilgiri Hills to Ooty. Tea country, meadows and the Botanical Gardens provide a change of habitat, with an easy birding session for hill species and time for wider landscape photography.

Make the longer transfer of about 240 kilometres to Valparai, a mosaic of rainforest, tea estates, shola fragments, rivers and viewpoints. The area supports Western Ghats birds as well as elephants, gaur, primates and other forest wildlife.

Explore forest around Valparai in search of Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Malabar Giant Squirrel and specialist birds. Continue approximately 160 kilometres to Munnar, where the late afternoon is free for a walk through the tea gardens.

Work the high-elevation habitats around Munnar and Eravikulam for Nilgiri and Western Ghats endemics. The field session also allows time for Nilgiri Tahr and the distinctive shola-and-mountain landscape, with the final route shaped by access and conditions.

Drive about 85 kilometres to Periyar and explore the surrounding forest and lake landscape for hornbills, drongos, kingfishers and other birds alongside wider wildlife. Later, visit a nearby spice plantation with an experienced naturalist.

Visit Lake Periyar for a cruise among wooded hills and the lake's standing tree trunks. The day combines waterbird and hornbill watching with opportunities for elephants, landscape work and practical wildlife photography.

Travel approximately 110 kilometres to Thattekkad with birding stops along the route. Afternoon birding focuses on lowland Western Ghats specialties, including treepies, babblers, sunbirds, flycatchers, hornbills, pittas and junglefowl, while owls and Sri Lanka Frogmouth are important possibilities.

Use the full day for walks through Thattekkad's Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary and nearby forest, with patient searches for specialist and endemic species. A night session for owls and nightjars is planned for the evening, subject to local permissions and field conditions.

After breakfast, transfer from Thattekkad to Cochin Airport for the onward flight. The exact timing is coordinated around the confirmed departure schedule.