Corbett National Park

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We planned to visit Corbett, as we had a week long break and we were already in Delhi then. Corbett National Park is the oldest National Park of Asia and India’s first Tiger Reserve. Situated in Uttaranchal, between Garhwal and Kumaon its the finest national park I've been too. An overnight exhausting journey from Delhi got us straight to Ramnagar in the wee hours, but watching twilight break over the Shivalik range was such a breathtaking view, that the six long tiring hours spend in the train were simply washed away by the rays of the sun.

Anyone who knows about Jim Corbett and his heroic stories or has read any of his six books, would relate to the jungle and would want to visit the Corbett National Park. Thankfully, for once the Government of India has let the park be and let wildlife inhibit in their natural habitat which spans 1300 sq kms approximately. The Park has been divided into five tourism zones - Dhikala, Jhirna, Bijrani, Sonanadi and Domunda. Dhikala is almost the center of Corbett and is considered the best place to be in, however we could not get accommodation there and so we lodged close to Bijrani.

We stayed at a resort called Tiger Camp, a huge property situated on the banks of river Kosi. Tiger Camp is set in a lush green environment and blends in perfectly with the surroundings. The reception of the resort is done with tiger pictures, masks and other local handicrafts. The resort has fancily furnished rooms - with a view. We had a huge verandah with a sit out where we would chat and drink for long hours in the evening. The room is divided into a living area, a bedroom, a dressing area and a bath with a tub. The beds were so plush and cozy that it was an effort to get out at 5 am in the cold winter mornings. The service was also prompt, we got food and water within minutes of ordering it, something I was not expecting. The resort also had a small souvenir shop - much cheaper than places outside - and I managed to shop for some handcrafted wooden mementos. There was a circular restaurant called "Gol Ghar' which is supposed to be built in the traditional Kumaoni style. They served us elaborate breakfasts, lunch and dinners with a wide spread of Indian and Continental food. Every evening they played a wild life movie in the lounge most of it on tigers and Corbett. Post the movie they had a local guy play the guitar and sing around the bonfire.

We started our tour with a visit to the Corbett Museum. We walked into a miniature of Corbett National Park placed on a large wooden table. Was good to commence our trip on this so that we knew what parts of the Park we were covering. They have details of animals and birds found here and larger mammals have been stuffed. Tigers and leopards and preserved in their natural skin. There was a placard in front of each animal telling you how the specimen met its end. Relics of crocodiles, deer’s and elephants are also on display. After our orientation tour of the museum we went to the temple of Goddess Garjia Devi. The temple is close to the museum on the banks of river Kosi. It has a small market with tea and biscuit stalls. There are monkeys all over the trees around the temple and this was our first sighting of ‘animals’ in Corbett.

Anyway, the most exciting part of our trip was the jeep safari and we went for the Safari each day we were there. These are all four wheel drive open gypsy's. We were lucky to find an amazing guy - Nafis - to drive us around. Nafis being passionate about nature knew biological names of all the birds and trees around - and his excitement quickly rubbed off on all of us. Nafis carries sizeable books on birding and would refer to it each time we spotted our feathered friends. Its very intriguing as there are minor differences between the same species of birds, so its very thrilling to identify the right one. We also had a guide with us in the gypsy who shared the demographics of the park with us, gave us some more details of the park but he was more focused on the mammals around. He told us that Corbett is known to have 50 mammals, 577 birds and at least 25 reptiles. Guess, we managed to see 1% of all mentioned!!

Our first safari was after munching on a sumptuous breakfast at 6 am and in the cold winter morning at Bijrani. While Nafis got the paperwork done, we were thronged with small boys renting us binoculars. We indulged in the haggling only to realize much later that they were just about average quality. I really enjoyed the thrill of being in the open gypsy with the wind blowing on my face. We were able to get a 360 degree view of the jungle and so spotting wildlife was simpler.

Within minutes of our drive into the forest we spotted the 'spotted deers' locally known as Chitals. Ignored by most locals and skeptical about 'animals' in the gypsy they kept a wary eye on us and ran away into the forest each time we came close. Within an hour of our drive into the forest we saw the barking deer, the hog deer and stags. However, Bijrani has a splendid landscape and we were able to enjoy the scenic beauty even when we could not spot animals.The next hour we spend looking for the elusive tiger but managed to see 3 yellow throated martens. We could observe them for about five minutes, which is a good average here. Towards evening we saw quite a few peacocks, deers and elephants. Nafis also stuck out his arm couple of times to show us tiger foot prints and marks made by a tiger with his claws on a tree - the closest we were to get to the big cat - or so we thought!

