On this exciting tour we will visitAssam, Arunachal Pradesh andNagaland, three of India's least-known, most remote and beautiful states.Famous for their lush and breathtakingscenery as well as their isolated andfascinating tribes, these regions also boastIndia's richest fauna and flora, about whichmuch awaits discovery! We begin our holiday by crossing themighty Brahmaputra River in Assam, beforeheading to the beautiful Mishmi Hills ofArunachal Pradesh, a southward extensionof the great Himalaya, thrown up by asharp twist of this famous range as it turnssouth and descends rapidly to the forestsof China and Myanmar. One of the world'sbiodiversity hotspots, the region's verdant,well-watered hills and evergreen subtropicalforests are home to myriad plant andanimal forms. About 680 bird species arefound here, yet this is one of the least-explored birding areas in Asia; indeed it islikely that some new species still awaitdiscovery in these hills. Among the avianspecialties here are Sclater's Monal, Blyth's and Temminck's Tragopan, Chestnut-breasted Partridge, Rufous-necked Hornbill,Pale-capped Pigeon and Ward's Trogon,and when you consider that the region alsosupports over 100 species of mammal and6,000 plant species, including a mouth-watering variety of orchids, it becomesapparent why we are so excited aboutoffering this new tour! Our focus in the Mishmi Hills will be on thesuperb birding areas both at Roing and onthe Mayodia Pass. At Roing we will explorethe floodplains and foothills lying ataltitudes of between 250 and 600 metres.Here such Himalayan foothill species asPin-tailed Green Pigeon, Red-headedTrogon and Long-tailed Broadbill are found,as well as numerous scimitar-babblers,laughing-thrushes, shrike-babblers,fulvettas and yuhinas! By contrast, theMayodia Pass (at 2,666 metres) is thehighest point on the road from Roing toAnini. Here we will explore magnificenttemperate forests, extensive bamboobrakes and the rocky hillsides above them,in search of such sought-after pheasantsas Sclater's Monal and Blyth's Tragopan,as well as a plethora of other gemsincluding Gould's and Rusty-belliedShortwing, Slender-billed Scimitar-babbler,Ward's Trogon, Grey-sided Laughing-thrushand the exquisite Fire-tailed Myzornis.Our next destination is Dibru SaikhowaNational Park, a biosphere reserveprotecting 340 square kilometres ofwetlands, grasslands and semi-evergreenswamp forest that lie on the alluvialfloodplain bordered by the BrahmaputraRiver to the north and the Dibru River to thesouth. Here such grassland specialities asBengal Florican, Black-breasted Parrotbill,Jerdon's Bushchat, Swamp Prinia and bothJerdon's and Marsh Babblers occur, as wellas the endangered White-winged WoodDuck, plus a wide variety of largemammals. A stay in Jorhat will then allowus to visit the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, anarea of excellent forest where suchprimates as Hoolock Gibbon and CappedLangur may be seen. Finally we head to the remote north-easternIndian state of Nagaland, home to 16 majortribes who, until relatively recently, had areputation for head-hunting! Each tribe hasits own distinct character, customs andintricately designed dress, and a villagehomestay is an unforgettable highlight ofthis trip. We'll be based in the village ofKhonoma for three nights - an opportunityto combine our birding activities with timespent meeting the local tribe and samplinga little of their culture. The village sitsamong terraced fields sculpted from thelush green hills, and birdlife is everywhere,in no small part thanks to the conservationefforts of the villagers who have banned all hunting - an extraordinary move,considering how fundamental hunting hadtraditionally been to their culture. Further, inthe 1990s, the villagers physicallyprevented timber merchants from carryingout logging activities, and over the lastdecade the Khonoma Village Council hasestablished systems of natural resourcemanagement, village administration andappropriate development, all coupled witha resolution to