Namdapha National Park

A trek in a Hornbill Country 

If you ever wondered about a place that was still left to explore, try Namdapha. It is the sort of untouched wilderness where you can be the first to make a natural discovery. Tucked away in remote eastern Arunachal, Namdapha is perhaps the most bio-diverse parts of the sub continent. Its altitudes varying from 200 to 4578 m, its geographical boundaries with Myanmar and the Dapha range (5000m) and snow-fed rivers have kept the area well-protected and largely unexplored. Spread over 1985 sq km, Namdapha is also a Project Tiger reserve and the only such reserve and one of the few national parks in India where you explore only on foot. The trek is about exploration and you are never in too much of a hurry to get from point A to B.

For keen nature and wildlife enthusiasts, this trek is perhaps the best experience offered anywhere in the country. The trek cuts through lush primary evergreen forests along well-defined trails, crisscrossed by numerous streams. The tall tree canopy rises 150 m above and the undergrowth is impenetrable with the presence of bamboo and cane. You camp at pre-designated campsites and unlike other treks the camping sites here are only a short distance away from each other. It is advisable to cover the area in short stages to maximize your time for exploring this virgin terrain. The park is accessible only to an altitude of 850 m but Namdapha does throw in its share of challenges. Heavy rains can occur anytime causing mudslides and you have to keep a constant check on the ever-present leeches in the soil below.

Keep in mind that this is one of the country’s largest virgin primary forests, so prepare accordingly and do not just drop in. Some of the first citizens of this lush terrain include tigers, leopards, elephants and wild dogs, so follow the advice of your accompanying forest guard, whose experience and resources in this area are invaluable. A pair of good binoculars is an absolute must for this trek as you would not want to miss out on the chance of viewing the amazing bird and mammal life present here. It’s worth keeping a few extra days in hand for a trek like this, as nature may spring some surprises

THE TREK

Time: 5-6 days

Level: Easy to Moderate

Ideal Season: November to March

Location: Eastern Arunachal Pradesh

Day 1- Deban to Gibbon’s Land (11 km each way) / 8 hrs

The forest rest house at Deban (390 m) is where you camp the first night in Namdapha. This picturesque rest house overlooks the Neo Dhing river. After leaving your bags at the rest house you do a relatively easy hike along the motorable dirt road back towards Miao. You could walk right up to Gibbon’s Land, 11 km away or turn back a little earlier to Deban. It is here that I got my first real taste of the spectacular bird life present here. In the streams we saw Little and Slaty-backed Forktails, while the other birds included the flamboyant Sultan’s Tit, Scarlet Minivets, Lesser and Greater Yellownape Woodpeckers and my first ever sighting of the Red -tailed Minla and Collared Treepie. In the area around Gibbon’s Land we sighted a large group of Assamese Macaque peacefully perched on top of a tree canopy. We walked back slowly and returned to the Deban Rest House by evening. It is also during this walk that we first realized that Namdapha is also home to at least 5 kinds of leeches, which are present in large numbers. Fortunately with some help from our accompanying forest guard we ordered for a pair of Leech Guard (a large thick pair of socks up to your knees that prevents leeches from penetrating), which was picked up from an oncoming vehicle from Miao.  

Day 2 - Deban to Haldibari (6 km) / 4 hrs

This is one trek where you do not want to sleep late as the excitement unfolds the moment you open your eyes. The next morning I woke up early and the action began in the grounds of the rest house itself. A solitary barking deer was feeding a little distance away from the rest house and moments later the accompanying forest guard called for me to sight a Fire-tailed Sunbird. While sipping my first cup of tea I heard the loud whooping of Hoolock Gibbons. I followed the evocative call leading to the forests behind the rest house and came across a pair of these apes who were swinging from one branch to the other using their extended arms, stopping now and then to get a look at us below. It was barely 7 in the morning and so much had already taken place. Such is the magic of Namdapha.

After breakfast at the rest house, we got ready to cross the Neo Dhing river for the trek onwards. A ferryboat waiting for us plunged into the gushing torrent and before I knew it, the fast rapids combined with the skilled maneuvering of the experienced boatman had deposited us on the left bank a considerable distance downstream. It is from here onwards that you are on your own, with the accompanying team of forest guard, cook and porters.

A trail from here takes you up an incline for about 300 m before you walk along a ridge to reach Haldibari, your next camping site. The walk to Haldibari is replete with birdcalls and we saw the magnificent Great Hornbill and Great Slaty Woodpecker. We reached the campsite of Haldibari (425 m) before lunch, which houses a small shack amidst a clearing. We set camp here in tents and after lunch explored the area only to be rewarded with yet another rarity – the Malayan Giant Squirrel. It was enough action for one day.   

