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6 Days from$1550 p/p in USD -
DeparturesYear Round
Destinations
India,
Tour Type
Guided
Safari Standard
Budget
Tour Overview
This incredible expedition in the mystical forest of India’s Singalila National Park sets out to find the endangered red panda. Accompanied by an expert naturalist, search for the beautiful red panda on foot and by vintage Land Rover, look out for a wealth of bird life and other wildlife, soak up the breathtaking views of mountain peaks and visit picturesque villages.
General Information
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Safari types:Guided Safari, Trekking Safari, Wildlife Safari
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You will visit:Singalila National Park
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Wildlife:Birds, Deer, Leopard, Pangolin, Wild Boar, Bear, Red Panda, Serow, Marten
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Activities:Game Drive, Walking Safari, Trekking, Birding
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Getting around:4x4 Safari Vehicle, Transfer Vehicle
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Start/end:Start/end in Bagdogra
Singalila National Park
One of the most exotic Himalayan forests located in the Darjeeling District in the West Bengal, Sikkim and Nepal tri-junction. Located in India’s Singalila range at an altitude ranging between 7,000 ft to 12,000 ft above sea level, Singalila National Park is well known for the trekking route to Sandakphu that runs through it and also famously known for its ageless vintage Land Rovers. Singalila is one of the best places in India to see Red Panda in the wild. Apart from the Red Panda, Singalila is home to a diversity of mammals including Himalayan black bear, clouded leopard, leopard cat, serow, barking deer, yellow throated marten, wild boar, pangolin, pika among others. Singalila is a birding paradise with more than 300 species of birds found here. It has a huge list of exotic birds including blood pheasant, satyr tragopan, kalij pheasant, brown & falvous parrobills, rufous-vented tit, fire tailed mayzornis, golden breasted fulvetta, rosefinchs, bull finchs, wren babbers, laughing thrushes, nuthatchs, treecreapers, yuhinas, minivets, partridges and many more. The park is also well known for its stunning and rugged Eastern Himalayan landscape and on clear days both Mount Everest and Kanchendzonga can be seen.
Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)
Also known as the ‘firefox’, the Red Panda is a mammal native to Eastern Himalayas and Southwest China. It has reddish brown fur, a long shaggy tail and a wadding gait due to its shorter length of front legs. Measuring not more than 2 feet in length and weighing not more than 10 kg the Red Panda is truly adorable and especially photogenic animal. It is arboreal, feeds mainly on bamboos, but also eats eggs, birds & insects. It is a solitary animal mainly active from dusk to dawn and is largely sedentary during the day. The Red Panda has been classified as Endangered by the IUCN because its wild population is estimated at less than 10,000 mature individuals and it continues to decline due to its habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching and inbreeding, depression. Although Red Pandas are protected by national laws in their range countries, Singalila is one of its last strongholds and it is also the best place in India to see this elusive and rare mammals.
Price Per Person – USD
From USD 1,550 per person
Please check with us for the most up-to-date price
What's Included
- 6 nights & 7 days stay in Chawang Lodge, Kalapokhri (twin sharing)
- All meals during trip
- Bagdogra-Manebhanjan-Bagdogra shared road transfers in AC Innova (4 pax per vehicle)
- Naturalist services
- Red Panda Expedition with tracker support
- Shared porters & safari Land Rover for entire duration of stay
- Wildlife permit cost for both Indian and Nepal
- Still camera permits, 1 per person
- Visit to Sandhakphu top
- Visit to Tumling and for other sightseeing
What's Excluded
- Airfares & visas
- Train fare
- Insurance premiums
- Supplementary services
- Personal expenses such as laundry, bottled water, soft drinks, incidentals, porter charges, tips etc.
