One With Nature
Plan Your Next Adventure With NATURE HIMALAYA TOURS
Specializing in Botanical Tours
With years of exploring and adventure while conducting botanical tours in different parts of the Himalaya, we have gathered the awareness of the areas where the exotic plants grow in the wild. Our tours take you from the sub tropics to the alpine regions. Due to the changes in temperature as one climbs higher, there is a diverse range of flora and fauna making it a nature's treasure trove for naturalists. We work directly with the locals of the areas and manage and guide all our tours personally. We can assure you will find the plants that you wish to see in bloom in the wild by timing the tour accordingly.
About Us
The Travel Pros
Nature Himalaya Tours is a tour operator and destination management consultant specializing in conducting botanical tours in Sikkim, Darjeeling and North East India since 2008.
With Kalimpong in West Bengal as our base of operation, we provide purposeful travel to most areas of the Eastern and North Eastern Himalayan regions.
Dedicated in making each tour a successful and memorable one, our aim is to travel with you to areas amid natural surroundings to understand and enjoy its plant life, cultural and natural history without causing actual threat to it.
The less known and less explored places in North East of India comprising of Sikkim, Darjeeling and 7 sister states of North East India, boasts a rich and diverse culture, varied plant and bird life. Tailor made itineraries can be planned for combined Botanical, Cultural and Casual Birding tours in stunning locations.
No matter what type of holiday you need to plan, rest assured that we will provide all the resources and guidance you need for the perfect trip!
Options On Guided Tours
With Arunachal Pradesh alone having 25 major tribes and Nagaland with 17 major tribes living, the North East of India is very diverse. With different landscape from the Brahmaputra plains to the high mountain passes, there are many Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks in the area with some of the best birding and botanical destinations. These various destinations can be planned and included in your visit to give you a diverse experience.
When it comes to the guided tours we conduct, we have several options for you to choose from at NATURE HIMALAYA TOURS. We have guided tour packages to suit any budget or can personalize tours according to your requirements.
Botanical Tour
Looking to experience the exotic plants that grow in the Himalaya and get fascinated by its amazing beauty? If you are, then our exclusive Botanical Tour is a great vacation option for you!
Having conducted these tours for many years now, we know the location of the habitats and the flowering time of the plants hence, able to assure, you will be able to see these plants in your wish-list, in bloom, in nature.
Botanical and Casual Birding
Combined
From the lowlands to the foothills up to the alpine slopes of the Himalayas, enjoy the magnificent landscapes and experience the diverse flora and fauna in this unique holiday.
Looking for the exotic plants in their natural habitat and the various birds that have made their dwellings in the region will be a great way to enjoy the best nature can offer! You will be accompanied by separate, dedicated guides help you locate and identify the plants and birds throughout your trip with us.
Cultural Tour
If you are planning on a vacation to indulge yourself in culture, local cuisines, landscapes and interacting with local people - then look no further than our Cultural Tours. It gives you an opportunity to explore the diverse cultural heritage of the entire North Eastern Himalayas.
Get in touch with us! We will be happy to work out an ideal program with you based on your preference for a completely new and memorable experience.
People Behind Nature Himalaya Tours
We Are Here for You
NATURE HIMALAYA TOURS is made up of a talented and experienced team who are passionate about traveling and exploring. Each of our consultants specialize in planning trips to different parts of the Indian North Eastern Frontier regions, so you will be matched with someone who is knowledgeable about your preferred tour and destination. Whatever your travel needs are, we are here to give you the best of our service and knowledge.
Mr. Udai Chandra Pradhan
Senior Advisor
Our Senior Advisor is a Veteran Orchidologist, Himalayan plant specialist and Author. His love for plants and knowledge of the Himalayan flora along with his guidance and encouragement has been the driving force behind all the botanical tours we have conducted till now, starting from the very first one more than a decade ago.
Alister Adhikari
Managing Partner and Botanical Guide
Being born and brought up in the Himalayan foothills, Alister has always been a nature lover. His passion for the flora and fauna of the area made him create Nature Himalaya Tours, which he guides and manages. With his keen supervision, knowledge and guidance a satisfying and memorable tour is assured in every step.
Kalyan Subba
Birding Guide
Bird watching had been Kalyan's hobby for more 20 years before he started his venture of becoming a professional bird guide. His keen interest and knowledge of birds in areas around the Eastern Himalayan regions has made him one of the best birding guides of the area.
Incredible Destinations at Your Fingertips
Expand Your World
Meghalaya
Places of interest includes:
1. Living root bridge
2. The cleanest village in Asia, Mawlynnong
3. Mawsmai Caves, Cherrapunjee
4. Nohkalikai waterfall, Cherrapunjee
5. Nartiang Monoliths, Jaintia Hills
6. Blacksmith workshops, Mylliem village
7. Don Bosco Museum, Shillong
8. Lewduh or Bara Bazar, a bustling marketplace in Shillong with a combination of age old culture and modernism.
Meghalaya means "the abode of clouds". Cherrapunjee, one of the rainiest places on Earth, has been the inspiration for the name. Home of the Khasis, Jaintias and Garos, these undulating green carpeted hills were nostalgically called "the Scotland oh the East" by the British.
