A Kiang Collective Expedition · 10 — 20 December 2026
Wild Western India
A wildlife expedition across Gujarat and Rajasthan.
A wildlife expedition across Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Eleven days across the dryland and coastal west.
We set out from Udaipur after a morning pickup, driving roughly three hours through the rolling Aravalli Hills to the granite landscape of Bera. After lunch at the lodge, we head out for our first evening among the boulders, where leopards live in unusually close proximity to the Rabari herders and have grown remarkably accustomed to vehicles. As the light fades across the warm granite, there is every chance of a first leopard sighting.
A full day in the hills, with morning and evening drives among the granite outcrops in search of leopards. Between the two, we spend time around Jawai Dam, where wintering waterfowl and waders gather and raptors patrol the open country. Eagle-owls haunt the cliffs, while the surrounding scrub supports striped hyenas, Indian foxes, and, for the fortunate, the seldom-seen smaller cats of the region.
After a final morning drive at Bera, we begin the long journey south into Gujarat, crossing into the flatlands via Palanpur and Patan. It is a full day on the road, but we reach the edge of the Little Rann with the afternoon still ahead of us, in time for our first excursion onto the salt flats as the light begins to soften.
We spend the day exploring the Rann, traversing the salt-free islands of higher ground, known locally as bets, and the seasonal wetlands that teem with birdlife through the winter. This is the only place on Earth where the Indian Wild Ass still survives in large numbers, and we look for herds roaming the vast salt flats. The wetlands around Bajana Creek host spectacular gatherings of cranes, flamingos, and pelicans.
A second full day allows us to range more widely across the reserve. We explore the grasslands in the cool of the morning in search of harriers and the wintering MacQueen's Bustard, and scan the scrub for the enigmatic Stoliczka's Bushchat and Sykes's Nightjar. In the afternoon we return to the wetlands, where the sheer abundance of waterfowl and waders rewards patient watching, and where the golden light at day's end is reason enough to linger.
This morning we turn west towards the coast, driving for much of the day through farmland and past lakes to the town of Jamnagar on the Gulf of Kachchh. We spend the evening at Khijadiya, a remarkable reserve where freshwater wetlands meet tidal marshes and mudflats, opening up a new world of waterbirds quite different from the dry interior we have travelled through. Here we have the opportunity to see spectacular species such as the Indian Skimmer and Crab Plover.
We devote the morning to the coast, exploring Khijadiya and the intertidal flats of the Gulf for shorebirds, gulls, and terns, as the tide allows. After lunch we turn south towards Gir, reaching the forest by evening and settling into our lodge. Ahead of us lies the last refuge of the Asiatic Lion.
A full day in the forest, with morning and afternoon drives taking us through one of the world's finest tracts of dry deciduous woodland. The lion is our primary target, but Gir also supports a high density of leopards, along with sambar, chital, and a rich assemblage of forest birds we will not have encountered elsewhere on the journey. Among them are the magnificent Mottled Wood Owl and the secretive Painted Sandgrouse, coming to drink at the waterholes.
After a final morning drive at Gir, we make our way north-east to the grasslands of Velavadar, reaching Blackbuck National Park in time for an evening safari. As the day draws to a close, we take up our place near the harrier roost, where the first birds begin to gather against the fading light, an opening glimpse of one of the great spectacles of the journey.
We devote the morning to the open savannah, where blackbuck roam in their hundreds and Velavadar offers one of the finest opportunities in India to see the Indian Wolf and the Striped Hyena. As evening falls, we return to the harrier roost to watch Marsh, Pallid, Montagu's, and Hen Harriers descend into the grass in their dozens, an unforgettable spectacle as the last light fades from the sky.
We enjoy one final morning on the grasslands before breakfast, in search of a few localised and spectacular birds, then make the short drive to Ahmedabad for onward travel. For those with time to spare, we are happy to arrange drop-offs at either the airport or a city hotel. Here, our journey comes to a close.
Western India in winter.
Over eleven days this journey moves through several distinct landscapes, each with its own character and its own flagship creature: the granite hills where leopards rest against the warm rock, the salt flats where the wild ass runs, the tidal coast of the Gulf, the teak forests that hold the last of the Asiatic lions, and the grasslands where harriers gather at dusk.
We travel in winter for good reason. December brings the migration south, and with it the gatherings that define the season: cranes in their thousands, flamingos and pelicans across the wetlands, bustards and larks out on the salt, and the roost where harriers drop into the grass as the light fails. The days are warm, the air clear, and it is the finest time to be in the field.
The journey is built first for those who love birds, but it gathers along the way a list of mammals that few can match: lion and leopard, wild ass and blackbuck, wolf and striped hyena. It is led by an ornithologist and kept small, moving at the unhurried pace that good watching needs, and resting each night in the best lodges each place has to offer.
Some of those we will be looking for.
A roll-call few journeys can match.
Conservation scientist and field ornithologist.
Sagara is a conservation scientist, field ornithologist, and lifelong birder whose love of birds began in the forests and coffee country of the Western Ghats in southern India. Over the past decade he has led and joined research expeditions across four continents, working in tropical and temperate landscapes from India and Indonesia to Liberia, the United States, and across Europe.
His work centres on biodiversity, the relationships between species and their habitats, and what actually makes conservation work, with a particular love of birds and long-term ecological monitoring. He has authored more than seventeen scientific papers and recently completed his PhD at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, studying the role of carbon financing in tropical forest conservation. Alongside his research he has co-founded two initiatives, one following migratory landbirds along the Central Asian Flyway, the other studying forest restoration in North America.
Whether he is leading a birding expedition, running fieldwork, or mentoring young naturalists, Sagara loves sharing his enthusiasm for birds and wild places. When he is not counting, ringing, or tracking birds, you will usually find him sailing, backpacking, or exploring somewhere wild.
Everything the journey includes, and the practical details.
A deposit of 25% confirms your place on the expedition. The balance is due 30 days before departure.
Single accommodation can be arranged on request, subject to a supplement. Full booking conditions are shared at the time of enquiry.
Photography: Vidhan Dwivedi and Panchami Gaitonde.