Corbett National Park
Apr 19th, 2023 | 10:09 PM
#1
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 741
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Corbett National Park
It has been several years since I last visited Corbett National Park. Much has changed during this time but the excitement of the chase still remains ever burning bright! Those were the days when getting an entry permit from the forest department meant simply walking into the office and purchasing one for a few nights. The range officers were quite lenient and allowed an enthusiast to occupy the tree machans in the jungle, in fact deputing his staff to safely conduct them to and from the machan. The only injunction was to remain very quiet and not to move once safely perched up. My wife & I have had some very exciting sightings of tigers in those days, including one when a wise old tigress got startled, rose up on its hind legs a few feet away, but quickly sizing up the situation, sank back on all four and disappeared into the jungle, leaving us stunned. Those yellow eyes and unsheathed 2-inch claws are still fresh in our memory, 27 years down the line!!
It is now time to introduce our grown up kids to the excitement of the chase! The bookings open on- line in the first week of every month. I got late in logging on and found only a few rooms left at the Bijrani FRH. It would be our first time at this FRH but we were not disappointed. The roads have become very good and doing 270mi / 8 hours wasn’t a big deal. (It is much closer to Delhi – about 5 hrs).
Our first night was at the Jim’s Jungle Lodge at Dhela village which lies in the buffer zone of the Corbett. The road is picturesque passing as it does through the farmlands and scrub jungle before entering the Sal forests. The luxury lodge is located on the banks of a large dry seasonal watercourse strewn with rocks and boulders, truly a tiger country. It was the 12th of April and a few rills were still running with small fishes darting here and there amongst the rocks. We were met by Govind Singh who promptly gave us a cold drink & a check-in. The family Jungle cottage we had paid for has two rooms, one with king and the other with twin-beds, tea coffee maker, cookies and two ensuite washrooms. Evening High-tea, where delicious sandwiches can be ordered, was at about 5:00PM. They have a delightful café but for those of us who love outdoors, the terraces are overlooking the dense forests where a lot of colouful birds can be seen flitting about. Dinners are served – fixed menu – in the equally delightful open-sided restaurant, though one can have it besides the swimming pool or in the small glade nearby. The meals were delicious! There is also a well-stocked Bar. The cost which includes all meals is approx. USD 225 for a Dbl Jungle cottage & USD 375 for a family cottage.
Once the entry permits are in your bag, one needs to book a 4-wd jeep on the same website of the forest department. You than need to talk to the owner of the jeep to give him your location for pick up & drop. Mohinder Bisht arrived duly at 11:00AM the next morning to drive us into the Corbett National Park, which lies about an hours drive from the lodge. At the entry point, one needs to fill a form and show the permits along with photo IDs to gain entry. Alcohol is strictly forbidden inside and so is non-vegetarian dishes, except eggs. The FRH built in the year 1928 for the British forest officer, has about 6 rooms in all, a separate dining hall and a canteen, where fixed-menu fair is served. It is like home cooked food…simple, but adequate. We had taken our own blankets, bed linen, towels and toiletries.
It was now time to go into the jungle for the afternoon safari, at 2PM. We were the first to go in and were rewarded by game sightings on the waterholes as it was quite warm. There were spotted deer, barking deer, a family of elephants with two young calves and the nervous mother ever on alert keeping a sharp lookout all around, keeping the youngsters very close. Her behaviour looked a bit strange to my accustomed eyes. The reason was not far to seek, for in the soft sand further up the fire track, we saw fresh pugmarks of a big male tiger. Quite possibly, he had moved off after quenching his thirst at the waterhole, before the arrival of the elephants. Apart from the alarm calls we did not see the tiger. We moved on to check the road to Malani FRH, as it lies very remote & deep inside the forest. We spotted a covey of Kaleej pheasants and the red jungle fowls feeding besides the road. There were sambhars, wild boars, langur monkeys and birds of all descriptions! At 6PM one needs to be back in the FRH. As it was still not dark, we sat out in the open ground in front of the FRH armed with binoculars to watch eagles perched up the giant Haldu trees and deer which come feeding very close to where we were sitting, at twilight hour. Pankaj our room attendant brought tea and vegetable sandwiches to munch after our exertion inside the forest. After dinners that night we went to bed listening to the alarm calls of spotted deer and sambhars not very far from the FRH. Listening to the jungle calls when staying in these FRHs is one of the most exciting experiences for you can virtually trace the movement of the carnivora!
