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Dholavira is located in Bhachau taluka in Kutch District of Gujarat. Dholavira is archeological site and it is one of the largest Harappan site among 5 sites. You can go to Dholavira by passing Road to Heaven which is finest route both side salt water. It is also a world heritagesite of UNESCO. Dholavira is located on Tropic of Cancer. It is located on Khadir bet island in the Kutch Desert wildlife Sanctuary. It is in the Greate Rann of Kutch belonging to Indus River. The site was discovered by Shambhudan Gadhvi in 1960. After his effort site was officially discovered in 1967-1968 by archeological survey of India. Total 8 Harappan site and Dholavira is one of the largest site among them. Other major Harappan site discovered are Harappa, Ganeriwala, Mohenjo-Daro, Kalibangan, Rupnagar, Rakhigarhi and Lothal. Dholavira was important center for trade between central Asia, south Gujarat, Punjab and Sindh. The excavation was started by ASI in 1989. There were 13 field excavation between 1990 to 2005.

City Plan of Dholavira :

Dholavira city is in rectangular shape. It spread over 54 acers and total area measures length around 2530 ft and width around 2023.8 ft. City Dholavira is divided in 3 parts as The Citadel, The Middle Town and The Lower Town. The Castel is double in height and bailey area near the castle is where important officials were lived. Middle town has own defense, gates, streets , well systems and large open spaces. Lower town for lower workers which has no boundary walls. In Dholavira there are 2 rivers flown one is Manhar in the south and Mansar in the North side.

Water storage system/ Reservoirs :

Water harvesting and storage system of Dholavira says about advance hydraulic engineering in third millennium BCE. The unique features of Dholavira is water conservation system of reservoirs and channel systems which was never found anywhere in the world before. They store rain water which diverted into rivulets. The system for water harvesting is for long time preserve fresh water in Kutch climate where sometimes rain may not fall for years. Reservoir are cut through stone about 23 ft deep and 259 ft long. Total 16 or more reservoir created of different size.

A huge sign board found around 9.8 ft long on which 10 letters of Indus script. The costal route existed linking Lothal and Dholavira to Sutkagan Dor on the Makran coast.

Language :

The Harappan spoke an unknown language. The Script which was found on large sign board not yet deciphered.

Chronology of Dholavira :

While visit Kutch Dholavira is must visit site in your itinerary. You can visit Dholavira with family to know about old architecture, business coastal area via sea, living things and utensils and most important is water harvesting system. While visit Dholavira must take a guide to know every structure in detail it will cost around 500 INR per group but worth it.

How To reach Dholavira :

Dholavira is 130 km from Bhuj. Bhuj is main city in Kutch where you find airport , railway stations and bus transports. From Bhuj Dholavira around 2 hr 40 min distance. Road is very good just from Khavda road is single line and narrow for half an hour. After it the Road To Heaven started around 30-40 km long and the road is fantastic both side water after monsoon and after evaporate water you can see salt a white desert both side of road.

 Near by places to visit : Road To Heaven, White Rann in Rann Utsav by Gujarat Tourism, Kadiya Dhro, Bhuj City, Smriti Van, Bhujyo Dungar, Mandvi Beach, Vijay Vilas Palace. 

 Camera Used : Canon 6D, Canon 80D, 14mm lens, Samsung S22 Mobile

There are lots of spices of Finch bird. Pink browed rose finch family name carpodacus rodochroa. Very small in size like a sparrow. The male is bright raspberry pink color and female is brown with streaked Buffy underparts and broad white eyebrows. This spices generally found in Himalayan range about 8000-12000 ft heights. I found both Male and female during my different trek. The male i found on my Har Ki Dun trek, Chandrakhani Pass Trek in manali and female i found at Singalila National Park. Images are taken at  with my canon 6D and 100-400 mm lens.

Pink Browed Rose finch generally found in heights above 7000ft . During my trek to Har Ki Dun and Manali (Chandrakhani pass ) i found Lost of birds among them one is Rose finch. It  is really beautiful to see this bird . Its color is very beautiful and looks like raspberry pink. It was difficult to shoot with distance and got sharp image. Well i had a good camera and lens so that i capture this sharp image.