Day 3 - Haldibari – Hornbill Glade (5km) / 3 hrs

The third morning it felt as if I had gone to bed in Namdapha and had woken up in Vietnam. It was raining heavily, the army of leeches was out in the trenches and stepping out of the tent seemed impossible. Determined not to waste precious moments of the trip I decided to brave a session of early morning birding. All signs of life had decreased considerably except Streaked Spiderhunters, which were present in large numbers. We broke camp to carry on to our next site at Hornbill (520 m), a distance of 5 km from Haldibari. Within a few hours of continuous rain, the number of streams on the trails suddenly seemed to have increased and so had the leeches on the muddy track. Having covered hardly a km I decided to wade right through the streams on the path, rather then hop across the rocks, which was deceptively slippery. In any case it was pointless trying to stay dry under the given conditions.  The hike was gentle though, through mildly undulating terrain and took us 3 hours of easy walk before we reached Hornbill Glade.

Hornbill was an open patch with two large sheds and a small makeshift hut, which served as the kitchen. This was the only point during the entire trek that I came across other travelers. Five American birders were camping the night here with an army of porters, local agents, cooks and other staff. It had stopped raining by late afternoon and I ventured out into the adjoining area. Hornbill sure does live up to its name. Within 200m of the camp I saw a Rufous Necked Hornbill, giving a short monosyllabic bark-like call at regular intervals, its distinct colours glowing in the fading light.

Day 4 - Hornbill – Bulbulia (3km) / 1 hour 30 minutes

Zipped inside a tent, you learn to identify birds and the jungle’s different creatures by their calls and not by sight. The dense foliage doesn’t help either. We moved to our next campsite at Bulbulia, a short hike away. The terrain got more undulating than the previous days, with streams flowing across at regular intervals. The rain had come down heavily again and after a little over an hour we came to the base of a hill, atop which was our next camp. Bulbulia houses a large open-sided shack offering a spectacular view of a large aquifer below with several natural springs (bulbule), from which the place derives its name. What’s even better is that the shack remains totally dry and leech-free. This is easily the Presidential Suite of Namdapha as it offers the luxury of a large bare wooden platform, which was to serve as my king size bed for the next two days.

Strategically located on top of a hill, the shack makes a perfect watchtower to check the stream below, giving you access to good views of the tree top canopy and sightings of Long tailed Sibias and Greater Racket-tailed Drongos make regular halts on the perches close by. Being a marshland, thick undergrowth is missing here, making way for better viewing and elephants often frequent the streams below. I spotted the rare Black-backed Forktail skimming the stream and a hike up to the campsite yielded a solitary rather lonely Hoolock Gibbon. The excitement in Bulbulia continues past sunset and if are lucky you could see Flying Squirrels gliding on the top tree canopy. I went to bed wondering the owl hooting close by was a Brown Fish Owl or a Tawny Fish Owl. You realize absorbing the throbbing jungle from the very perch of your bed is a lot better than being zipped up in a tent.

Day 5 - Bulbulia to Rani Jheel – Bulbulia (5 km each way) / 7 hours

From Bulbulia your trek carries on along the trail towards Ranijheel. Although there is a campsite at Ranijheel where you can pitch tents, we took the unanimous decision of exploring Ranijheel and returning back to the comfort of Bulbulia. The lack of any shade at Ranijheel makes camping a little more demanding. Cooking and other tasks can be a problem, especially if it rains. In this walk you face a few steep slopes on muddy tracks and the trail is broken in parts, though walkable. After 3 km of walking from Bulbulia the trail suddenly caves under a thick Bamboo patch for a good stretch. The forest guard warned of rogue elephants that often wandered here. It is advisable to stay close to your forest guard. This patch is popular with birders for species like Great Rufous-headed Parrotbill and Red-billed Scimitar Babbler. It is in this walk that I saw some of the tallest trees in Namdapha, garlanded with orchids.

There were surprises everywhere. A Grey Peacock Pheasant dashed across the trail, Wreathed Horbills glided over the top tree canopy and a pair of courting Changeable Hawk Eagles perched high up and gave out shrill calls. This walk is sure to take you in a state of trance. Soon enough we stumbled across a clearing with the small lake of Ranijheel to the right. We explored the area and looked for the highly endangered White-winged Duck, which was reported here. If you want to spend more time exploring Namdapha, it is possible to trek from here to Firm Base, Embeong and cross over the Namdapha river (if the water level permits) to complete a circular circuit back to Deban via Camera Point in about 4-5 days. We headed back to Bulbulia after lunch to reach before sun down.

Day 6 - Bulbulia to Deban (14 km) / 7 hours

This is the last day of your trek and it is best to start early to cover the entire distance back to the Neo Dhing river and cross over to Deban. It’s advisable to reach the riverbank while there is still a few hours of light left and connect with your boatman. The water level in the river can rise considerably by the evening, like in the case of any snow fed river, and more so when it has been raining. This can make the river crossing on the ferryboat quite tricky and may require more than one run if there are over 8 persons.

TIP:

The first thing to keep in mind when you set out to explore this area is that you must do it in the right season. We did it in mid-April, when the monsoons had set in, the leeches were out in the fields and the Neo Dhing was nearly un-crossable because of the high water level. December and January are the driest months and the best time to visit Namdapha.