Rara National Park
24. - 27. November 2018
We were visiting some of the most remote communities in Nepal on this trip.There were no cars, no roads, and no electricity. Only hard working people.
I left Norway in the afternoon on the 21st., and flew from Bergen to Oslo, Oslo to Doha (Qatar), and finally arrived in Kathmandu before noon on the 22nd. A driver picked me up at the airport, and I was really amazed by the complexity and intensity of the Kathmandu traffic while driving (luckily only being a passenger) into the city. I met up with my companion for the next 14 days, Jyotendra Jyu Thakuri from Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN), which is our implementing partner i Nepal.
The following day Jyotendra and myself flew from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj in the southwestern part of Nepal, where we stayed overnight. In the morning on the 24th. we went back to the Nepalgunj airport to move on to Rara National Park. The flight to Rara is kind of famous, not for the excellent scenery during the flight, but mostly because the airport we were heading towards, Talcha airport. The runway at Talcha is narrow and short (20 x 400 meters), and it is considered one of the most precarious airports in Nepal for landing and takeoff. Anyway, we had a fantastic flight between mountains and valleys, and did also survive and enjoyed the landing with the tiny plane at the tiny airport. Have a look at a plane landing at Talcha.
The following day Jyotendra and myself flew from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj in the southwestern part of Nepal, where we stayed overnight. In the morning on the 24th. we went back to the Nepalgunj airport to move on to Rara National Park. The flight to Rara is kind of famous, not for the excellent scenery during the flight, but mostly because the airport we were heading towards, Talcha airport. The runway at Talcha is narrow and short (20 x 400 meters), and it is considered one of the most precarious airports in Nepal for landing and takeoff. Anyway, we had a fantastic flight between mountains and valleys, and did also survive and enjoyed the landing with the tiny plane at the tiny airport. Have a look at a plane landing at Talcha.
Talcha airport. 20 meters wide and 400 meters long, with steep cliffs at both ends. Considered to be one of the most precarious airports in the world.
Rara is the smallest National Park in Nepal, and has been protected since 1976. The park consist of Rara Lake, the biggest lake in the country, and surrounding woodlands. The mature forests are dominated by Blue Pines Pinus wallichiana, but with a nice variety of other trees in between (Fir, Oak, Spruce, Juniper, Rhododendron and Cypress). The lake is at an elevation of 3000 m.a.s.l., and the park reaches an altitude high at about 4500 m.a.s.l.
Birkha, our local contact met us at the airport and we had lunch before starting the trek towards Rara Lake. We had several detours on the way to visit some of the communities BirdLife Norway has supported through Bird Conservation Nepal during the last six years, including a community driven nursery at Lamachaur. After a 7,5 hours walk (including tea-breaks and some birding) we arrived at the lodge "Village Heritage and Resort" where we were about to spend the next two nights. Beautifully situated along the northeastern part of the lake, we enjoyed dinner (Dal Bhat of course) before going to sleep. The temperature during daytime was comfortable, but when the sun disappeared it was cold. During the night it was subzero temperatures, and some water-spill in the toilet floor was actually frozen in the morning. Did not sleep too much the first night (altitude and temperature?), but I was more than ready for new adventures at 06:00 in the morning. The days was spent walking back and forth to a remote and poor villages just outside the parks borders. Got some major impressions here, watching and speaking to the hard working people with few or no assets. We met Rara National Park officials, and had a meeting with a newly started youth eco-club as well.
Birkha, our local contact met us at the airport and we had lunch before starting the trek towards Rara Lake. We had several detours on the way to visit some of the communities BirdLife Norway has supported through Bird Conservation Nepal during the last six years, including a community driven nursery at Lamachaur. After a 7,5 hours walk (including tea-breaks and some birding) we arrived at the lodge "Village Heritage and Resort" where we were about to spend the next two nights. Beautifully situated along the northeastern part of the lake, we enjoyed dinner (Dal Bhat of course) before going to sleep. The temperature during daytime was comfortable, but when the sun disappeared it was cold. During the night it was subzero temperatures, and some water-spill in the toilet floor was actually frozen in the morning. Did not sleep too much the first night (altitude and temperature?), but I was more than ready for new adventures at 06:00 in the morning. The days was spent walking back and forth to a remote and poor villages just outside the parks borders. Got some major impressions here, watching and speaking to the hard working people with few or no assets. We met Rara National Park officials, and had a meeting with a newly started youth eco-club as well.
A dream bird - the Spotted Forktail. At least as stunning as expected!
The birding was great. Thanks to Jyotendra's birding skills, I did not waste any time looking through the book for every bird that appeared. Travelling with a proper birder is highly recommended. The personal highlight was two fine sightings of feeding Spotted Forktails. Not a colorful bird, but absolutely fantastic anyway! I also enjoyed the company of quite a few Black-throated Thrushes on my way, being common all around the lake. We also got views of a male Red-throated Thrush on the 25th. Both Lammergeier and Himalayan Griffon Vultures were seen now and then, and many high altitude birds made the species list pretty neat in the end. The lake itself was very nice, with good numbers of several waterbirds, including Ferruginous Duck, Red-crested Pochards, Pallas's Gulls and Black-necked Grebes. The rarity highlight was a putative Caspian Gull on the 26th. The complete list of bird species can be downloaded from the link on top of this page.
Staying at the lodge near the lake for two days was great, but we had to move back to Talcha. The plane the next days was planned to leave at 11:00, so we had to stay close to the airport in the morning. We did a six hour trek around the lake in the afternoon, counting waterbirds and basically having a great time. The plane showed to be several hours delayed the next day, and we left Rara about 15:30 in the afternoon. Back in Nepalgunj Ram Shahi from Bardia Nature Conservation Club and Puja Gurung from Bird Conservation Nepal met us, and took us into the famous jungle of Bardia National Park.
Staying at the lodge near the lake for two days was great, but we had to move back to Talcha. The plane the next days was planned to leave at 11:00, so we had to stay close to the airport in the morning. We did a six hour trek around the lake in the afternoon, counting waterbirds and basically having a great time. The plane showed to be several hours delayed the next day, and we left Rara about 15:30 in the afternoon. Back in Nepalgunj Ram Shahi from Bardia Nature Conservation Club and Puja Gurung from Bird Conservation Nepal met us, and took us into the famous jungle of Bardia National Park.
Selected bird photos from rara 24. - 27. November 2018
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