Pink Browed Rosefinch is generally found at Himalayas. I found it at Har Ki Dun trek and also at Chandrakhani pass trek to Manali.  Bird is so beautiful in color you can not resist to capture image of it. There are also different types of finch bird available in manali and also at Uttarakhand. They generally found in pair of male and female. 

Gear Used : Canon 6D, Canon 1000 D, Canon 100-400 mm lens, Canon 80 D

Sikkim is the state in northeastern side of India. In northeast side of Sikkim is Tibet , east side is Bhutan, in the west is Nepal and in south its border touches to West Bengal. Capital of Sikkim is Gangtok. Total area of Sikkim is 7096 sqkm. Highest elevation of Sikkim is Mt Kanchenjunga 8586 m.  Population of Sikkim around 6 lakhs. Languages spoken here is Nepali, Sikkimese, Lepcha, English.

Sikkim has four districts known as East Sikkim capital Gangtok , North Sikkim capital Mangan, South Sikkim capital Namchi and west Sikkim capital Gyalshing . Major city and biggest of state is Gangtok .

Flora And Fauna of Sikkim :

• Sikkim is home of more than 5000 spices of flower plants. Among them 515 are rare orchids,36 spices of rhododendron, 11 spices of Oak, 60 spices of Primula, 23 spices of Bamboo, 362 varieties of Ferns and over 900 medicinal plants.
• Official flower of Sikkim is Noble Dendrobium.
• State tree of Sikkim is Rhododendron.
• On other side of Sikkim fauna there is a lots of wildlife found here.
• Major Attractions in wildlife in Sikkim is Red Panda, Snow leopard, Himalayan Marmot, Himalayan Tahr, Asian Black Bear , Leopard Cat, Tibetan Wolf, Comon Langur, Himalayan Jungle Cat, Dhole, Himalayan Serow, Himalayan Goral and Yaks.
• Also Sikkim is heaven for Birds too like Crimson horned Pheasant , Impeyan Pheasant, Tibetan Snowcock, Griffon Vulture, Golden Eagles, Quails, Plovers, Pigeons, Flycatchers and many more. Total more than 550 spices of birds found here.
• In Sikkim also butterflies found more than 1400 spices.
• Red Panda is the State animal of Sikkim.
• Singalila National Park is most favorite place for trekker and wildlife photographers.

The earliest inhabitants of Sikkim are Lepchas. Sikkim is almost in a hilly area. State elevation from 280m to 8586m.  Lowest elevation at West side at west Bengal border and highest is Mt. Kanchenjunga  summit. Kanchenjunga Mountain is the 3rd highest mountain in the World. It is Situated on the border of Sikkim and Nepal. Mt. Kanchenjunga can be seen from Darjeeling early in the morning also if you want to see Kanchenjunga very closely then visit Sandakphu at Singalila National park where you can see a clear Mount Kanchenjunga and also Mt Everest if weather is clear.

In Sikkim Tour we planned for North Sikkim, East Sikkim and South Sikkim places. Most tour visit Gangtok – Darjeeling – Pelling  or Gangtok – Lachen- Lachung – Darjeeling- Namchi . If you want to go pelling then Lachen and Lachung you have to skip or you have to add more 3-4 days in your tour to complete all of these. We done in our tour Gangtok-Lachen-Lachung-Gangtok-Darjeeling . Our tour Itinerary as below.

Best Time for Visit Sikkim :

The best season for traveling to North Sikkim is Mid February to Mid-June  & Mid-September to Mid December. 

Sikkim Tour Itinerary :

For Sikkim you can go via flight to Bagdogra then from Bagdogra (IXB) to Gangtok via road. Also a New Jalpaiguri Railway Station ( NJP ) overnight train from Kolkata reach in the morning and then via road to Gangtok.

Day 1

IXB Airport / NJP Railway Station to Gangtok 125kms in 4hrs  and drive to Gangtok (Capital of Sikkim). Gangtok is also a resting ground for people traveling to North Sikkim. Check in at Hotel. Evening we go for Gangtok city tour and shopping. We stay at Lemon Tree hotel Gangtok. A very nice property and good Hospitality.