conserve biodiversity andwildlife. In 1998 they even set aside 70square kilometres to establish theKhonoma Nature Conservation andTragopan Sanctuary - a special place to end a special tour!India - Nagaland & Mishmi Hills A pioneering 18-day tour into the little-known rainforests and mountains of Assam,Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, three remote and breathtakingly beautiful Indianstates, in search of their rich birdlife, mammals and tribal cultures.Thursday 10th November - Sunday 27th November 2011 Cost: £3,395Thursday 16th February - Sunday 4th March 2012 Cost: £3,395Thursday 8th November - Sunday 25th November 2012 Cost: £3,395Kaziranga extension available on all tours Cost: £595 Outline itineraryDay 1Depart London.Day 2Kolkata.Day 3/8Mishmi Hills.Day 9Dibru Saikhowa NationalPark.Day10/11Jorhat and GibbonWildlife Sanctuary.Day 12/14Nagaland.Day 15Dibrugarh.Day 16Kolkata.Day 17Depart Kolkata.Day 18Arrive London.Kaziranga extensionDay 15/17Kaziranga National Park.Day 18Kolkata.Day 19Depart Kolkata.Day 20Arrive London.AccommodationSimple hotels and lodges, plus atribal homestay. All rooms haveprivate facilities, except thehomestay.FoodAll included in the price, except formain meals required in Kolkata.Allow £40.Grading A/B. Mostly gentle birdwatchingwalks but a couple of longer walksare included.Focus Birds, mammals and the culture oflocal tribes.LeaderSujan Chatterjee or Manoj Sharma,plus local guides.Single room supplement£595 (extension: £195).Web quick search: IND39234Call now or visit www.naturetrek.co.uk for your free Trip ItineraryBURMATIBETBANGLADESHKOLKATABHUTANASSAMDIBRUGARHJORHATDIBRU SAIKHOWA WILDLIFE SANCTUARYNAGALANDKAZIRANGANATIONALPARKARUN ACHALPRADESHKOHIMAMISHMI HILLSBlack EagleCoelogyne corymbosaAngami Villagechildren, KhonomaMyodia Pass

The Indian subcontinent boasts nearly500 species of mammal protected inover 250 wildlife reserves, and is theonly place in the world that can still claimboth Tiger and Lion among its native fauna.Indeed, India has always been a Naturetrekfavourite and we are proud that a greatmany clients have been able to enjoy thespine-tingling thrill of seeing Tigers in thewild or observing One-horned Rhinoceroscrashing through the undergrowth. Now weare pleased to add yet another wildlifeexperience to our unmatched programmeof Indian tours, the opportunity to see a trioof rare Indian mammals - Blackbuck,Asiatic Wild Ass and Asiatic Lion. Therange of the latter once extended as far asGreece, but habitat destruction and huntinggradually diminished its population untiltoday, when a mere few hundred remain inthe relict Gir Forest on the SaurashtraPeninsula in Gujarat, India's westernmoststate. It is here that we will spend two fulldays, travelling from our base at acomfortable tourist lodge into the grasslandand forest domain of this magnificentpredator, encountering a stunning variety ofwildlife as we search for our quarry. During our stay in Gujarat we will also visittwo other wildlife reserves, each protectingimportant populations of endangeredspecies: Velavadar Reserve, 240 kilometresnorth-east of the Gir Forest, contains thehighest concentration of Blackbuck inIndia, while Dhrangadhra Sanctuary in theLittle Rann of Kutch is renowned as thehome of the Asiatic Wild Ass. We will alsovisit India's first Marine National Park and Khijadia Bird Sanctuary, near Jamnagar, toenjoy the excellent birding in this area. Our starting point in India is the city ofMumbai, but we quickly travel north tobegin our exploration of the VelavadarReserve. The graceful Blackbuck is one ofthe most attractive of all Indian mammalsand at Velavadar we should find large herdsgrazing in the scrubby grasslands set asidefor their protection. Our visit in February willcoincide with the rutting season and, if weare lucky, we may witness the black andwhite bucks contesting with each other toestablish dominance. We spend two nightshere at the Blackbuck Lodge which sits insplendid seclusion adjacent to VelavadarWildlife Reserve.Our next destination