- Difference in cost arising due to change in Taxes by the Government which will have to be collected directly on arrival
- Difference in cost arising due to mishaps, political unrest, natural calamities. In such case extra will have to be paid on the spot by the guest directly
- Any other service not mentioned in Includes
Disclaimer
- This itinerary is owned and delivered by ‘Jehan Numa Wilderness Expeditions‘
- All prices are ‘From’ and may vary at the time of booking
- Display price is usually based on two people sharing
- ‘Jehan Numa Wilderness Expeditions‘ reserves the right to change the content and price of the itinerary
- All itineraries are subject to availability
Day by Day Overview
Upon arrival at Bagdogra airport by early morning flight you will be met at the airport by your driver and travelling naturalist. The group will immediately leave for Manebhanjen, which is the entry point of Singalila National Park. At Manebhanjen, guests will change to their vintage Land Rover and move towards Chawang Lodge, Kalapokhri, your home for six nights. Lunch will be served en-route to Kalapokhri and guests will reach their destination in the afternoon. Evening will be at leisure with some orientation about the activities planned for the next few days.
Dinner and overnight at Chawang Lodge (L & D)
Note: Tourists are allowed entry into Singalila no later than 2:00 pm. Guests MUST ensure that their flight into Bagdogra is the first flight out reaching Bagdogra no later than 9:00 am. If such a flight is not available, then we would recommend reaching Bagdogra a day before and spending a night at Siliguri, this can be arranged at an extra cost.
Guests will wake up and have breakfast at the lodge. Our team of expert trackers would have gone out searching for Red Panda early in the morning. As the trackers find Red Panda, guests will be taken to the spot. You can opt to walk to the sighting spot or choose to go by Land Rover, if the sighting is close to a motor-able road. Along with our expert naturalist, guests can also participate in tracking using established trails in search for Red Panda. Singalila is home to several species of birds and guests can also engage themselves with bird watching, while the trackers are out looking for Red Panda. Lunch will be served on the field or at the lodge, depending on the wildlife activities that we decide to do.
Dinner and overnight at Chawang Lodge (B, L & D)
Each day the trackers will go out searching for Red Panda both on the Nepal and India side and the group leader will identify suitable trails for searching for Red Panda and other species. For those guests who have difficulty walking, the Land Rovers will be there in support to drive you to various sightings or spots. Apart from wildlife, Singalila National Park is also popular for the scenic vistas that one can see. The Kanchendzonga peak along with other surrounding peaks form the sleeping Buddha, which can be best viewed from Tumling. At the discretion of the tour leader and the sighting situation, the guest can visit Tumling to see this and explore the areas around.
The famous Sandakphu is just 6 km from Kalalpokhri, the highest point in West Bengal and famously a spot where you can see both Mount Everest and Kanchendzonga. Depending on the sightings, guests can opt to trek up or use the Land Rovers to explore the Sandakhu area. Dobate, in Nepal, is also a beautiful village situated at a lower altitude to Kalapokhri, it is a half/full day visit with picnic lunch can be arranged. The forest around Dobate is also a hotspot for Red Panda. There are also some interesting villages to be seen close to your lodge.
Dinner and overnight at Chawang Lodge (B, L & D)
To summarize, there are many options and activities that are possible during your 6-night visit to Singalila, all these activities listed above are included in your plan. Since this a species specific plan, the focus will be to maximize chances of seeing the Red Panda, and to that effect we will keep the plan flexible and based on the discretion of the tour leader and the consensus of the group.
Return to Bagdogra airport for your departure flight.
Trekking
The Red Panda Expedition promises to be an experience of a lifetime. We will be trekking as much as possible, which is the best way to enjoy and photograph the beauty of the place. We will have a team of porters to help us with our trekking equipment.
4×4 Vehicles – Vintage Land Rover
Not sure if you can trek? Don’t worry, there will be safari cars that you can hop on any time you want. The safari cars used here are the historic Land Rovers and the only place in the country where they are operated as safari vehicles.
Accommodation
We will be staying in pristine locations, relishing magical sunrises and sunsets. The location being remote, accommodation and facilities will be basic, clean and hygienic.