Day 2

Early Morning leave to  Tsongmo Lake (12,400 ft.) & Baba Harbhajan Singh Memorial (13200 ft) 52 kms from Gangtok city. Tsongmo Lake freezes completely during the winter and is much revered by the locals.

Optional tour to Nathula Pass (Alt 14000Ft / 4200M) on China Border can also be arranged (Except Mon, Tue) for Indian Nationals on advance request at an additional cost. I must say to visit Nathula Pass cost around 3000-4000 INR per car. At Nthula pass you must go early in the morning otherwise traffic  jam on afternoon. Also weather changes after 12 pm so reach early. At Nathula Pass if you stuck in traffic and if heavy snow fall then you will stuck for overnight and after BRO clear the roads you can not go back. So plan early morning if possible and listen to your driver and follow their guidance.

Day 3

Gangtok to Lachen (125 Kms / 6 hrs) Morning drive to Lachen in North Sikkim (8660 ft). In between  visit Singhik View point, Seven Sisters Water Fall, Naga Water Falls, and Chungthang Confluence. Arrive at Lachen in the evening. We stay at Khenkhim Hotel in Lachen.

Day 4

Lachen – Chopta Valley (13,200 ft.) – Gurudongmar Lake (17,100 ft.) – Lachung Early Morning drive to Chopta Valley to get some breathtaking view of alpine valley of frozen rives. Then procede further 30 Kms in 1.5 hrs to Gurudongmar Lake. The Highest and the biggest fresh water lakes in Sikkim, and it is very close to Tibet Border. After Lunch drive to Lachung.  We Stay at Etho Metho hotel in Lachung. Also a good and finest property.

Day 5

Early Morning Leave to Yumthang (Valley of Flowers) at 1200ft. It is a summer grazing ground of Yaks and winter playgrounds of Yetis. Back to Lachung. After lunch drive back to Gangtok. Kala Patthar or Zero Point is optional for visit around 3000-4000 per car. At Zero point or kala patthar you can see lots of snow and beautiful snow mountain view of Himalayas. Also on the way to kala patthar you can visit valley of flowers. In April to May month you can see beautiful rhododendrons are in full bloom and the entire route that leads to Zero Point looks almost like a painting. But when we were visit lots of snow fall during those days so flowers was not so many on that day but its worth to visit. You never disappoint with the entire route scenery. 

Day 6

Gangtok Half day sight-seeing- to Darjeeling (Alt 7100Ft/2100M), 95km in 3 hrs. Breakfast at the hotel, check out & visit Bakthang Falls, Enchey Monastery, Flower Show, Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology, Dodurl Chorten and Handicraft Centre and drive to Darjeeling. We stay at Sterling Holiday Resort at Darjeeling. Resort is very good.

Day 7

Darjeeling local sightseeing Visit Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park (Thursday closed), Tenzing Rock, Ropeway, Tibetan Refugee self-help Centre (Sunday closed), Tea Garden (outer view), Japanese Temple, Ghoom Monastery, Batasia loop, Tiger hill (8,400 ft.). Evening free at leisure. you can go for shopping at Darjeeling market .

Day 8

Darjeeling to IXB Airport / NJP Railway Station – 90kms in 3hrs. In morning  drive to NJP/Bagdogra.

Casinos In Gangtok : 

There are many casinos in Gangtok if you are interested like Deltin Denzong, Ramada Casino, Big Bull Casino etc. We went to Ramada casino and had a great fun. Entry Ticket for Ramada Casino is 2000 per person ( rates may change ) which includes 2 drinks, 2 starters, buffet dinner and 1000 INR token chip. Also they have more package for entry for unlimited drinks and food may be.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW  ABOUT DARJEELING: 

Due to the recent changes in the Traffic Management System in Darjeeling there would be a lot of restrictions for visiting the Sight Seeing Points mentioned in the itinerary.  300 vehicles would be allowed to visit Tiger hill in a day with Coupon, which would be issued the previous  day by the Authorities. 

