Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary

Bumdeling covers around 1,500 square kilometres running up to the northern border, and its best-known feature is the valley floor at Bumdeling itself, where black-necked cranes arrive from the Tibetan plateau at the end of October and stay until February, a wintering flock smaller than Phobjikha's but on a river flat that sees far fewer visitors. Higher in the sanctuary the habitat runs to fir, rhododendron and alpine scrub, with snow leopards, red pandas and musk deer recorded. Flooding has damaged the crane roosting flats in past years and altered the numbers using them. The valley below is farmed and the cranes feed in the stubble. Facilities are minimal: a viewing point and a few village homestays.

What you actually see

• Wintering cranes - black-necked cranes on the river flats from November.
• Farmed valley floor - stubble fields where the birds feed.
• High sanctuary country - fir and rhododendron toward the border.
• Village homestays - the limited accommodation in the valley.

When to go

November to February for the cranes, with numbers most settled in December and January. Outside that window there is little specific to see and the sanctuary is largely inaccessible.

Honest expectations

Crane numbers here are smaller than at Phobjikha and vary between years after flood damage to the roosts. The valley is remote, several hours beyond Trashiyangtse, which is itself days from western Bhutan. Facilities are homestays with basic conditions. Birds must be watched from a distance.

Nearby

Trashiyangtse and Chorten Kora lie south; the border is north.