Annapurna. Siân Pritchard-Jones
incredible diversity of the Annapurnas offers naturalists the perfect environment for discovering a wealth of birdlife. Its unique habitats shelter diverse groups of bird species. Birds move mostly in flocks, hunting insects at different levels in the forest. During quiet times you might spot 5–12 different species, determined by season. There are diurnal, seasonal and altitudinal migrants; birds such as the cuckoo visit during the spring for breeding.
As the first rays of sun hit the forests, the insects stir into life and the insectivores, including the colourful long-tailed minivet, and green-backed, black-lored and black-throated tits, begin foraging. Nectarine-, fruit- and berry-eating birds are active early in the day. Trees with berries or flowers are magnets for multiple species, namely whiskered, stripe-throated, rufous-naped and white-browed tits. The forest between Ghorepani and Tadapani is a good place to encounter the great parrotbill, spotted laughing thrush, and the velvet, rufous-bellied and white-tailed nuthatch.
The most rewarding forest habitats are those of Timang, Chame and Pisang, around Ghandruk, Tadapani, Ghorepani, Ghurjung and en route to Annapurna Base Camp. Try to catch a glimpse of the golden-breasted, white-browed and rufous-winged fulvetta. The forest is full of red-tailed, rufous-tailed and blue-winged minla. The tapping of the rufous-bellied, crimson-breasted and pied woodpeckers occasionally interrupts the silence. The forests are alive with the beautiful scarlet, spotted and great rose finch, along with the spot-winged grosbeak. Birdwatchers will be amazed to see tiny warblers, including chestnut-crowned, Whistler’s, black-faced, grey-hooded and ashy-throated warblers. Nepal cutia is found in forests of alder.
Smart sunbirds found in flowering trees include the black-throated, green-tailed, fire-tailed and purple sunbird. Fire-breasted flowerpeckers are found near settlements, in the flowering trees and mistletoe. Large-billed crows scavenge on kitchen leftovers or raid village crops. Flocks of red and yellow-billed chough forage around farms or high above the passes. The olive-backed pipit, magpie, robin and common tailorbird are found near farms, along with the common stonechat and the grey, collared, white-tailed and pied bushchat.
Streams and riverbanks are teeming with frisky birds. The pristine environment of the Modi Khola is a very rewarding habitat for river birds, including white-capped water redstart and plumbeous redstart; little, spotted, black-backed and slaty-backed forktail; brown dipper, grey wagtail and blue whistling-thrush. Other common birds are the red-vented, black bulbul, great and blue-throated barbet, and also coppersmith barbet in the lower reaches. On some overhanging cliffs below Landruk, Chhomrong and Lamakhet near Siklis are honeycombs made by the world’s largest honeybees, where you may spot the oriental honeyguide.
Ravens are acrobatic birds, seen in the alpine zones. The blue pine forest is a habitat of the very vocal spotted nutcracker, while orange-bellied leafbirds prefer the upper canopies. More treasures are the tiny Nepal, scaly-breasted and pygmy wren babblers, feeding under the ferns, with their high-pitched territorial calls. With its high-pitched sound, the jewel-like, tiny chestnut-headed tesia is a wonderful bird to see in moist undergrowth.
The mountains near Lete and Ghasa harbour all the pheasant species found in Nepal, namely the kalij, koklass and cheer pheasant. Shy by nature, one can hear them before dawn. In the rhododendron and oak forest look for ringal, and in cane bamboo watch for satyr tragopan and blood pheasant. The Himalayan munal, the national bird of Nepal, favours the tree line and pastures.
The Kali Gandaki River Valley is one of the major ‘flyways’ of migratory birds, including demoiselle cranes, birds of prey, black storks and many varieties of passerines. Migrating eagles, including the steppe and imperial, as well as small birds of prey, pied and hen harriers and common buzzards also use it. Observing the annual autumn migration of thousands of demoiselle cranes is very rewarding. To gain height and glide over the peaks, they catch the thermals in the windshadow of the mountains. If the weather turns bad, they wait in the buckwheat fields and riverbanks. The golden eagle, the master predator, anticipates their arrival and attacks the cranes in-flight, occasionally separating a young, injured or sick crane from the flock, catching them in the air. This epic migration was broadcast as part of the ‘Planet Earth’ Mountain Series on the BBC/Discovery Channel.
