Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary

About Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary

Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, in Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng district, covers 217 sq km and is widely regarded as one of the finest birdwatching destinations anywhere in Asia. Its reputation rests on more than 450 recorded bird species packed into a compact area spanning a dramatic elevational gradient, from subtropical forest in the lower reaches up through temperate broadleaf forest to high-altitude rhododendron and conifer forest near the Eaglenest Pass. The sanctuary's single most famous resident is the Bugun liocichla, a strikingly coloured babbler that was entirely unknown to science until its discovery here in 1995 and formally described only in 2006, one of the very few bird species discovered in India in the past century. It was named after the local Bugun tribe, whose community forest borders the sanctuary and whose cooperation has been central to the bird's ongoing protection, since much of its known range sits just outside the sanctuary's formal boundary. Beyond the liocichla, Eaglenest draws specialist birders for species such as Ward's trogon, the beautiful nuthatch, rufous-necked hornbill, multiple trogopan and wren-babbler species, and dozens of warbler, laughingthrush, and flycatcher species that are difficult or impossible to see reliably anywhere else. The sanctuary's elevational range also supports red panda and a range of other Eastern Himalayan mammals, though its global reputation is overwhelmingly built on birdlife rather than large mammals. Eaglenest is typically visited as part of a dedicated birding itinerary along the Eaglenest-Lama Camp-Bompu-Sessni road corridor, often combined with a trip to nearby Pakke Tiger Reserve or the town of Dirang. For serious birders, it ranks among the top destinations in India, and its conservation model, built on partnership with the Bugun community rather than exclusion, is frequently cited alongside Pakke's hornbill programme as an example of how Arunachal Pradesh's indigenous communities have become central to the state's conservation successes.