Living Root Bridges are exclusive to Meghalaya in the whole world. The stem roots of a species of Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica) are trained over 15 to 30 years to form these living bridges to cross over fast flowing rivers and gorges. A combination of humidity and foot traffic help compact the soil over time, and the tangle of roots grows thick and strong. These structures typically become more resilient with age and can survive centuries. Mature bridges stretch from 15 to 250 feet.
Nagaland
Places of interest includes:
1. Hornbill Festival (1st - 10th December), Kisama village
2. Dzuku valley trek
3. Stay at Khonoma Green village
4. Birding at Khonoma Tragopan Sanctuary
5. Culture and Heritage walk
6. Handicarfts, handlooms and fashion
7. Mon, the land of the
Konyak Nagas
8. Trans bordary village of Longwa
Nagaland lies in the extreme northeastern India, bordered on the west and north by Assam, on the east by Myanmar, on the north by Arunachal Pradesh and on the south by Manipur. It is one of the smallest state in India.
Nagaland today is in a situation where many other famous tourist destinations were some decade back. However, the diversity it holds are perhaps far more than a lot of existing popular destinations.
A land engulfed in mystery, inhabited by vibrant people zealously guarding their culture - dancers, warriors, head-hunters, forests, mountains and valleys - all these form the portrait of Nagaland.
But, from extreme mystery to hosting a globally famous cultural festival, Nagaland has come a long way over the years and etched a name for itself in the world's tourist destination map.
The Hornbill Festival of Nagaland represents the cultural extravaganza of the northeast Indian states. Troupes from various tribes of Nagaland come to the festival and participate in the week long festivity. They perform traditional dances, play musical instruments, sing songs and play a variety of games. This festival plays a vital role in uniting the diverse culture of Nagaland.
Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve
Activities include:
1. Game drive
2. Elephant Safari
3. Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary
4. Cultural village walk
5. Birding in Kaziranga
6. Cultural show
7. Handicarfts and handlooms
8. Tea Gardens
One of the most sought after wildlife holiday destinations in India, Kaziranga National park's 430 square kilometer area sprinkled with elephant-grass meadows, swampy lagoons and dense forests is home to more than 2,200 Indian one-horned rhinoceros, approximately 2/3rd of their total world population. Formed in 1908 on the recommendation of Mary Curzon, the park is located at the edge of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots - Golaghat and Nagaon district. In the year 1985, the park was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Along with the iconic Greater one-horned rhinoceros, the park is the breeding ground of elephants, wild water buffalo and swamp deer. Over the time, the tiger population has also increased in Kaziranga and that's the reason why Kaziranga was declared as a Tiger Reserve in 2006. Also, the park is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species. Birds like lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, Baer's pochard duck, lesser adjutant, greater adjutant, black-necked stork and Asian Openbill stork specially migrate from Central Asia during the winter season.
Arunachal Pradesh, Tawang
Places of interest includes:
1. Birding/Botanizing in Sela Pass and Mandala near Dirang
2. Birding/Botanizing in Banggachang Lake
3. Birding and Botanizing in Pankang Teng Tso Lake and Sangetsar Lake
4. Tawang War Memorial
5. Tawang Monastery
6. Urgeling Monastery
7. Losar - Monpas New Year festival celebrated in the last part of Feburary and early part of March.
Half the joy of the odyssey to Tawang is in the journey. It involves travelling through miles of sprawling tea gardens of Assam, meandering through the mountain roads of Arunachal Pradesh. Before one reaches Tawang, one crosses the picturesque town of Bomdila, Dirang valley where the serpentine river becomes one's companion for long and the magnificent Sela Pass, the high altitude mountain Pass situated at an elevation of 4,170 m.
Tawang - the beautiful land of the Monpas is located in the western most corner of Arunachal Pradesh right on the international borders of Tibet and Bhutan. This land evokes images of awesome mountain views, remote hamlets, quaint and sleepy villages, magical Gompas, rugged hills and snow clad peaks.
Tawang is famous for the majestic Tawang Monastery perched atop a ridge. About 400 years old, the Monastery is the 2nd largest and the oldest in Asia and can house more than 700 monks.
Descendants of Mongoloid race and originally immigrated from Tibet and Bhutan, the Monpas are Buddhists by religion and the Tawang monastery is the fountain of their spiritual life. Before adopting Bhuddhism as their religion, they believed in the Bon faith - a faith characterized by spirit worship and animal sacrifice.
