Panoramic montage of the sub-tropical forests clothing the western ridges of Eaglenest.
Bhutan lies beyond
General Information
Area: 218 sq. km
Altitude: 500-3200m (accessible 100-3200m including adjacent areas; road 100-2800m)
Lat-Long: 27.1N 92.4E, in W. Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
Forest HQ: Seijusa1 (DFO), Tenga/Singchung (Range Office)
Entry points: Tenga from the north (recommended), Doimara from the south.
Vegetation Type:
lowland evergreen forest (better at Pakke); broad-leaved forest, bamboo, conifers; roadside scrub and farmland - all these in both subtropical and temperate altitudes;
Best Season - Birds: November-May. More birdsong in April-May but fewer winter birds.
Best Season - butterflies/herps: monsoon, especially May and October.
Speciality Birds:
Rufous-bellied hawk-eagle, northern goshawk, pied falconet, common hill-partridge, temminck's tragopan, ashy wood-pigeon, tawny wood-owl, rufous-necked hornbill, ward's trogon, golden-throated barbet, crimson-breasted pied-woodpecker, bay woodpecker, pale-headed woodpecker, grey-chinned minivet, rufous-bellied bulbul, maroon-backed accentor, eye-browed thrush, fea's thrush, gould's shortwing,
white-browed shortwing, blue-fronted robin, little forkail, golden bush-robin, rufous-breasted bush-robin, puple cochoa, grey-sided laughing-thrush, scaly laughing-thrush, black-faced laughing-thrush, red-faced liocichla, coral-billed scimitar-babbler, slender-billed scimitar-babbler, 6 wren-babblers (wedge-billed, bar-winged, pygmy, spotted, rufous-throated and scaly-breasted), gold-headed babbler, cutia, rufous-bellied shrike-babbler, green shrike-babbler, white-hooded
babbler, red-tailed minla, 6 tit-babblers/fulvettas (incl. golden-breasted, brown-throated, and yellow-throated), 3 sibias (incl beautiful, and rufous-backed), 5 yuhinas (incl. black-chinned, rufous-vented and white-naped), fire-tailed myzornis, 6 parrotbills (greater and lesser rufous-headed, brown, grey-headed and fulvous-fronted), mountain tailorbird, 3 tesias (chestnut-headed, grey-bellied and slaty-bellied), 8 flycatcher-warblers (incl. broad-billed, white-spectacled,
chestnut-crowned and black-faced), 4 niltavas (incl. vivid and large), 13 flycatchers (incl. white-gorgeted), rufous-bellied and grey-crested tits, sultan tit, beautiful nuthatch, wallcreeper, brown-throated treecreeper, yellow-bellied flowerpecker, mrs gould's and fire-tailed sunbird, gold-naped black-finch, beavan's bullfinch, brown bullfinch.
Birding Areas
Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary Area
Bhalupong-Tenga Road: Passes
along the eastern borders of the Eaglenest and Sessa sanctuaries and
provides an excellent birding transect from 300-1600m altitude, that
is, apart from the traffic. The corresponding areas inside Eaglenest
are, naturally, better but this is an option for birders who don't
have the time for Eaglenest.
Northern slope
Tenga:
1200m. Farmland and habitation.
Ramalingam: 1780m.
Subtropical farmland, scrub and degraded forest.
Lama Camp:
2350m. Temperate broad-leaved primary and degraded
forest.
Ridge: Temperate
bamboo, conifer and broad-leaved forest and scrub.
Eaglenest Pass: 2800m; Bra-Top: 3200m;
Piri-La:
3000m?
Bra-Top and Piri-La are the only 2
locations on this list not accessible by a vehicle and can be
accessed by steep trails from Chakoo and Lama Camp. There has been
much confusion involving these 2 names and Piri-La has been used to
refer to both (even in Athreya & Kartikeyan 1995, and Choudhary
2003). The trail from Chakoo is signposted "Piri-La Trail". It
climbs up to the ridge at 3100m and then bifurcates, the right
branch climbing up immediately to Bra-Top and the left one following
the ridge to Piri-La some distance away. Survey of India topo sheets
show both these places. The Chakoo - Bra-top trail is tough but it
passes through excellent birch, fir, rhododendron and bamboo and
I've seen on that trail temminck's tragopan, fulvous-fronted
parrotbills, black bear and even a red panda!
