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India - Western: Desert Specials

© Demoiselle cranes by Adam Riley
India - Western: Desert Specials 2026

16 Feb 2026 - 28 Feb 2026 (13 days)

USD4,695 - 1 Space Available

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Tour Leader: Dušan Brinkhuizen

Tour price (Per person): USD4,695 * GBP3,660 * EUR4,154 * AUD7,334

Single Supplement: USD720 * GBP561 * EUR637 * AUD1,125

Flight costs: USD280 * GBP218 * EUR248 * AUD437

India - Western: Desert Specials 2027

16 Feb 2027 - 28 Feb 2027 (13 days)

USD4,800 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Erik Forsyth

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change*

Tour price (Per person): USD4,800 * GBP3,742 * EUR4,247 * AUD7,498

Flight costs: USD310 * GBP242 * EUR274 * AUD484

India - Western: Desert Specials 2028

15 Feb 2028 - 27 Feb 2028 (13 days)

USD4,900 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Nigel Redman

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change*

Tour price (Per person): USD4,900 * GBP3,820 * EUR4,335 * AUD7,654

The wonderfully diverse nation of India is well-known for its verdant landscapes and the snow-capped Himalayas. It therefore surprises many people to learn that India is also blessed with some incredible deserts, and our tour showcases this much-underrated habitat by exploring some of India’s less frequented parks and reserves in the county’s dry, western parts. Desert National Park, Tal Chappar and the Great and Little Ranns of Kutch are amongst the most important of the protected areas of western India and we will visit all of them. We will also pay a visit to the more verdant Mt Abu along with an extension to the deciduous forests of Tansa Reserve. 

Along the way we are going to see some of the most threatened and rare birds not only of India but of the whole world.  Species we are searching for include the Great Indian Bustard which sadly teeters on the brink of extinction, the almost equally rare White-browed Bush Chat, along with Indian Spotted Creeper, Yellow-eyed Pigeon, Green Avadavat, Sociable Lapwing, Macqueen’s Bustard, White-naped Tit, Marshall’s Iora, and for those doing the extension the recently rediscovered Forest Owlet.  We also stand a great chance at picking up two of the more difficult monotypic families in the world, namely Crab-Plover and Grey Hypocolius. The general birding is excellent with lots of breeding specialties supplemented by vast numbers of overwintering northern migrants including famous congregations of cranes, impressive flocks of waterfowl and waders and a number of interesting passerines.  Mammals are yet another interesting feature of this trip and along the way we can expect to see Blackbuck, Indian Gazelle and Indian Wild Ass amongst others.

Top Birds

Grey Hypocolius, Great Indian & Macqueen’s Bustards, huge numbers of Demoiselle, Common & Sarus Cranes, Dalmation & Spot-billed Pelican, Green Avadavat, Indian Spotted Creeper, Sociable Lapwing, Crab-plover, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Indian Courser, Red-headed, Cinereous & White-rumped Vultures, Eastern Imperial Eagle, White-eyed Buzzard, Laggar Falcon, Merlin, Jungle Bush & Rock Bush Quails, Yellow-legged & Barred Buttonquails, Black Francolin, Painted, Spotted & Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Sykes’s & Savanna Nightjars, White-naped & Indian Black-lored Tits, Marshall’s Iora, Brown Rock Chat, Pied & White-browed Bush Chats, Bimaculated, Rufous-tailed & Sykes’s Larks, Indian Bush Lark, Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark, Desert Whitethroat, Bay-backed Shrike, Rufous-fronted Prinia, Eastern Orphean, Asian Desert Warbler and Striolated Bunting.

Top Mammals

Asiatic Wild Ass, Asiatic Lion, Blackbuck, Nilgai, Chinkara (Indian Gazelle), with chances for Golden Jackal, Bengal and the desert subspecies of Red Fox, Striped Hyena, Wolf, Jungle Cat and Wild Cat

Habitats Covered

semi-desert scrub, salt-flats, seasonal wetlands, grassland, scrubland, dry deciduous forest, coastline

Expected Climate

warm during the day, with cooler nights and cold mornings

Max Group Size

8 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local birding leader

Tour Pace & Walking

mostly relaxed with some longer drives

Accommodation

mostly good, basic but comfortable around Zainabad

Ease of Birding

mostly unchallenging

Photographic Opportunities

very good

What our clients say about us

David Hoddinott
PJ, Andaman Islands 2018

The Andaman Islands were a first for RockJumper and a first for David Hoddinott. It was an incredible experience and also exciting to share the first of all new endemics  with David .

Glen Valentine
BG, Pvt Castleman India

This was a great trip. A terrific itinerary and we saw lots of birds and we saw tigers at Ranthambhore and Corbett. Glen and [the local leader] were excellent guides—great spotting skills, and they made sure everyone saw the bird. The logistics worked very well because Glen and [the local leader] were a great team.

Erik Forsyth
NM, Northern India

I just have to write and tell you how much I enjoyed the N. India trip and how superb the leaders are… Erik and Rich worked so well together and both are so funny, such a great combination…. With much gratitude to RBT for bringing birds and mammals into my life.

David Hoddinott
TM, India 2018

This was my first Rockjumper trip. I definitely will be a repeat customer. The booking process was easy and painless. The transport and hotel logistics during the trip were flawless. David Hoddinott and Ansar Khan were excellent guides and worked diligently to make sure we saw as many birds as possible.

David Hoddinott
FG, India 2018

David Hoddinott was at his best even on new grounds full of lifers.

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