Batasia Loop, which was a part of the early morning sightseeing, would now open from 10 am instead of  06:00am. You will have to walk minimum 500 mtrs from the gate (Depending upon the rush)and the place where the car is parked.  No car would be allowed to pick-up or drop passengers in from of HMI ZOO and the same can only be done  at a designated area 100 mtrs away from the gate.  The cars would be allowed to pick-up or drop passengers only from the designated areas and not as per the convenience or wish of the guests

North Sikkim travel Guide (Lachung - Lachen):  Must Know Things while visit North Sikkim

• Guest Traveling to North Sikkim (Lachung / Lachen) requires 02-04 copies of passport size photograph, original photo ID proof with photo copy (identity card – Voter ID card / Pass-port / Driving License) for processing the permit. Aadhar Card / PAN Card - not acceptable for issuance of the Permit  In Lachen and Lachung . But when we go some places may accept Adhar Card too. Most of the hotels are offering Vegetarian food . Food quality is very good. 
• All guests are requested to carry minimum luggage when travelling to North Sikkim and keep the extra  luggage at the hotel in Gangtok because of bad road conditions of North Sikkim especially during transshipment due to landslides and road blockages. We carry only 1 bag for 1 family.
• Child below 10 yrs. and Senior Citizen is not suggestible to visit Gurudongmar Lake (17,100 Ft.) in Lachen  due to high Altitude and low Oxygen Level 
• Hotels of Lachen and Lachung have only with basic amenities  & simple food cooked by the locals and not by hotel Chef.  In maximum hotels there is no geyser in the bathroom – hot water is supplied by buckets by the hotelier. Also during Gangtok to Lachung there is a very few vegetarian food restaurant and you must take a lunch at their. Other wise there is no restaurant after that. Same at return to Gangtok. So plan some snakes and packed food from Gangtok.
• Lachen and Lachung hotels rooms are also small so you must adjust in it.
• No room heating systems are provided in the room in maximum hotels due to shortage of power, instead the hotelier provides hot water bags. At some hotels they provide heaters too depend on your hotel.
• Airtel, Vodafone  & BSNL operates better in Lachen and Lachung. After leaving hotels and city you can not get signal during sight scenes. So if you are travelling in group with 2-3 cars then plan close all cars or make a point where you can all meet if someone left alone.  Best way to keep walkie talkie for minimum 2-5 km range to contact each other.   
• Due to shortage of power the guest sometimes may have to bear with candle light. 
• Due to winter season (heavy snow) vehicle will be able to drive till Snow point on the way to Yumthang Valley. 
• Zero point(must visit place )  (Yumesamdong) is kept optional which the guest can avail with an extra cost. Approx. cost is Rs. 3500 per vehicle. 
• Mineral Water bottles are not available in North Sikkim. You need  to carry a bottle at all times. They can be refilled at hotels. Littering will attract fine. Cigarette smoking or tobacco / tobacco product consumption is banned in public places.

After all sikkim is must visit place where you can find a high himalayan range mountains with greenery. Here you can find greenery , snow, high altitude lakes and enjoy beautiful weather with nature. Also in Darjeeling zoo we can see rarest and endangered Red Panda and many more birds and animals.

Asian openbill is also known as Asian openbill stork. It is a large wader bird in stork family. Binominal name of it is Anastomus Oscitans and its family is Ciconiidae. It is generally found in South-east Asia region. Like other stork it size mostly similar to them. Only difference in color as openbill stork is greyish or white in color and glossy black wings. In Gujarat it is found in Thol bird Sanctuary , Nalsarovar Bird sanctuary, Pariej Wetland and agriculture areas at many places. It found in low level wetlands where it can find food easily. In Gujarat like Asian openbill stork other stork bird found like Painted Stork, Wooley Necked Stork etc.

Description and Facts about Asian openbill stork :

• Asian openbill stork is greyish or white in color. Its wings and tail are glossy black in color.
• As it name openbill the gap between lower and upper mandible of the beak. The gap between beak is not seen in young bird. The gap is very useful for gripping snails and shells .
• They are generally found in flocks. 
• Asian openbill generally found near river bank, wetlands, Irrigation canal and agriculture areas.
• It is very rare spices in Panjab and Sind region of Pakistan But it common in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand and Cambodia.
• They are mostly seen in Winter from September to February.
• Asian openbill feed snails and they separate shell with its beak. They also feed frogs, water snakes and large insects.
• Asian openbill breeding season is after monsoon in November to March in Southern India and Shri Lanka and in Northern India and Nepal starts from July to September .  
• In colonial India a sportsman shot Asian openbill for meat  calling  it the  " beef-steak-bird".