Southern Slope
Sunderview:
2465m. Temperate broad-leaved forest and
roadside scrub.
Chakoo: 2405m.
Temperate broad-leaved forest, meadows in ancient
clear-felled patches.
Bompu: 1940m.
Subtropical broad-leaved forest and bamboo, large patch of
open scrub
Sessni: 1250m.
Broad-leaved forest. Old jhoom patches
with secondary scrub.
Khellong: 750m. Tropical
forest, grazing meadows and degraded scrub.
Kamengbari - Doimara: 100-350m.
Tropical forest, grazing meadows, shingle banks and
cultivation.
The sanctuary extends from Eaglenest Pass to a little above
Khellong along the road. The entire stretch from Lama Camp on the
northern slope, up across Eaglenest Pass and down the southern slope
to Khellong is prime birding area. Doimara and Kamengbari are also
good but the corresponding areas in Pakke tiger reserve are better.
A broad jeep track runs from Tenga to Kamengbari through Eaglenest
Pass which makes for very comfortable roadside birding. It is this
combination of roadside scrub adjacent to primary forest just
20-30m away, apart from 3200m of altitudinal range, which makes
Eaglenest a prime birding site. The large altitudinal range and the
extraordinary bird assemblage requires a minimum of 6-10 days with a
jeep and 10-14 days on foot to do justice to it.
Boarding & Lodging
Bomdila (Grade 2) :
District HQ, 50 km (2.5 hr) from Eaglenest.
Tenga (Grade 3) : 28 km (1.5 hr) from
Eaglenest.
Singchung (Grade 3-) : A well furnished
IB (6 people), 28 km (1.5 hr) from Eaglenest.
Ramalingam (Grade 5) : An FRH (4
people), 20 km (1 hour) from Eaglenest. Camping.
Lama Camp (Grade 5) : GREF sheds (8
people), 10 km (30 min) from Eaglenest. Camping.
Sunderview (Grade 5) : GREF sheds (3
people), inside Eaglenest. Camping.
Bompu (Grade 5) : GREF sheds (12
people), inside Eaglenest. Camping.
Sessni (Grade 5) : GREF sheds (4
people), inside the sanctuary.
Khellong (Grade 5) : Forest Dept. sheds
(6 people), 7 km (30 min) from Eaglenest.
Doimara (Grade 4) : a village 20 km (1
hour) from Eaglenest. Unfurnished shacks can be arranged by the
Village Chief if intimated in advance. Camping.
See town
grade and
accommodation descriptions.
Camp style accommodation, whether in tents or in empty sheds, is
the only option between Lama Camp and Doimara. Tented camps in the
lower reaches, at Khellong and Sessni, are not recommended because
of elephant activity; Doimara is safe because of the electric fence
around the village. Perimeter trenches have been recommended to
facilitate year-round camping in all areas. Elephants move up above
Sessni only during summer (May - October) and so are not an issue
for winter visitors.
Contact
Eaglenest Biodiversity Project: Ramana
Athreya
More Information on the area: Ramana
Athreya email
Bird Tours: Kaati Tours & Mr. Indi
Glow (President, Bugun Welfare Society)
Mr. Glow : Tenga Market, Tenga, W. Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh, Ph
91-3782-273359; Kaati Tours:Ph
+91-2132-245770 email
Entry
Permits
1.
Arunachal entry permits are required for both Indians and
foreigners and are checked on entry into Arunachal at Bhalukpong.
The Circle Officers at Tenga/Singchung/Bhalukpong/Bomdila can issue
fresh permits to extend the stay (for Indians only).
