This tour takes you on a genuine altitudinal transect through the Garhwal Himalayas — from the subtropical Shivalik forests around Rishikesh, on the banks of the Ganga, all the way up to Harsil, a quiet Himalayan valley on the Bhagirathi River at around 2,620 metres, close to Gangotri. Along the way we follow the Bhagirathi upstream through Uttarkashi and the mid-altitude conifer belt, giving us a genuine cross-section of Garhwal’s birdlife in a single trip.

Rishikesh itself, though best known as a pilgrimage and adventure town, holds excellent birding along its riverbanks and forest edges, with sal and mixed forest around Tapovan and Neelkanth, right on the fringes of Rajaji National Park.

Harsil Valley itself is one of the least-known birding destinations in the Indian Himalayas — most visitors pass through it only as a stop on the way to Gangotri, and very few birders have ever spent real time here. That is exactly its appeal. Set among dense deodar forest, apple orchards and open river shingle along the Bhagirathi, Harsil holds a superb mix of high-altitude specialities that are difficult to find with this level of ease anywhere else in Uttarakhand, with the river’s boulder bars a documented breeding site for Ibisbill. Excursions further up the valley towards Bhaironghati push us into true high-altitude habitat, opening up a further set of Himalayan specialities.

This is a tour for birders who want to get well off the beaten track, in a part of the Himalayas that remains genuinely underbirded.