In Gujarat there are lots of bird sanctuary where migratory birds and also resident birds visit through all seasons. Thol Bird sanctuary, Nal sarovar , Little Rann of Kutch, Pariej Wetland, Velavadar National Park, Khijadiya sanctuary etc are famous sanctuaries for bird watching. Thol Sanctuary is famous for Flamingo bird, Pelican, Bar headed Goose and many migratory birds. I found 3 spices of stork bird name Painted Stork, Asian openbill stork and Woolly necked stork in thol bird sanctuary. Thol sanctuary, nalsarovar , Little rann of kutch are very near to my home so i visit all sanctuary often.

Gear Used : Canon 6 D, Canon 1000 D , Canon 100-400 mm lens

Location : Thol bird sanctuary, Sanand, Kadi , Gujarat

Montagu's Harrier is a migratory bird in Gujarat. It is also a Bird of Prey. Binominal name of Montagu's Harrier is Circus Pygargus.  It is found in most European Countries and also can be found in  Eastern  Palearctic.  Breeding occur in Portugal , Northern Africa , Great Britain and Morocco. Montagu's Harrier also common in may areas like Russia, France, Spain, Poland, Belarus etc. Montagu's Harrier is a long distance migratory Bird. I Found it at Velavadar National Park in Gujarat.  It is also found in Little rann of kutch also. It is small raptor but can seen large because of large wingspan.

Facts and Description about Montagu's Harrier :

• Length of Montagu's Harrier is around 43-47 cm long  and wingspan is around 97-115 cm.
• Male Montagu's Harrier weight is around 260-270 gm and female is around 340-350gm.
• Female is larger than male Montagu's Harrier.
• Montagu's Harrier is very similar to Pallid harrier and Hen harrier.
• It built nest at 1500 to 4900 mt height at lower lands, river and valley areas. Also built nest in agriculture areas and farm lands too.
• Montagu's Harrier need large open area for breeding.
• Montagu's Harrier feed small birds, small rodent, birds eggs, reptiles and insects.
• It can hunt while flying on fixed route and low height and low speed.
• Male montagu's harrier hunts around 12 km area from the nest and female hunts around 1 km area from the nest.
• Global population is around 150000-200000 approx. 
• Female Montagu's Harrier lays 3-5 eggs. Eggs incubates in 27-40 days. After 28 days young Montagu's Harrier leave the nest and live individual after 2 weeks.
• They are long distance migratory birds . They start migrate in mid October.

Velavadar National Park is famous for Black Buck so it is also known as Black Buck Sanctuary.  Area of park is around 34 sq km and it establish in july 1976. It is smallest National Park in India. In Velavadar national park there are lots of wildlife spices for wildlife lover. 

How to Reach Velavadar National Park :

Nearest big city is Bhavnagar around 47 km. From Ahmedabad it is around 140-150 km so by car you can reach in around 3 hours. Also Bhavnagar Railway station and Airport available for out state peoples.

Velavadar National Park Fees and Timings: 

Park fee is around 40 INR for Indian citizen ,  Car up to 6 person 400 INR,  and for Foreigner it cost around 10 $ per person.  For still photography they charge extra 200 INR and for Documentary or movie shooting charges 10000 to 50000 INR . Timings for safari is around 3 hours for 1 car.

Camera Used : Canon 6D, Canon 100-400mm lens

Vijay vilas palace is located in Kutch, Gujarat near Mandvi beach. Vijay Vilas Palace is popular tourist destination who visited Kuch and Bhuj.The resort was built as summer resort. It was built by Maharao shri Khengarji III for his sons Yuvraj shri Vijayaraji.  The palace was built by red sandstone . It described the Rajput architecture. Vijay Vilas Palace is about 21 km from Mandvi beach. Total time for visiting vijay vilas palace is around 1-2 hours. Vijay Vilas heritage resort has own private beach. Vijay Vilas Palace is also a heritage hotel which provide A/C tented rooms with beach facing and access to private beach. you can have more details on Gujarat Tourism Vijay Vilas palace.