2. Forest entry permits are issued by the
Divisional Forest Officer, Pakke Tiger Reserve, Seijusa. E. Kameng
district, Arunachal Pradesh. Phone +91-3778-222229 (off), 222230 (res),
who also has additional charge of Eaglenest Wildlife sanctuary. The
nearest Forest Dept presence is the Range Forest Office at Singchung.
3. The Bugun tribe of Tenga which lost its
ancient rights over Eaglenest (along with the Sherdukpen tribe of
Rupa) now charges an entry fee of Rs. 500 per day for foreigner and
Rs. 100 for Indian visitors, which goes into the Bugun Welfare
Society (and not Govt coffers). It has been proposed to reduce this
to Rs. 250 and Rs. 50 respectively and charge Rs. 1000 per day for
each 4-wheel vehicle (for both Indians and foreigners), to encourage
trekking visitors and make vehicles pay for the damage they do to
the fragile mountain road. The money collected will be used to
provide local employment for patrolling the area and maintaining the
road for visitors.
Transport
a) Walking is permitted
inside the park.
b)
To/From Tenga: Tenga is on the
Tezpur-Bomdila-Tawang highway and connected by buses from Itanagar,
Tezpur and Guwahati (Rs. 250 from Guwahati) and by shared jeeps from
Tezpur (early morning and noon - Rs. 160 per seat). Full jeeps may
also be hired from Tezpur, Balipara or Bhalukpong (Rs. 1200-1600)
which will also facilitate birding the excellent Bhalukpong-Tenga
stretch. The 135 km long drive, mostly in the hills, takes 3-5 hour.
c)
Tenga to Eaglenest: The options are:
1. Trek all the way with porters/camp staff
2. Vehicle drop-off at Eaglenest Pass or
beyond and a trek downhill with porters/camp staff. Drop-off
vehicles can be rented in Tenga for Rs. 1000-1500
3. Vehicle hired for the entire visit.
Vehicles are available at Tenga and Bomdila for Rs. 1000-2000 per
day plus fuel.
d) Inside Eaglenest:
Access on foot through the broad jeep track is possible all through
the year. Mountain bikes and motor-cycles (none available on hire
locally) may also be used all through the year. Jeep access is
usually limited to between November and April (May). The main rainy
season is from May to October but heavy rains are a permanent threat
and could cause a temporary road block (for jeeps) during any month.
Snow on the ground is a possibility above 2000m for a few weeks from
mid-January to early March.
e) Exit from
Eaglenest: One can
1. Trek back over the Eaglenest Pass to Tenga
2. Trek downhill and catch the daily bus
from Doimara (6 days a week, with occasional no-shows)
3. Arrange for a jeep pick-up inside
Eaglenest and exit via Doimara or Tenga
Visiting these places by public transport will require a travel
overhead of 3-4 days ex-Guwahati and one should keep a buffer for
bus truancy. With a private vehicle the travel component will be 1-2
days. Logistical organisation will require a day at Tenga
(alternatively, have Mr. Glow to do the organisation beforehand).
Miscellaneous
All arrangements in Tenga - porters, camp staff,
provisions, vehicle booking, local entry and accommodation permits
etc - are best done through Mr. Indi Glow who lives in Tenga, is
aware of the needs of tourists (especially birders) and has been
intimately associated with the Eaglenest Biodiversity Project. In
association with the EBP he is involved in the process of
identifying and training a reliable team of camp staff who
understand that for birders "breakfast at 5.30 AM" means breakfast
at 5.30 AM and that many visitors do not consider chilly a
vegetable!
Copyright © Ramana Athreya 2005
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Acknowledgements |
This webpage is a part of the Eaglenest Biodiversity Project report, which was funded by a grant from the Rufford Foundation (UK) to Ramana Athreya.
The information contained herein may be freely used, provided that these webpages and/or the project report
(Athreya 2005) are appropriately cited. The images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission from Ramana Athreya
The author would also appreciate an
email from people who found this webpage useful, whether to a scientific study or to a vacation in the area
~ Ramana Athreya |
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