Description

We are very excited to be offering a new butterfly tour to the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, nestled in the Himalayan Foothills of  Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India. Brace yourself for Bhutan Glories (2 species) & many more beautiful butterflies & other wildlife!

On arrival at Kolkata we’ll be met by our UK guide Adrian Hoskins, who is an expert on tropical butterflies, and has written and illustrated several butterfly books and scientific papers. Our local guide is one of the most respected and popular butterfly experts in India, and also has a very extensive knowledge of birds and mammals.

We transfer by air to Jorhat where we’ll stay in a good mid-range tourist hotel, where single rooms are available at no extra cost for those requiring them.

A short drive away is Gibbon reserve – a mid-elevation rainforest with lots of wide trails and a great range of butterflies including Kallima inachus, Mycalesis mineus, Hypolycaena othona, H.erylus, Melanitis phedima, Athyma ranga, Euthalia monina, Polyura bharata, Euripus nyctelius, Gandaca harina, Hebomoia glaucippe, Spindasis lohita, Ariadne ariadne, Charaxes bernardus, Castilius rosimon, Graphium doson, Tirumala limniace, Delias pasithoe, Cheritra freja, Athyma inara, Chersonesia intermedia, Loxura atymnus and Cyrestis maenalis.

We’ll have 2 full days to explore the forests at Gibbon, then we have a full day drive to Eaglenest in the Himalayan foothills, with butterfly stops along the route. Eaglenest is by far the best place in either India or Bhutan to see and photograph the incredible multi-tailed Bhutan Glories Bhutanitis lidderdalii and Bhutanitis ludlowi, which can often be found basking in groups of 3 or 4 on the ground.

Eaglenest is a cloudforest reserve in the Himalayan foothills. The trails at Eaglenest are gentle and well within the capabilities of most people. Early morning views across to the snow-capped Himalaya are spectacular. Our visit coincides with the tail-end of the monsoon, which is the peak flight season of Bhutanitis. The weather is much like an English spring – it can sometimes be misty, but Bhutanitis flies in all weathers and particularly likes basking on the tracks on misty mornings. There can be the odd heavy shower, but generally expect warm hazy sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

On previous trips we’ve seen up to 30 Bhutanitis mud-puddling with wings outspread, along the main trail. Both Bhutanitis species are present, but lidderdalii is the most abundant and we should see many, in fresh condition in early September. It’s also an excellent site for Heliophorus tamu, H. moorei, H. sena, Ypthima sakra, Rhaphicera satricus, Dodona eugenes, Parasarpa zayla, Cethosia biblis, Hestinalis nama, Callerebia scanda, Neope pulaha, Pseudergolis wedah, Aglais caschmirensis, Lethe verma, Arhopala birmana, Aulocera saraswati and many other Himalayan specialities.

Additionally many spectacular hawkmoths, and giant silkmoths including Actias Moon moths, Attacus Atlas moths and Loepa Golden Emperors visit the lamps around the accommodation.

After our 6 nights at Eaglenest we will have several butterfly stops along the route back to Jorhat, where we have a further 2 full days to observe and photograph the many butterflies that occur there.

Finally we fly back to Kolkata, where if time permits, we can visit the extensive Kolkata Butterfly Garden. Guests who wish to do so can stay a day longer (at their own expense) and spend extra time at the butterfly garden, which in addition to its extensive flower beds has a huge enclosure where the entire lifecycles of up to 30 local species can be studied and photographed. There is also a laboratory where research into butterfly biology is conducted by university students.