About Vijay Vilas Palace :

• ·         Vijay Vilas Palace was built by Maharao Shri Khengarji III.
• ·         Vijay Vilas palace covered total 700 acre area.
• ·         It has central high dom on pillars and Bengal domes on sides.
• ·         Windows are covered with colored glass and Jalis.
• ·         The palace is in the middle of garden where marble fountain and water channel are passed.
• ·      The Jalis, Jarokhas, Chajas, Chatris , colored glass work and stone carving made by craftsman of Jaipur,Bengal, Rajasthan and Saurashtra.
• ·         On the top of central dome open balcony where you can view 360 of surrounding area.
• ·      Vijay Vilas Palace has its own private beach. You can stay at palace with chargeable basis.  Now its for museum purpose also.
• ·         In Vijay Vilas palace many bollywood movie shoots like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Commando, Lagaan etc.
• ·         Palace construction started in 1920 and completed in 1929.
• ·         Inside palace you can see drawing room.

Entry Tickets for Vijay Vilas Palace Bhuj:

Entry fees for Vijay Vilas Palace is INR 20 per person. Also Camera fees extra around INR 200 and photography charges around INR 50 .

Vijay Vilas Palace Bhuj Timings :

Timings for Vijay Vilas Palace visit is morning  10 AM to 1 PM and in evening 3 PM to 6 PM.

Vijay vilas palace is closed on Thursday for visitors.

Nearest places to visit :

Mandvi Beach is the nearest place to vijay vilas palace  around 20km distance. Beach is very neat and clean and lots of water activities are done here.  It is not white sand beach but you can say its almost white sand beach.

Bhuj city is another place to visit around 65-70 km distance. In Bhuj you can also visit Aina Mahal, Chatradi, Smruti Van, Vandematram Memorial, Bhujyo Dungar etc and also local shopping too.

You can stay at Mandvi there are lots of hotels and resorts near to Mandvi beach. Or you can drive to Bhuj city where you have lots of hotel options to stay and also bhuj is main city of Kutch so you can easily go to White Rann from Bhuj, Dholavira, Road To Heaven, Kadiya Dhro etc.

Baboons are Old world monkeys. In Kenya and Eastern Africa yellow baboon and olive baboon monkey spices found mostly. There are total 6 spices of baboon monkeys as below.

• Chacma Baboon – Found in Southern Africa
• Guinea Baboon – Far western Africa
• Hamadryas Baboon – Southwestern Arabia and Horn of Africa
• Olive Baboon – Savanna or North central Africa
• Kinda Baboon – Central Africa
• Yellow Baboon – Eastern Africa and South Central Africa

Well during my trip to Kenya I found Yellow Baboon monkey at Amboseli National Park and Masai mara National Park. I also found Vervet Monkey which is also a family of Old World Monkey too.

Yellow Baboon  :

In Greek Yellow Baboon spices mean DOG HEAD as it has dog like shape of head and muzzle. Yellow Baboon found in Savanna , Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana and light forest in eastern Africa.

• Yellow Baboon has long arm and legs. It has slim body.
• It has yellowish brown hair so its called yellow baboon.
• Male yellow baboon can grow 84cm approx. and female around 60cm.
• Tail is almost as long as its body.
• Lifespan of Yellow baboon is around 15-20 years.
• They live in a group of 8-200 individuals.
• As yellow baboon is omnivorous they eat plants, fruits, leaves, seeds, warms, fungi, spiders, insets and small mammals.
• Male yellow baboon leads the group and females and and baby stay in center.
• Baboons are very strong. Weight of baboon monkey is almost 35 kgs.
• It has sharp teeth as long as lions.
• Yellow Baboon is in Least Concern in IUCN list.
• Yellow Baboon is a family of Cercopithecidae.

During morning safari at Amboseli  National Park I found Yellow Baboon monkey family. They were too far but I catch them with my camera with good quality pictures. I shoot alone Yellow Baboon and also I take a picture of Yellow Baboon with Kid on his back. Baby looks very cute.