The skies of Annapurna host the vulture and majestic lammergeyers (with 3m wingspans). Himalayan and Eurasian griffons soar, lifting every onlooker’s spirit. Some ethnic groups of Mustang practise sky burial and believe the vultures pass the spirits to the heavens. Cliffs are breeding sites for vultures and lammergeyer. All the vulture species of Nepal, including the Egyptian vulture, the endangered white-rumped, the red-headed and the globally endangered slender-billed vulture are found in the foothills. Cinereous vultures are seen in winter.
In the caragana bush habitat of Muktinath, Jharkot and Jomsom, look for the white-browed tit-babbler, white-throated, Guldenstadt’s and blue-fronted redstart, brambling and brown rufous-breasted and Altai accentor. Rock bunting and chukor partridge inhabit areas between Kagbeni, Muktinath, around Manang and south to Lete. In the air you can observe the speedy insect-hunter white-rumped needletail, Nepal house martin, red-rumped swallow and Himalayan swiftlet. Finally, near the Thorong La, observe the Himalayan snow cock and flocks of snow pigeons foraging near trails, oblivious of passing trekkers.
Brief history
Nepal is one of the most diverse places on earth, its culture and people as varied as its scenic attractions. With a long history of isolation, the country and its once mystical capital, Kathmandu, has an amazing story to tell. Its history is a complex blend of exotic legend, historical fact and religious influence, suffused with myth.
The original inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley were the Kiranti people. Around 550BC, in Lumbini in southern Nepal, Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born, later becoming the Buddha, whose philosophy would have such an impact on the country. In the third century BC, Ashoka, one of the first emissaries of Buddhism in India, built the ancient stupas (a large Buddhist monument, usually with a square base, a dome and pointed spire) of Patan and the pillar in Lumbini. Around AD300, during the Licchavi Period, the Hindu religion blossomed across the southern and middle hills. Trade routes flourished between Tibet and India, with Kathmandu being the most important trading centre.
When Buddhism declined in India, ‘adepts’ (masters of Buddhism) crossed the Himalayas to find refuge in Tibet. Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism later trickled back into Nepal, providing many of the fascinating aspects of the country’s religious life. The Buddhist master Padma Sambhava (Guru Rinpoche) travelled around the Himalayas in the eighth century. Few records exist of the period following until the 13th century, when the Malla kings assumed power.
The Malla period marks the golden age of art and architecture in Nepal, with the construction of multi-tiered palaces and pagodas. The people lived in decorated wood and brick houses. Jayasthiti Malla, a Hindu, consolidated power in the Kathmandu Valley and declared himself to be a reincarnate of the god Vishnu, a practice that was considered appropriate for the monarchs of Nepal until 2007. Jyoti Malla and Yaksha Malla enhanced the valley with spectacular structures. Around 1482 the three towns of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur became independent cities, with each king competing to build the greatest Durbar Square, parts of which still exist today.
Durbar Square. Patan
From a hilltop fortress above the town of Gorkha (Gurkha) came Prithvi Narayan Shah. His forces swept in from the west, subduing the cities of the Kathmandu Valley and unifying Nepal. Nepalese armies invaded Tibet in 1788, but were later repulsed by Tibet with Chinese intervention. In 1816 the British defeated the Gurkhas and, in the treaty of Segauli, Nepal had to cede Sikkim to India, with the current borders delineated. The British established a resident office, but Nepal effectively became a closed land after 1816.
In 1846 a soldier of the court, Jung Bahadur Kunwar Rana, took power after a bloody massacre in Kot Square in Kathmandu. The queen was sent into exile and the king dethroned. For the next 100 years the Rana family ruled Nepal, calling themselves Maharajas. Family intrigues, murder and deviousness dominated the activities of the autocratic Ranas. The country remained closed to all but a few invited guests, retaining its medieval traditions until 1950.
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