Arunachal Pradesh, Ziro
Places of interest includes:
1. Trekking and camping in the Talley Wildlife Sanctuary
2. Paddy-cum-pisciculture cultivation
3. Dree Festival of the Apatani tribes
4. Christoph and Betty von Fürer-Haimendorf's site
5. Handicarfts, handlooms and fashion
6. Cultural and Heritage walks in different villages around Ziro
The landscape of Ziro valley is astounding with hills and forests all around you. Ziro is situated on a plateau and is the headquarters of the Lower Subansari District. It has been a favourite town for World Heritage Site for a number of years now.
Apatani Tribe - what makes them even more interesting is their unusual religious, cultural and agri practices. Their agro-farming methods that combine high altitude fish farming are considered to be amongst the most advanced and have grabbed quite an attention from the agro-fishing community world over.Their festivals, customs and traditions are also as distinctive as the tribe itself - animistic ceremonies, murung rituals, colourful dances and unending feasts are common in all celebrations and provide for an enchanting treat to all the travelers seeking an insight into varied offbeat cultures.
Majuli River Island
A natural paradise in the middle of the Brahmaputra river
Places of interest includes:
1. To reach Majuli Island is to catch the ferry
2. Visiting Hindu monasteries (Satra) full of religious artwork
3. See the ancient art of hand looming, clay pottery and boat making
4. Masks made by world famous craftsmen
5. Visit the Mishing tribal village
6. Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary
If you're looking for places to add on your North East India adventures, I would urge you to put Majuli Island to the top of your list. This beautiful oasis will not be here forever, it is slowly eroding away.
Majuli is the largest river island in the world and in 2016, it became the first island to be made a district in India. The island preserves a lot of its heritage through Satras which are home to traditional religious practices, art, literature, dancing and theater.
The Institution of Satra is a unique feature of Vaishnavism in Assam, founded by Sankardeva, the father of Assamese culture. The satras are not just monasteries, but centres of traditional performing arts.
In the 15th century, the first Satra was founded in Majuli. Since then sixty five Satras have come up for the propagation of ethics and socio-cultural ideals. However, at present there are only twenty two Satras in Majuli. The others had to be shifted to safer places due to the devastation of flood and erosion.
North Sikkim
Eastern mountain range of the Great Himalayas
Places of interest and activities include:
1. Lachung - Base for exploring the higher Yumthang and Yume Samdong valley situated at 4724 m
2. Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary
3. Lachen - Base for exploring the Chopta valley and the sacred Gurudongmar Lake situated at 5,430 m
4. Birding
5. Extensive botanizing for as much as 8 days
6. Day hikes into the alpine meadows and valleys looking for alpine flora and fauna
The former Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim, since 1975 - one of the States of India, is a mountainous region with a small population. Its high rainfall makes it one of the most luxuriant and plant-rich areas of the Himalayas and its relative obscurity has ensured little recent change in its peaceful villages and monasteries. For a region of such small size, Sikkim’s natural history is remarkable. Over 700 species of birds, 4,000 species of flowering plants and amongst them, over 40 species of Rhododendrons and 600 species of Orchids have been recorded here!
Explore the other high hamlets, valleys and gorges of the plateau and mountains around Lachung, including the tiny settlement of Lachen, Thangu and the Chopta Valley (3,900 metres). This is a remote area populated by hardy Yak herders who graze their animals among the pastures along the Tibetan border during the summer months. The remoteness of this land and lack of human interference, brings wonderful benefits to the keen naturalists.
West Sikkim
A place of history and culture
Places of interest and activities include:
1. Rinchenpong Monastery to take part in the evening prayers
2. Pemayangtse Monastery and the Rabdentse Palace ruins, Pelling
3. Scared wish fulfilling lake in Khecheopalri
4. Norbhughang throne, Yuksom
5. Leisurely walk into the Maneam Wildlife Scantuary
6. Visit the only Bon Monastery, Ravangla
7. Stay in Village Resorts
8. 2 to 3 hours of day hikes each day
9. Casual Birding
West Sikkim is the site of the ancient state capital Yuksom, which holds a special place in Sikkimese history. This was the spot where three lamas converged from different directions across the Himalayas to enthrone the first religious king of Sikkim, Chogyal Phuntsog Namgyal, in 1642. Named the “Great Religious King”, he established Tibetan Buddhism in Sikkim. The coronation site of the first monarch of Sikkim is known as the "Throne of Norbugang"
The beautiful land of West Sikkim, characterized by great tracts of virgin forest and deep river valleys, is home to ancient monasteries such as Pemayangtse,Tashiding and Dubdi. The old capital, Yoksum, lies at the start of the trail towards Dzongri and Kanchenjunga.
The numerous trails crisscrossing through West Sikkim’s wonderful forests, waterfalls, terraced hillsides and river valleys, allows visitors to wander off the beaten track, soaking up the local culture as you pass by villages and people working in the fields and casual birding adding to the activity along the way.
Contact Us
Dr Grahams Homes
Block A1
P.O. Topkhana
Kalimpong - 734316
West Bengal, India