is the Gir ForestNational Park. With a rugged terrain of lowhills and tracts of deciduous forestinterspersed with areas of grassland, thenational park supports a great diversity ofmammals including Sambar, Chital, Nilgai,Chinkara, Four-horned Antelope and WildBoar. With such an abundance of prey it islittle surprise that Leopards maintain goodnumbers in the forests, and Striped Hyenasseek to scavenge any leftovers from the bigcats' meals. The Gir Forest is, however,most famed for its Lions and our focus willbe to find as many as possible duringtwice-daily excursions into their habitat.These Asiatic Lions share the languiddisposition of their African cousins,enjoying long periods of inactivity duringthe heat of the day, but such indolence isdeceptive and the spectacle of a pridesetting out on a purposeful search for preywould be an unforgettable dawn highlightof our time in this unique reserve.Elsewhere in India, the Tiger may be a rivalfor the epithet 'king of the beasts', but herein the Gir Forest, the majesty of the Lion isunchallenged. We spend three nights hereat a comfortable forest lodge. Next we travel to Jamnagar, the 'jewel ofKathiawar', which lies on the coast of theGulf of Kutch. From here we will head tothe Marine National Park at Narara Island,on the Gulf's southern shore, where we'lllook amongst the beautiful coral reefs forendangered sea turtles such as Green,Olive Ridley and Leatherback, as well asenjoy the excellent birding of this area.Finally, we travel to the DhrangadhraSanctuary. Established in 1973, this reserve embraces a huge area of flat, saline wilderness and was created topreserve a small population of theendangered Asiatic Wild Ass. Finding theseshy, sandy-coloured creatures is no easytask in this arid landscape. However, withluck, we should discover a small herdfeeding on their favourite 'bets' (islands ofcoarse grasses), which provide theirprincipal nourishment in this harsh terrain.Fleet of foot and wary of man, this is theonly wild horse in the Indian subcontinentand a herd galloping beside our vehiclewould give a wonderful experience to ourGujarat wildlife adventure. After two idyllicdays in the peaceful haven of the Little Rannof Kutch, we will head to Rajkot for our flightto London, via Mumbai.Having focused on three of the country'srarest mammals, you may wish to extendyour holiday to see more of India'sremarkable fauna. An excellent transportinfrastructure makes it feasible to reach anypart of India from Mumbai, and we will behappy to arrange visits to any of thecountry's other reserves for you, eitherbefore or after the main tour.India - Lions, Blackbuck & Wild Asses A 13-day wildlife tour to Gujarat in search of three of India's rarest mammals - Asiatic Lion, Blackbuck and Asiatic Wild Ass - plus the other wildlife of this little-explored region. Sunday 20th November - Friday 2nd December 2011 Cost: £2,795Sunday 19th February - Friday 2nd March 2012 Cost: £2,795Sunday 18th November - Friday 30th November 2012 Cost: £2,795Book direct on 01962 733051or see page 280 for Booking InformationINDIAARABIAN SEAGULF OF KUTCHGULFOF CAMBAYPAKISTANRAJASTHANMAHARASHTRAMADHYARAJKOTPRADESHGIR FORESTLITTLE RANNOF KUTCHDASADAJAMNAGARBHAVNAGARVELAVADARNATIONAL PARKMUMBAIOutline itineraryDay 1Depart London.Day 2Arrive Bhavnagar, viaMumbai.Day 3Velavadar WildlifeReserve.Day 4/6 Gir Forest.Day 7/8 Jamnagar.Day 9/11 Dhrangadhra Sanctuary,Little Rann of Kutch.Day 12 Fly Rajkot to Mumbai,then London.Day 13 Arrive London.AccommodationSimple, but comfortable, touristcabins at Dasada, comfortablelodges at Gir Forest and Velavadar,and a tourist heritage hotel atJamnagar; all have private facilities.FoodAll included in the price, exceptmeals taken in transit in Mumbai.Allow £10.GradingA. This wildlife tour involves littlewalking.FocusMammals and birds.LeaderManisha Rajput, Chiku Solanki orArpit Deomurari.Single room supplement£495.ExtensionsA wide range of extensions isavailable on request.Web quick search: IND04235Asiatic Wild AssesAsiatic LionsBlackbuck