[RoadTrippin]

Absolutely loved this trip report! Phenomenal sightings and has triggered the wanderlust in me. What would you say is the best time of the year to do a trip to Manas?

[turboNath]

Originally Posted by C300

Wow..Amazing sightings Turbonath. Thanks for sharing. Manas surely is Birding hotspot. Silver breasted broadbill is such a beautiful bird. Great shot. Which is the best month to visit Manas?

Thank you C300 ! Manas was really amazing. We saw and photographed close to 120+ species (including the common ones). I would say February end - March will be the best time. Thanks to the cultivation patterns, the floricans are easily visible (it is also their courtship period).

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

That’s an express and incredible travelogue of a place close to my heart. Manas often tends to lose out to more illustrious Kaziranga in terms of visitors. The rich biodiversity that Manas offers is almost comparable to the very best. The bloodied past, as you have rightly mentioned, is well behind now and I sincerely hope people return to see Manas.

Manas is the first national park that I visited in my childhood and the memories are well entrenched. Many log huts have come up as I hear and intend to be back to experience soon. The Paanbari gate is little offbeat but I now know that Bhuyanpara gate is the one to target if one wants to see the jewels of Manas.

Thank you for penning down this wonderful experience, the sheer number of birds is simply astounding. The raptors in full attention and the crimson sunbird pictures are my favourite. Your night safari resulted in some incredible pictures and I am yet to fathom that you pointed a mobile camera at a viper !!!

Wonderful read, thank you again and hoping to read your next adventure pretty soon.

Regards.

Thank you ABHI_1512 for the kind words ! You're absolutely right. I found Manas way more biodiverse than Kaziranga. People need to visit this amazing biodiversity hotspot at least once when they plan a trip to Assam.
Hope Manas bounces back in full glory real soon !

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Awesome variety of birds. Great description and details too. Thanks a lot for sharing. Looking forward to visiting Manas sometime. I will ping you for further details.

Thanks robimahanta ! Manas is full of beautiful surprises and should be on the 'must-visit' list of every wildlife enthusiasts. Sure, please feel free to let me know.

Originally Posted by Gorkey

I am from Assam and still havent visited there yet. Such a shame. Planning to visit after seeing your photos. Amazing photos.

Thanks Gorkey ! You should totally visit Manas whenever you get a chance. Extended weekend, perhaps ?

Originally Posted by sukhbirST

Thanks for the lovely photographs and adding Manas to must visit list. Can you please share approx cost and of course the camera details. Some of the animals/birds I saw for the first time.

Thank you sukhbirST ! Approx cost came out to be around 20k / person on twin sharing basis for 3 nights 4 days tour (excluding flight).
I use a Nikon D7500 paired with a Nikon 200-500 f5.6 lens.

Originally Posted by callvvijay

Fantastic photographs and great details about each one of them. Thank you.

Further, personally for me, this post could not have come at a more appropriate time than this - as I'm planning a Assam-Manas-Shillong visit soon.

Can you tell the place you stayed at Manas? Thanks!

Thanks callvvijay ! We stayed at the log huts maintained by Maozigendri Eco Tourism Society at Bhuyanpara. Our guide had pre-booked everything for us. Please feel free to ping me for any details, if required !

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Brilliant clicks there turboNath. You have got an amateur birder's dream collection with this one trip of yours

I honestly did not know that some of the birds (like the broadbill) even existed in India. This is one of the best birding/wildlife photo collection I have seen in the recent past.

Congratulations and wish you many more such clickys!!

Thank you so much Vik0728 ! Many of the birds were lifers for us as well ! The entire experience was simply amazing ! The Silver-breasted Broadbill was indeed the best sighting for us.

Originally Posted by ashishsGT

Hello turboNath,

Amazing clicks of these lovely feathered creatures and comprehensive write-up too!
It is indeed truly devastating to see the bird population dwindling at such a rapid pace in the last decade.

For all the night shots, did you use a continuous light source or was it a speed light mounted atop your camera?