However, thanks to Nafis, a keen bird watcher, we were able to spot Brown Fish Owl, Himalayan Kingfisher, White-Capped Redstarts, Alexandrine Parakeet, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Great Indian Hornbill, Magpie and two Vultures. We could not see the rufous woodpecker, however we saw its nest in one of the Sal trees - that was nice enough! However, what is worth mentioning is that the first bird we spotted in Corbett was the White-throated Kingfisher, a migratory bird that is not sighted in Corbett. It was rumored to have been seen at Corbett this winter after ten years, so guess we were really lucky.

As we drove deeper into the forest, the landscape kept changing. We saw a lot of red jungle fowls. One stud boy was with three lady fowls - that reminded you of men in the city! At a distance, they end up looking like chicken, only a closer look can confirm the difference. Ofcourse, we waited patiently for long hours in different areas within the park, so as to spot the animals.

We also went for a nature walk later in the evening - a walk where the guide maneuvers his way into the forest with you trailing behind him, trying to stay as close to him as possible while separating trees, jump over logs of wood and pushing away branches to avoid getting scratched. We also did a lot of river crossing - 5 times by count - kicking off our shoes, rolling up our pants and wading across the cold stony water. Its tricky because the stones are slippery and easily throw you off balance. Well, the walk was uneventful apart from a handful of deer’s and scared peacocks that ran away as soon as we positioned our cameras to click pictures. However, the walk itself was very invigorating and helped us build an appetite.

There are over 110 varieties of trees, 51 species of shrubs and over 33 kinds of bamboo and grasses, as per the details of Corbett that I had printed but the guide could only point out some of the more prominent trees and flowering plants. Next time we travel with a botanical expert to learn more about the flora. Despite our ignorance, we found the beauty of the forest enchanting, the back drop kept changing from humongous trees to flat plains with burnt grass to green bushy shrubs. The air was dotted with delicate scents from the green moss, wild flowers and fragrant trees. It was cool even in the noon when the sun was high up.

Another delightful experience was the elephant ride. We mounted our elephant who walked right into the forest with five people on her back as if we were weightless. She only paused in her walk to drink water - which took good 10 minutes - and I took a video of the same as I'd never seen an elephant drinking water before. She then immediately she took a leek, something like a mini waterfall which took up two whole minutes! She ate for the entire two hours, only stopping to clean the food before popping it in her mouth. No diet control here. Guess, she was not much of an environmentalist - she felt free to uproot the grass, broke branches of trees as if they were twigs and trampled on anything that came in her way while she made her own path into the forest giving us the best possible view of animals around.

After spending three days here, we decided to embark on our last safari. We had lost hope of seeing tigers yet the safari by itself is so enjoyable that we gladly went into the forest again. Minutes into the forest and we could instantly hear a lot of warning calls from the barking deer which warns all animals of the tigers presence. Nafis and our guide immediately turned towards the sound and we came towards a clearing. Luckily we were driving slowly and our experienced guide spotted 3 tiger cubs. They were about eight months old but were as big as calves and tired to hide in the long burnt grass. They were at a distance of 30 feet from us and we were able to observe them for 5-6 minutes before they ran deeper into the forest.

This was the highlight of our journey - we dint get to see any tigers but managed to see cubs at a fairly close distance. We were hoping to see the leopard too. But leopard sighting is even rarer than that of the tiger as these spotted cats confine themselves to the higher trees and hide themselves during the day. The rest of the safari paled after we saw the cubs and the rest of the time we only spoke about the cubs. We returned back and checked out of Tiger Camp and after dinner headed back to Ramnagar station.

Corbett was a refreshing break from the city and all of us ended up as happy wildlife lovers. All the amazing birds and animals looked beautiful in the forest and on our way back to Delhi we could only dream of the happy times we spend at Corbett amongst nature. I truly wish I could live closer to Corbett and visit the place more frequently and maybe see more tigers and leopards the next time!

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Photos

Sunrise at Corbett
Sunrise at Corbett and the light reflecting on Kosi river

My Room
My room at Tiger Camp

The Temple
View of the temple from the road

At Bijrani Gate
Early morning at 6, all excited about seeing wildlife

In the gypsy
We were all standing to get a good look at the animals in the forest

Footprints
Our first look at tiger footprints

The dear deer's
Looking at us as curiously

The Elephant Ride
This 40 year old elephant took us right into the forest

The Stag
The first stag we saw - also the first animal we saw on the elephant ride

The tiger cubs
I've circled this pic in red, as the tiger cubs were camouflaged well in the grass

The Parakeet
The Parakeet perched on the highest branch

Comments

[Nitin Ule]

very nice.. good work