The Red Panda Trail, in the eastern region of Nepal provides authentic wildlife-spotting activities, following the paths that local people use when navigating the area, and you are unlikely to see many other tourists. Kanchenjunga Landscape Area, a very less frequently visited place, offers a greater chance of spotting the endangered Red Panda along with other threatened animals, including wild bears, clouded leopards, barking deer and various species of birds and butterflies. A great variety of higher altitude birds will be visible as you explore the Red Panda trails. The forest guide accompanying you will be more than happy to introduce these magnificent roamers of nature.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TRIP
- The immaculate and unsullied hill station of Ilam.
- Red Panda excursion and the flora and fauna through jungle walk at Kanchenjunga landscape Area
- The unparalleled sunrise and Himalayan panorama view at Sandakpur of Mt. Everest, Mt. Kanchenjunga, Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Makalu
- Cultural program at Mai Pokhari
- One of the highest waterfalls in Nepal, Todhkey falls in Mai-Pokhari.
East Nepal is still a region largely unexplored by tourists and relatively untouched by outside influences. Compared to Central and Mid-western areas, the eastern part of Nepal sees far less travelers. However, for adventurous travelers, the east offers an amazing combination of beautiful landscapes, traditional culture, lifestyles, and remote communities.
The Red Panda Trail is an ideal choice for people who are passionate about wildlife, nature and in love with traveling paths unexplored. Red Panda, also known as lesser Panda, is the main protagonist of the trip. It is native to the eastern Himalayan region of Nepal. This trail passes through Dobato, Sandakpur and Mai Pokhari which are remote villages situated near the hill station of Ilam. You will be immersing yourself with the locals and lifestyle of communities that barely come face to face with the tourists. The forest of Dobato is an ideal location for tracking the elusive Red Panda. The sunrise from Sandakpur, which is the highest point of Ilam gives one of the best views of some of the highest peaks of the world. The Todkey Jharana in Mai Pokhari is one of the highest waterfalls found in Nepal.
The red pandas are very sensitive to warm weather so they are hardly visible in summer and during the monsoon, it is dangerous to travel due to rainfall in this region. Tracking this endangered mammal is prohibited during its mating season from January to February and birthing season from June to September. So, the months of March to May in the spring season and October to November in the winter would be considered the best season to travel for the Red Panda Trail.
Aside from the fascinating nature and tantalizing diversity of flora and fauna the homestays, included in the Red Panda trial, offer exposure to authentic culture and rural lifestyles of the locals. The homestays offer the opportunity to live like locals and to get a unique close-up glimpse of rural village life as well as directly supporting local economies and increasing their knowledge of the outside world – the locals are as interested in you as you are in them. As you travel through the Kanchenjunga landscape on this trip, you will also be staying at the homestays operated by the community of Dobato and Mai Pokhari. Interacting with the inhabitants of these villages will let you understand the true Nepali way of living because what better way is there to understand the place than living with the locals itself.
