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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)

USD4,700 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Dušan Brinkhuizen

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

Tour price (Per person): USD4,700 * GBP3,559 * EUR4,226 * AUD6,970

Can be linked with: India - Forest Owlet Extension 2026

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 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 and Marshall’s Iora. 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 several 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

Great Indian & Macqueen’s Bustards; Grey Hypocolius; Crab-plover; huge numbers of Demoiselle & Common Cranes; Dalmation & Spot-billed Pelicans; Green Avadavat; Indian Spotted Creeper; Sociable Lapwing; Indian Courser; Red-headed, Cinereous & White-rumped Vultures; Eastern Imperial Eagle; White-eyed Buzzard; Laggar Falcon; 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; Desert Whitethroat; Bay-backed Shrike; Rufous-fronted Prinia; Eastern Orphean & Asian Desert Warblers.

Top Mammals

Asiatic Wild Ass; Blackbuck; Nilgai; Chinkara (Indian Gazelle); with chances for Golden & Grey Wolves; Bengal and the desert subspecies of Red Fox; Striped Hyena; Jungle & Wild Cats.

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 to very mornings

Max Group Size

8 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local birding leader

Tour Pace & Walking

target orientated, some very long drives / travel days

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.

Glen Valentine
DH - India 2024

We had a great tour. It was smaller even than usual, as two of the participants departed after two days due to illness. Glen, was as always his uber-keen birder, cheerful self. His magic pulled out quite a few surprising sightings.

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 .

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.

Peter Kaestner
JR, India 2020

This trip was great! We were told the trip should generate about 250 bird species and our total was very close. Peter was excellent at finding birds, leading us and keeping a positive group atmosphere. The local guides also were competent and helpful. Accommodations are not an important aspect of a trip to me but the ones we stayed at were excellent, as were the meals. The trip was an excellent introduction to India for me tho I was happy to have it very much concentrate on birding.

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