Arunachal Pradesh

Multiple factors have resulted in the amazing diversity of life found here. There’s a huge altitudinal range so the mountains in the reserve are high enough to support Snow Leopards yet down at base there are Clouded Leopards. In fact there are no less than eight species of cat inside the two thousand square kilometres of protected territory.

There’s also a tremendous variety of habitats. Tropical and sub-tropical rainforests cloak the slopes either side of the wide river gravels of the Noa Dehing, the main southern tributary of the Brahmaputra, and above are fabulous epiphyte-laden oak woodlands and bamboo brakes, higher still coniferous forest, rhododendron shrubberies and alpine slopes.

There are no roads. Only wide elephant tracks used to trade with villages on the Burmese side of the border. From our base by the main river, hardly far above sea-level, we’ll follow these tracks for several days staying at camps in open glades en route. Distances are not far, but we’ll be on foot, and camping. But the potential rewards are great. We’ll concentrate on the mammals. We’ll camp by some sulphurous mud springs known to be visited by many of Namdapha’s mammals – Gaur, Hog Deer and Wild Boar are all quite common and Himalayan Serow is likely too. Walks from these camps at night will reveal Binturong (we’ve seen the rare tawny phase here), Bengal Slow Loris, Hog Badger, and Hodgson’s Flying Squirrel which are plentiful. We’ll of course be hoping for cats. Marbled Cats particularly like these mid-level forests and we can hope for one of the rarer species too. Also in the hoped for category are Small-toothed and Large-toothed Ferret-Badgers. Every morning we’ll awake to the wondrous chorus of the Eastern Hoolock Gibbons. Daylight will see us searching out Arunachal Macaque, Stump-tail Macaques and elegant Capped Langurs. Himalayan Striped Squirrels and Malayan Giant Squirrel are frequent and we’ll no doubt encounter charismatic Yellow-throated Marten more than once. Up amongst the oak forest where the contorted oaks are festooned in mosses, lichens, ferns and orchids we’ll find various Flying Squirrels, Malay Treeshrew and Leaf Muntjac. Namdapha’s birds are legendary and we’ll see many superb species notably Beautiful Nuthatch, Himalayan Cutia, Red-headed trogon, and a tremendous range of woodpeckers, babblers and laughingthrushes. We’ll spend some time along the rivers too where sightings of Fishing Cat, Crab-eating Mongoose and Smooth Indian Otter are likely.

The second part of the tour takes us into the Mishmi Hills where we’ll explore the largely pristine habitats of the lower Dibang Valley. Around Frogmouth Camp we’ll visit Roing’s grasslands and remote Tiwarigaon where we’ll look for Leopard Cat, Spotted Linsang, Asian Small-clawed Otter, Large Indian Civet and Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine. The Mayudia Pass is at 2400m and will give us access to a whole range of species most notably Red Panda. Another special species here is the Red Goral found on the steep hillsides just north of the pass and the smartly-attired Grey-headed Flying Squirrel. We’ll hope to encounter the Mishmi subspecies of Takin and, a little lower down, the local endemic (probably!) Mishmi Hills Flying Squirrel!