The morning safari begins at 6AM. Nothing very spectacular happened that morning. The afternoon too was spent looking for the tiger.
Our last day at the FRH was the morning of 15th April. The park timings changed and we were able to go in at 5:45AM. This window of additional 15 minutes brought us right into the forest when there is still movement of animals. We followed the fresh pugmarks of a male tiger along the fire track for some distance. The jeep, a minute or so in front of us saw him just in time as he disappeared into the boulder strewn ravine. We sat motionless for him to reappear further up but to no avail. After about 20 minutes we reversed the jeep and as luck would have it again missed a tigress with a half-grown cub, as it crossed the fire track a minute or so ahead of us, we only saw the bushes moving and a sambhar calling in the thicket on our right front! Our luck was totally out that morning for we missed another tiger by a whisker, as he disappeared into a water channel, where a langur monkey saw him and called hysterically, on the far side!!!
The pursuit shall recommence next year around the Easter, when my wife and kids have a few days holiday!!
Happy Hunting Ladies & Gentlemen!
It is now time to introduce our grown up kids to the excitement of the chase! The bookings open on- line in the first week of every month. I got late in logging on and found only a few rooms left at the Bijrani FRH. It would be our first time at this FRH but we were not disappointed. The roads have become very good and doing 270mi / 8 hours wasn’t a big deal. (It is much closer to Delhi – about 5 hrs).
Our first night was at the Jim’s Jungle Lodge at Dhela village which lies in the buffer zone of the Corbett. The road is picturesque passing as it does through the farmlands and scrub jungle before entering the Sal forests. The luxury lodge is located on the banks of a large dry seasonal watercourse strewn with rocks and boulders, truly a tiger country. It was the 12th of April and a few rills were still running with small fishes darting here and there amongst the rocks. We were met by Govind Singh who promptly gave us a cold drink & a check-in. The family Jungle cottage we had paid for has two rooms, one with king and the other with twin-beds, tea coffee maker, cookies and two ensuite washrooms. Evening High-tea, where delicious sandwiches can be ordered, was at about 5:00PM. They have a delightful café but for those of us who love outdoors, the terraces are overlooking the dense forests where a lot of colouful birds can be seen flitting about. Dinners are served – fixed menu – in the equally delightful open-sided restaurant, though one can have it besides the swimming pool or in the small glade nearby. The meals were delicious! There is also a well-stocked Bar. The cost which includes all meals is approx. USD 225 for a Dbl Jungle cottage & USD 375 for a family cottage.
Once the entry permits are in your bag, one needs to book a 4-wd jeep on the same website of the forest department. You than need to talk to the owner of the jeep to give him your location for pick up & drop. Mohinder Bisht arrived duly at 11:00AM the next morning to drive us into the Corbett National Park, which lies about an hours drive from the lodge. At the entry point, one needs to fill a form and show the permits along with photo IDs to gain entry. Alcohol is strictly forbidden inside and so is non-vegetarian dishes, except eggs. The FRH built in the year 1928 for the British forest officer, has about 6 rooms in all, a separate dining hall and a canteen, where fixed-menu fair is served. It is like home cooked food…simple, but adequate. We had taken our own blankets, bed linen, towels and toiletries.