Vervet Monkey :

• Vervet monkey is also a old world monkey.
• It has black face and body hair color is grey.
• Vervet monkey have been noted for having human like characteristics.
• Weight of vervet monkey around 3 to 9 kgs.
• Vervet monkey range from Southern and east Africa, south Sudan to down south Africa.
• Vervet monkey killed by Pythons, eagles, leopards and baboons mostly.
• Vervet monkey is omnivorous so they eat fruits, flowers, vegetable , grains, seeds etc.

During my trip to Amboseli national park I found vervet monkey at my hotel play yards. They are cute and very friendly to humans until you do not disturb them. We stay at Ol-tukai resort at abmoseli national park. Good resort to stay and good hospitality. In amboseli National Park there are also huge number of African Elephants you can find. A group of elephants easily found in the Amboseli National Park. Also if weather is clear then you can see Mount Kilimanjaro during safari. I also wonder a shot of elephant with Mount Kilimanjaro but weather did not support me. 

Gear Used : Canon 6D, Canon 100-400 mm lens.

Location : Amboseli National Park , Kenya , Africa

Bar Headed Goose is high flying geese generally found in Asia. Bar Headed Goose and Bar Headed Geese both name you can use and both are same. It breeds in central Asia. It found many states in India during winter. In India its a winter visitor and breeds also during the month of November to April. For identification its looks simple because of it looks separate from other goose. There are black bars on head makes them different from other goose. It found in lakes and grasslands. I shoot them in Thol Bird Sanctuary near Sanand, Gujarat.

Migratory Birds In Gujarat : Bar Headed Geese/ Bar Headed Goose

You can call Bar Headed Goose or Bar Headed Geese also. It is migratory bird in India and also it can fly long distance and also at high altitude too.  Some description and interesting facts about bar headed goose are as follow

• Bar headed goose size around 70-75 cm length and weight around 2-3.5 kg
• Bar headed Goose color is pale grey. It is easily different from other geese birds as it has black color bars on head so it is called bar headed goose.
• Bar Headed Goose call is like typical goose honking.
• Bar Headed Goose breeds in Central Asia near mountain lake. Also breeds in winter in south Asia.
• Bar Headed Goose lays 3-8 eggs at a time.
• Bar Headed Goose known for high altitude flying bird because it fly over the Himalayas. Before crossing Himalayas it migrate from South Tibet, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia.
• Bar Headed Goose is one of the Wolrd's Highest flying birds. 
• Some report says it fly over Mount Makalu ( fifth highest mountain in World ) around 27825 ft and also from Mount Everest around 29029 ft but this report has no verification but we must say that Bar Headed Goose is high Altitute flying bird. It is an interesting subject to study for Naturalist that why Bar Headed Goose flying so high and extream altitude.
• Bar Headed Goose built their nest in Tibetan Plateau.
• Bar Headed Goose has little large area of wing than other goose because of their weight.
• Bar Headed Goose can migrate around 1600 km in a day.
• Rajhans is the Gujarati name of Bar headed Goose.
• Bar headed Goose eat plants and invertebrates.
• Bar Headed Goose is Least Concern in IUCN list.
• Bar headed Goose Binominal name is Anser Indicus

In Thol Bird Sanctuary lots of migratory birds found and more than 150 different spices of birds found . Main attraction of Thol Bird Sanctuary is Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, Great White Pelican , Bar Headed Goose, Ducks, Waders, Blue Throat, Flycatcher, Greater spotted Eagle, Pochard and many more. 

During winter to summer season this bird is found at Thol Lake. I often travel to Thol Lake because its very near to my house. I reach early morning and back after half day. This time Bar headed goose is very close to me. I am so lucky that i got very sharp and clear blurred picture.The bird looks awesome in solo picture and in duo and also in a group. Bar headed goose is very shy bird so its is too difficult to get them very close. They are also high altitude migratory birds and passes over Himalayas from migration time.

Camera Used : Canon 6D, Canon 80 D, Canon 100-400mm lens

Location : Thol Bird Sanctuary, Sanand, Kadi

Places to Visit near Thol Bird Sanctuary : Adalaj Ni Vav, Motera Sun Temple, Little Rann of Kutch, Mahatma Mandir Gandhinagar.