Worldwide Photographic Journeys

Nepal

RED PANDA EXPEDITION – A Quest for a Wonderful Creature of the Himalayas

Friday 20th February – Thursday 26th February 2026

Leaders: Wild Images leader to be announced and expert local trackers and guides

7 Days Group Size Limit 5

RED PANDA PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS IN INDIA WITH WILD IMAGES

Wild Images’ Red Panda Expedition is a quest for one of the most-wanted mammals in Asia, the wonderful Red Panda. Far smaller than its close relative the Giant Panda, the Red Panda is a largely arboreal species and is definitely a much more beautiful and approachable creature in our opinion.

Our Quest for the Red Panda will take us to the Eastern Himalayas, where we will be based at a comfortable lodge at Singalila Ridge on the border between Nepal and India. Here our expert trackers will be helping us find, approach and photograph this fascinating and beautiful critter as it climbs around in the wintry trees and tall bushes in search of berries, seeds and other food.

Many birds will be seen during our extended (6 nights) stay at Singalila. The Eastern Himalayas are the richest part of the chain and even in the winter months (which is the best season for seeing Red Pandas, by far!), many species are still present.

Among a large number of species likely during our stay are such highlights as Fire-tailed Myzornis (often common here!), the amazing Satyr Tragopan, Blood Pheasant, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Golden Bush Robin, Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, Scaly, Spotted and Black-faced Laughingthrushes, Hoary-throated Barwing, Golden-breasted Fulvetta and Red-headed Bullfinch.

There is even a hide/blind at our accommodation where many birds and sometimes Red Pandas come to feed!

Accommodation & Road Transport:

The lodge is warm and comfortable and the bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms. Road transport is by cars (including 4×4 cars). Roads are variable in quality.

 

Walking

The walking effort during our expedition is easy to moderate grade.

 

Climate

It will be quite cold in the daytime, with a mixture of sunshine and overcast conditions. Some snow is possible.

 

Photographic Equipment

For Red Panda photography, as the animals are often fairly distant to distant, the ideal lenses are usually a 500mm or 600mm telephoto, often with a converter. (If your budget does not run to big prime lenses, a high-quality 400mm f5.6 or a 100-400mm or similar zoom with a 1.4x converter on a crop-sensor type body can be a viable alternative.)

For birds, typically a similar setup will be good.

Singalila is full of panoramic views and a wide-angle in the 16-35mm range is ideal.

You can get wonderful photography results with many subjects with a high quality digital compact camera with a 20-30x or higher optical zoom. If you have questions about what equipment you ought to bring, please contact us.

Photographic Highlights

  • Encounters with the wonderful Red Panda, one of the most charismatic Asian critters.
  • Watching the pandas scampering through the trees.
  • Enjoying some amazing Himalayan vistas , some stretching all the way to the ice-clad Himalayan giants.
  • Lots of colourful birds in a wintry landscape.
  • Watching a male Satyr Tragopan in all its fiery glory.
  • Finding the bizarre Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, one of the strangest-looking birds of the Himalayas.
  • The retiring but gorgeous Blood Pheasant.
  • Photographing Golden Bush Robins and laughingthrushes hopping around in front of the hide/blind.

OUTLINE ITINERARY

  • Day 1: Morning expedition start at Bhadrapur airport in southeast Nepal. Drive into the Himalayas to Singalila Ridge.
  • Days 2-6: Exploring Singalila National Park.
  • Day 7: Return to Bhadrapur airport for afternoon expedition end.

To see a larger map, click on the square-like ‘enlarge’ icon in the upper right of the map box.

To see (or hide) the ‘map legend’, click on the icon with an arrow in the upper left of the map box.

To change to a satellite view, which is great for seeing the physical terrain (and for seeing really fine details by repetitive use of the + button), click on the square ‘map view’ icon in the lower left corner of the ‘map legend’.

PRICE INFORMATION

Wild Images Inclusions: Our tour prices include surface transportation, accommodations, meals and entrance fees.

Our tour prices also include all tips for local guides, drivers and accommodation/restaurant staff.

Deposit: 20% of the total tour price. Our office will let you know what deposit amount is due, in order to confirm your booking, following receipt of your online booking form.

TO BOOK THIS TOUR: Click here (you will need the tour dates)

 

 



2026: provisional £1970, $2550, €2320, AUD3850. Bhadrapur/Bhadrapur.

