The Kangra valley has more than 550 kinds of bird on record, and which ones you see depends on how high you go. Ducks and geese on Pong Dam in winter at the bottom, bulbuls, magpies and barbets around Dharamshala in the middle, and pheasants and vultures on the Dhauladhar at the top.
That number comes from Birds of Kangra, the book Jan Willem den Besten put together after years of mapping the birds of this valley. It was published in Dharamshala in 2004, and if you want one book to carry, it is that one. What follows is the short version, arranged the way you would actually move through the valley — by height.
At the bottom: Pong Dam, in winter
From November to March the Pong wetland is where the big flocks are — bar-headed geese, pintails, pochards, shelducks and coots in their thousands. In the Forest Department's 2025 count there were over 1.5 lakh water birds on the lake.
It has its own post: birdwatching at Pong Dam.
In the middle: Dharamshala, McLeod Ganj and Naddi
Lower Dharamshala sits at about 1,400 metres and McLeod Ganj at about 2,080. This is oak, pine and deodar country, and these are birds you can find around it:
- Himalayan bulbul — brown, with a white cheek and a pointed crest. Often in noisy pairs close to houses.
- Blue whistling thrush — dark blue-black, with a long, loud, whistling song, most of all near streams early in the morning.
- Great barbet — big, green and heavy-billed. You will hear its loud call long before you see it.
- Red-billed blue magpie — long blue tail, red bill. Hard to miss. Higher up, look for its cousin the yellow-billed blue magpie.
- Black-headed jay.
- White-capped redstart and brown dipper — both on the rocks of fast streams, the redstart flicking its red tail.
- Kalij pheasant — in the forest around McLeod Ganj.
- Asian barred owlet — a small owl that is often out in daylight.
The quieter roads above McLeod Ganj, towards Naddi and Dharamkot, are better for birds than the busy lanes of the town. Go early in the morning.
Up the hill: Triund and the Dhauladhar
Above McLeod Ganj the path climbs to Triund, at about 2,850 metres, and the forest opens out. Higher up is where people look for the bigger birds:
- Lammergeier — the bearded vulture. Very large, with long narrow wings and a wedge-shaped tail, riding the air along the ridges.
- Himalayan griffon — big, pale vultures, often circling in groups.
- Himalayan monal — a pheasant in shining green, blue and copper, on the high slopes.
- Koklass pheasant — in the upper forests.
Triund is a full day's walk on its own. The Kareri Lake trek goes through the same kind of country, further west along the range.
The one you will probably not see
Himachal's state bird is the western tragopan — jujurana, the "king of birds". In Kangra and Chamba it is also called fulgar. It replaced the monal as the state bird in 2007. It lives in thick, high forest, it is shy, and it is rare, so do not plan a trip around finding one.
When to go birdwatching in Kangra
- November to March — Pong at its fullest. In the hills, some birds come down from higher up for the winter.
- March to May — spring. The hill birds are singing and nesting, and easiest to find by their calls. The best season for Dharamshala and above.
- June to September — the monsoon. Dharamshala is one of the wettest places in Himachal, and birding in steady rain is hard work. Not the season for it.
- October — clear skies after the monsoon, and good birding in the hills before the cold sets in.
What to carry
- Binoculars — the one thing that matters.
- Birds of Kangra, or any field guide to the birds of the Indian subcontinent.
- The eBird app, where birdwatchers log what they see. It is the easiest way to know what has turned up lately.
- Layers. Mornings are cold at any height, and colder the higher you go.
- Patience. Most birds are heard first and seen later.
Staying down here
Our hillside is in the valley, between the lake and the hills, which makes it a practical base for both — Pong one morning, the forest above McLeod Ganj another. We are about 22 km from McLeod Ganj by road, and about 60 km from Nagrota Surian on the lake.
Rooms are ₹999 a night, or ₹1,699 with air conditioning. If you want breakfast early, tell us the night before.