Uttarakhand Chronicles Part 2- Corbett

It was with a mixed bag of emotions that I began my journey from Kerala towards the Northern state of Uttarakhand along with my teenage son. With so many horror stories about crimes against women floating around, I was a bit apprehensive and nervous but at the same time, excited and full of anticipation for the week ahead. The tour agency had already given our itineraries and arranged for a cab and driver to take us around. Our driver, Bhim Singh was a local and had come to pick us up from Kathgodam station. He was to be our guide and travel companion through the duration of our trip. A jovial and simple person, he was a story-teller and narrated interesting anecdotes and trivia to us on the places we visited which made our trip even more fascinating.

During an interaction with our tour agent who was a native of Uttarakhand hills, she said “Hum pahadi log bahut seedhe hote hai, koi khot nahi hoti!” (We, people of the mountains, are simple and straightforward people, without any deceptions). It turned out to be so true and we met and befriended some really amazing people during our trip.

My itinerary for the week: Dehradun-Nainital-Corbett-Haridwar-Rishikesh-Mussoorie-Dehradun

Eight days covering as many varied landscapes, hopping from one town to the next, moving from a hill town full of sparkling lakes to a forest reserve, and then to a town steeped in spirituality, stretching from Kumaon hills to the Garhwal region, we experienced it all.

Day 3: Jim Corbett National Park

On the third day of our trip, we started off on our journey by road to Jim Corbett National Park, a Project Tiger Reserve situated at the foothills of The Himalayas in the Kumaon region. Established in 1936, in memory of Late Jim Corbett, the famous naturalist and conservationist and also the author of the book “The Man-Eaters of Kumaon”, it is India's oldest wildlife conservation venture and also well-known for its tiger population.

Ramnagar is the nearest railway station to visit the wildlife sanctuary and there is a direct train running from Delhi to Ramnagar. Cabs are also available from Haldwani or Kathgodam.

We bid adieu to Nainital with a promise of a revisit. It was a 3-hour drive from Nainital to Corbett, a scenic route spread across a distance of 63 km. The road leading to Jim Corbett had stretches of green cover on either side with urban dwellings in between.

The best time to visit the National Park is during the winter season from the months of November to February.

We checked in at a resort named Corbett Jungle Treasure Resorts Riverside, which was located on the banks of the river Kosi. The hotel was reasonably priced with clean and spacious rooms and an in-house restaurant. The Corbett Wildlife Sanctuary was just 5 km. from the resort. Our room had a balcony overlooking a big green lawn, with the sparkling waters of the river Kosi flowing adjacent to the resort. Visitors were seen lounging around on easy chairs or playing badminton and generally enjoying themselves. The cool breeze and the gurgling sound of the river gushing along the small boulders and pebbles lying on the river-bed had a soothing impact on us in the hot, dusty afternoon sun.

The river Kosi meanders along the valleys of Ramnagar and a part of its catchment lies partly in the Corbett National Park. It is the main source of water for the wildlife at the Forest reserve.

After freshening up and a quick lunch, we left for our pre-booked Jeep Safari through the wilderness of the Corbett forests.

The price of the safari is around Rs. 5000/- for a 3-hour ride inside the forest. A jeep can carry a maximum of 6 persons and 2 children. The safari timings are divided into two shifts, morning (between 6 am to 9.30 am} and afternoon (3 pm to 6 pm}.

There are three main ecotourism zones in the forest reserve for the safari tours starting from different entry points, namely the Bijrani safari zone, Dhikala Safari Zone and Dhela Safari Zone.

Elephant safaris are also conducted for tourists who have obtained night stay permits inside the park after prior booking.

Our driver and a naturalist guide who accompanied us on our Jeep Safari were locals and were very warm and courteous. We had already taken the required permits and our vehicle picked us up from our hotel itself.

This was our first forest expedition and my son's excitement was infectious. The ride in the open Jeep through the narrow winding forest paths was both adventurous and breathtaking. The deep, dark forests on either side held many mysteries. It was like a magnet luring us into its depths and daring us to uncover the secrets hidden within the wilderness. There was also a silent warning in the air telling us not to mess with nature, or to be prepared to face its’ fury in unforeseen and unexpected ways. It was like a reminder that we are mere insignificant mortals in the grand scheme of things.

The clean, fresh air, verdant flora and fauna, the stillness of the jungle and the music from the chirping birds was a welcome respite from the grind and stress of city life. We did spot a few hog deer, a wild bear and a herd of elephants in their natural habitat. We also got glimpses of a few species of birds.

A few tourists on jeeps were waiting a few meters away from a stream flowing inside the forest, anticipating the big cat to show itself. Animals usually come to the water body in the afternoon to quench their thirst or to cool themselves.

We joined them and sat still with our binoculars glued to the river bank but it was not our lucky day and the star attraction, the Royal Bengal Tiger still eluded us.

There was a slight ray of hope towards the fag end of our ride when a few locals called out the sighting of a tiger on the river bank, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

We had just sat down for a cup of tea in a roadside shack just outside the periphery of the park when there was a shout from a group of people running towards the river. The sounds of the vehicles and screaming people were enough to scare away any animal from the vicinity. Though we waited by the riverbank for a good half hour with bated anticipation, the big cat was in no mood to show its presence to us.

We returned back to our hotel, tired and a tad disappointed but happy and contented. We slept fitfully and ready for the next leg of our journey the next morning.

I think a forest safari should be a part of the bucket list for any travel enthusiast.Nobody should miss out on the fabulous experience and Jim Corbett is definitely an excellent option to catch a glimpse of wildlife and its habitat...

Upcoming trip - Haridwar-Rishikesh