Single Supplement: 2026: £480, $630, €570, AUD950.

The single supplement will not apply if you indicate on booking that you prefer to share a room/ger and there is a room-mate of the same sex available.

This tour is priced in US Dollars. Amounts shown in other currencies are indicative.

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency will be pleased to arrange your air travel on request, or you may arrange this yourself if you prefer.

RED PANDA PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR OF INDIA: DETAILED ITINERARY

Red Panda: Day 1  Our expedition begins this morning at Bhadrapur airport, situated at the base of the Himalayas in southeast Nepal. From there we climb into the Himalayas, enjoying some spectacular views, to Singalila National Park for a six nights stay.  After a time we enter the park at Maneybhanjang gate and after that there is wonderful Himalayan forest rich in birdlife as we wind our way upwards to our accommodation.

[There are regular flights to Bhadrapur from Kathmandu. We can easily arrange just the internal flights for you if you are not having us handle your intercontinental air travel.]

Red Panda: Days 2-6  Singalila National Park protects a huge area of Himalayan forest and open meadows on the Singalia Ridge that forms the border between Nepal and West Bengal state in India. The park covers an area of 78.6 square kilometres (30.3 square miles) and its elevation ranges from around 2100m (6900ft) to around 3600m (11800ft), although we will likely not get much above 3000m (9800ft) during our visit.

At this time of year, the Himalayan vistas are often quite extraordinary and from different places on the Singalila Ridge, you can see panoramas of Himalayan ridges stretching away into the distance to the great ice-clad peaks of the Main Range. The scene is often dominated by the huge massif of Kangchenjunga (or Kanchenjunga), at 8,586m or 28,169ft this is one of the highest peaks on earth.

Each day our expert trackers will sortie out and try to locate approachable Red Pandas. Not only should we see and photograph this wonderful animal, but at this time of year, we can reasonably hope for multiple encounters!

There is also a hide/blind we can visit where many birds and sometimes even Red Pandas come to feed!

Apart from the Red Pandas, there are also chances for such mammals as Yellow-throated Martin, Himalayan Serow, Ghoral and Musk Deer.

Lots of bird species inhabit Singalila, and while flycatchers, warblers and some others head for the foothills and plains in the colder months, many species remain, including the most spectacular birds of the Eastern Himalayas.

Among the best birds at Singalila are the magnificent Satyr Tragopan (those males glow like fireballs, especially at this time of year!) and the beautiful Blood Pheasant. The beautiful Fire-tailed Myzornis, often a tricky bird to find, can be positively common here.

Among the many other likely species are Kalij Pheasant, Collared Owlet, Darjeeling and Crimson-breasted Woodpeckers, Long-tailed Minivet, Yellow-bellied and White-throated Fantails, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Grey Treepie, Spotted Nutcracker, Large-billed Crow, Goldcrest, White-collared Blackbird, Black-throated Thrush (and perhaps Red-throated also), Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Golden and White-browed Bush Robins, Himalayan Bluetail, Blue-fronted Redstart, Grey Bush Chat, Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, the bizarre Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler, Streaked, Striated, Chestnut-crowned, Scaly, Spotted and Black-faced Laughingthrushes, Rufous-capped Babbler, Hoary-throated and Rusty-fronted Barwings, Rufous Sibia, Stripe-throated and Rufous-vented Yuhinas, Red-tailed and Bar-throated Minlas, the gorgeous Golden-breasted Fulvetta, White-browed and Rufous-winged Fulvettas, Great, Brown, Fulvous and Black-throated Parrotbills, Hodgson’s and Rusty-flanked Treecreepers, White-tailed Nuthatch, Rufous-fronted and Black-throated Bushtits, Yellow-browed, Red-vented, Grey Crested, Coal and Green-backed Tits, Mrs Gould’s, Green-tailed and Fire-tailed Sunbirds, Himalayan Beautiful, Pink-browed, Dark-breasted and Himalayan White-browed Rosefinches, Plain Mountain Finch, Red Crossbill, Red-headed and Brown Bullfinches, White-winged Grosbeak, Grey Wagtail and Olive-backed Pipit.

Red Panda: Day 7  Today we will descend to Bhadrapur airport where our expedition ends this afternoon.