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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 * GBP3,300 * EUR3,826 * AUD6,899

Single Supplement: USD720 * GBP506 * EUR587 * AUD1,058

Flight costs: USD280 * GBP197 * EUR228 * AUD411

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 * GBP3,374 * EUR3,911 * AUD7,053

Flight costs: USD310 * GBP218 * EUR253 * AUD455

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

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.

David Hoddinott
FG, India 2018

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

Stephan Lorenz
LC & PD, Northern India 2017

We had a wonderful trip with Rich Lindie and Stephan Lorenz, and we would certainly be happy to travel with either of them again. They were both excellent with the birds, had a great sense of humour, and were helpful and patient when individuals required extra assistance. In addition to the birding, we enjoyed a long list of mammals sighted in the various national parks. The accommodations and meals were also very good.

Gregory de Klerk
HS, India 2018

Greg de Klerk and David Erterius were great - super knowledgeable and really kind. You can tell that they both care about birds and their guests. I hope I can go on a Rockjumper tour with them again.

David Hoddinott
LB - India 2019

To David Hoddinott with many thanks. In my book, you are still the best guide I’ve ever birded with. Please give my regards to the office team. I am very proud to be part of the Rockjumper Family.

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