Looking forward to many more such posts!

Cheers,
Ashish

Thank you ashishsGT ! You're correct. Their decreasing numbers have been further accelerated with the pandemic as many of villagers have resorted to hunting wild animals/ birds for sustenance. While returning from the evening safari on day 1, we spotted a small child running alongside the highway with a Spotted Owlet dangling from his hands. When we tried to stop him, he didn't pay heed to our words and started running faster. Although our guide said that the bird was probably dead, I swear I saw it fluttering around. That incident left a deep scar in my mind.

For the night shots our guide used his torch light intermittently (bursts of 10-30 seconds) to spot and photograph the birds, taking care to avoid the bird's eyes. He was using a very powerful LED torch from Fenix.

Originally Posted by haisaikat

Awesome TL and rated 5 stars, amazed me with your patience as always in portraying the beauty of the shy inhabitants of nature. I never thought a wild fowl will look this beautiful. Majority of the Dooars region lie in Assam and I assume the more we go towards west the beautiful it becomes. After your venture, adding this place to my must visit list for future.

Curious, which hotel were you put up on Day 1? The cottages look awesome.

Eagerly waiting for the flying XUV TL.

Thank you so much haisaikat ! Manas is an incredibly beautiful jungle and it will give you a feel of Corbett. Will definitely recommend ! On all 3 nights, we stayed at the log huts maintained by Maozigendri Eco Tourism Society at Bhuyanpara.

I am yet to start the North Bengal TL !

Originally Posted by RoadTrippin

Absolutely loved this trip report! Phenomenal sightings and has triggered the wanderlust in me. What would you say is the best time of the year to do a trip to Manas?

Thanks RoadTrippin ! I would definitely recommend anytime between February - March. I am sure you will come back with a truck load of memories !

[ramnath_77]

Awesome travelogue with crisp writing and superb images to go with

The sheer variety of birds it hosts makes Manas a must visit park. Hope to make a trip someday.

Thanks for sharing turboNath

[Mile_Breaker]

Amazing photos Turbonath ! A big thumbs up and five stars ! With this passion am sure you are on the path to become a great ornithologist. Keep travelling and hone your skills.

[sayakc]

Dear TurboNath,

Yet another fantastic set of birds and beasts from a not so often visited wild life sanctuary! I can only imagine the level of patience which one needs to take these photos.
Kudos to you that you have found your passion at such an young age

We hope to see another riot of flora and fauna colours from your trip of North Bengal soon.

Cheers,
Sayak

[turboNath]

Originally Posted by ramnath_77

Awesome travelogue with crisp writing and superb images to go with

The sheer variety of birds it hosts makes Manas a must visit park. Hope to make a trip someday.

Thanks for sharing turboNath

Thanks ramnath_77 ! Manas seemed to be teeming with wildlife, especially birds. This just goes on to show how fast Nature can actually bounce back when given a chance. I will definitely encourage you to plan a visit soon, especially in Feb-March !

Originally Posted by Mile_Breaker

Amazing photos Turbonath ! A big thumbs up and five stars ! With this passion am sure you are on the path to become a great ornithologist. Keep travelling and hone your skills.

Thank you so much for the kind words Mile_Breaker! There are so many places to cover and so little time! I promise to do my best. Eagerly waiting for the travelogue on your Hexa's drive to the heavenly Gurudongmar Lake !

Originally Posted by sayakc

Dear TurboNath,

Yet another fantastic set of birds and beasts from a not so often visited wild life sanctuary! I can only imagine the level of patience which one needs to take these photos.
Kudos to you that you have found your passion at such an young age

We hope to see another riot of flora and fauna colours from your trip of North Bengal soon.

Cheers,
Sayak

Thank you sayakc ! You're right. As compared to its famous cousin, Kaziranga, Manas is relatively less popular among tourists. But of late, more and more people are keen to explore other sanctuaries in Assam due to the sheer promise of incredible biodiversity. I am yet to start the North Bengal travelogue but yes it's definitely there in the (distant) horizon !