Overview
Gingee is a small town in Tamil Nadu, India. It's also known as Senji or Gingy.
It's known for its ancient fort and it's an excellent site for Yellow-throated Bulbul, a south Indian endemic. It can easily be reached from Chennai (Madras) in a day excursion.
Birds
Notable Species
Yellow-throated Bulbul is the most notable species here. Sirkeer Malkoha, Painted Spurfowl and Rock Eagle-Owl are also of interest.
Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
Painted Spurfowl, Black-winged Kite, Shikra, Short-toed Eagle, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon (local race peregrinator, Shaheen Falcon), Rose-ringed Parakeet, Asian Koel, Blue-faced Malkoha, Sirkeer Malkoha, Greater Coucal, Rock Eagle-Owl, Spotted Owlet, Indian Roller, White-throated Kingfisher, Dusky Crag-Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, White-browed Wagtail, Red-vented Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Yellow-throated Bulbul, White-browed Bulbul, Brown Shrike, Blue Rock Thrush, Indian Robin, Yellow-billed Babbler, Purple-rumped Sunbird, Black Drongo, Common Myna, House Crow, Indian Jungle Crow, Rufous Treepie
Site Information
History and Use
The oldest parts of the fort are from the 13th century. Today Gingee has lost its political importance and is a quiet rural town in Tamil Nadu. The fort itself is quite popular and can be crowded on weekends.
Areas of Interest
Muttakadu Reserve Forest
From Gingee drive in direction of the Rajagiri Citadel. Turn left to the fort entrance, pass it and go on another 600m until the end of the road. There is a small Hanuman Temple under a big Banyam tree with lots of Bonnet Macaques. A small path starts behind the temple. Pass the monkeys quickly (don't feed them unless you want to go birding with 50 monkeys around you). The path passes the fort wall and leads into a valley. There are several small paths here worth to explore. One goes up to the right hill, another follows the valley. Yellow-throated Bulbul is found here easily but beware of the similar song of White-browed Bulbul.
Gingee Fort
Open from 9am to 4.30pm for public, entry fee 100 Rs for foreigners, 5 Rs for Indians. Still cameras are not allowed and scopes may be a problem as well.
Inside a path leads up to the Rajagiri Citadel. Be careful if its wet, the stones might be slippery. Watch out for Dusky Crag-Martins around the cliffs and Shaheen Falcons (the local race of Peregrine Falcon) in the cliffs. Yellow-throated Bulbuls like to sing on stones.
From the top you have a breath-taking view over the plains and the Muttakadu Forest.
Access and Facilities
Gingee can be reached by bus from Tindivanam, the nearest railway station (28kms). Buses run regularly between the two towns.
There are some basic hotels in Gingee. Alternatively the town can be reached on day excursions (preferably with a taxi) from Pondicherry (65km), Mahabalipuram or Chennai (150km).
