Sikkim is an absolute gem for bird watchers. After exploring the quaint village of Assam Lingzey many times on our Sikkim birding trips, we now added another offbeat find to our list – Kewzing Village in south Sikkim.
Kewzing – First Look
First look at this serene village, and it seems like time has just stood still here. Small wooden houses, lush green forests all around, chirping of birds as consistent backdrop music, fresh mountain air, and smiling locals.Â
After living in the bustling capital of India – Delhi, this cute little village comes as a much needed respite.
My folks and I spent a lovely 3 days, 2 nights in this adorable little town and fell in love completely with it. For us, the only drawback was bad roads leading up to Kewzing but if you can rough it out a bit, Kewzing is surely worth the trouble.
Our days were spent bird watching in the quiet, lush green valleys and our nights were spent sipping whiskey under the stars, overlooking the sparsely dotted mountain valley.
You can wake up to snow-capped mountain views on a clear day overlooking these mighty peaks – Mt. Narsing, Mt. Kabru, and Mt. Jupono.Â
This Buddhist village primarily consists of Bhutia and Lepcha communities and the monasteries here are very popular as well.
Kewzing Birds Guide
Kewzing is an absolute paradise for bird watchers. In just 1.5 days of birding, we managed to spot 5o different birds – at a very slow and easy birding pace and 2 lifers.
We visited in Feburary which is not even the peak birding season as March and April are considered to be the best times to visit Kewzing for birding.
After every birding trip, we would make a checklist of common, endemic, and lifers we spotted so I could share with you all birds you can expect to find in Kewzing in February.
Our base for birding was the peaceful Samaghang Homestay, which was absolutely ideal. We spotted several species right in our backyard on the orange trees, and even the mighty Brown wood owl nesting in a nearby Pine tree.
High activity birding areas are right next to Samaghang homestay. We could go on a short 1-hour walk upto the nearest monastery and find 20 different species easily.
In fact one morning, we even spotted a Collared owlet calling on the walk to the monastery. This immediately drew smaller hunting flocks of other bird species towards the owlet in an attempt to mob the little owlet away.
This small predator hunts birds, so smaller birds like sunbirds, flycatchers, yuhinas, warblers etc come together to scare the bird as a self defence strategy.
It was quite a spectacle to watch and we got to see some other birds as an add on.
Birds of Kewzing – Full Checklist
Here’s a full checklist of birds we spotted in Kewzing village of South Sikkim in 1.5 days. We were told we missed quite a few bird species and there is a lot more Kewzing as to offer.
For now, we managed to spot aroudn 50 different birds so we were happy with the results.
Brown wood Owl, Grey-winged blackbird, Green-backed tit, Green-tailed sunbird, Red-vented bulbul, Striated bulbul, Black bulbul, Himalayan bulbul, Red-tailed Minla, Grey treepie, Great barbet, Blue-fronted redstart, Rufous-capped babbler, Sikkim treecreeper, Rusty fronted barwing, White-browed shrike-babbler, Rufous-winged fulvetta, Asian barred owlet, Sultan tit, Black-throated tit, Yellow-bellied fantail, White-throated fantail, Rufous-bellied niltava, White-tailed nuthatch, Grey hooded warbler, Chestnut-headed warbler, Crested serpent eagle, Streak-breasted scimitar babbler, Rufous sibia, Barred cuckoo dove, Fire breasted flowerpecker, Grey-headed canary-flycatcher, Oriental turtle dove, White rumped munia, Russet sparrow, Ashy drongo, Collared owlet, Black-chinned yuhina, Whiskered yuhina, Grey bushchat, Common tailorbird, White-crested laughingthrush, Large niltava, Khaleej pheasant & Black throated sunbird.Â
Kewzing Birds Photos
Here are some top shots from our birding trip to Kewzing.
How to Reach Kewzing from Delhi
Kewzing to Delhi can be reached by taking a flight to Bagdogra airport and then renting a car to drive around 135 kms (4+ hours to Kewzing village.
For slow travelers, take a train from Delhi t0 New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and then car another 4+ hours to Kewzing – almost the same driving distance.
From Gangtok to Kewzing , the distance is just around 70 kms which should take 2.5 hours but due to horrible condition of roads, account for atleast 4 hours.
Samaghang Homestay Contact Info
There is no better base for your Kewzing trip than the cute little Samaghang Homestay. The owner Urgen takes good care of the guests and is an excellent birding guide renowned all over Sikkim for this expertise.
You cannot go wrong by staying with these people and be assured of amazing home cooked meals by Chef Dawa.
Urgen – +91 96093 87039 / +91 83481 69187
Email id – samaghangcottage@gmail.com
Looking to slow travel amidst nature? Kewzing village in South Sikkim, India – is the answer.
This alongside regular visits to Indian jungles in search of the Royal Bengal Tiger, fueled her zest for adventure, nature and wildlife.
Now she is a renowned travel blogger, outreach expert and has worked with over 500 travel brands in the last 15 years.