It was now time to go into the jungle for the afternoon safari, at 2PM. We were the first to go in and were rewarded by game sightings on the waterholes as it was quite warm. There were spotted deer, barking deer, a family of elephants with two young calves and the nervous mother ever on alert keeping a sharp lookout all around, keeping the youngsters very close. Her behaviour looked a bit strange to my accustomed eyes. The reason was not far to seek, for in the soft sand further up the fire track, we saw fresh pugmarks of a big male tiger. Quite possibly, he had moved off after quenching his thirst at the waterhole, before the arrival of the elephants. Apart from the alarm calls we did not see the tiger. We moved on to check the road to Malani FRH, as it lies very remote & deep inside the forest. We spotted a covey of Kaleej pheasants and the red jungle fowls feeding besides the road. There were sambhars, wild boars, langur monkeys and birds of all descriptions! At 6PM one needs to be back in the FRH. As it was still not dark, we sat out in the open ground in front of the FRH armed with binoculars to watch eagles perched up the giant Haldu trees and deer which come feeding very close to where we were sitting, at twilight hour. Pankaj our room attendant brought tea and vegetable sandwiches to munch after our exertion inside the forest. After dinners that night we went to bed listening to the alarm calls of spotted deer and sambhars not very far from the FRH. Listening to the jungle calls when staying in these FRHs is one of the most exciting experiences for you can virtually trace the movement of the carnivora!
The morning safari begins at 6AM. Nothing very spectacular happened that morning. The afternoon too was spent looking for the tiger.
Our last day at the FRH was the morning of 15th April. The park timings changed and we were able to go in at 5:45AM. This window of additional 15 minutes brought us right into the forest when there is still movement of animals. We followed the fresh pugmarks of a male tiger along the fire track for some distance. The jeep, a minute or so in front of us saw him just in time as he disappeared into the boulder strewn ravine. We sat motionless for him to reappear further up but to no avail. After about 20 minutes we reversed the jeep and as luck would have it again missed a tigress with a half-grown cub, as it crossed the fire track a minute or so ahead of us, we only saw the bushes moving and a sambhar calling in the thicket on our right front! Our luck was totally out that morning for we missed another tiger by a whisker, as he disappeared into a water channel, where a langur monkey saw him and called hysterically, on the far side!!!
The pursuit shall recommence next year around the Easter, when my wife and kids have a few days holiday!!
Happy Hunting Ladies & Gentlemen!
Jul 5th, 2023 | 09:17 PM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 741
Likes: 0
There are a few things to keep in mind while booking this incredible destination...one of the best in India, teeming with game & bird life of all descriptions.
a. The Park remains open from 15 November to 15 June.
b. The Online bookings for foreign traveller open about 60 Days before actual date of arrival. You will need to book the moment it opens for the pressure is unbelievable!
c. You can not book for more than 2 nights, may be it is a maximum of 3 (please check it on the Corbett NP website).
d. The entry is allowed up till 2:30PM and varies in summers & winters.
e. So in order to reach there in time, it is best to spend a night in close proximity of the park. The Jim's Jungle Retreat is one such property, more on the lines of an African camp.
f. Dhikala & Sarpdulli FRH fall in the core areas and are in close proximity of the grasslands, where most of the action takes place.
g. The best time to visit is February till middle of April. Thereafter, it gets warm & uncomfortable inside. There used to be no electricity but I am now told it is there in Dhikala.
Hope it helps!
a. The Park remains open from 15 November to 15 June.
b. The Online bookings for foreign traveller open about 60 Days before actual date of arrival. You will need to book the moment it opens for the pressure is unbelievable!
c. You can not book for more than 2 nights, may be it is a maximum of 3 (please check it on the Corbett NP website).
d. The entry is allowed up till 2:30PM and varies in summers & winters.
e. So in order to reach there in time, it is best to spend a night in close proximity of the park. The Jim's Jungle Retreat is one such property, more on the lines of an African camp.
f. Dhikala & Sarpdulli FRH fall in the core areas and are in close proximity of the grasslands, where most of the action takes place.
g. The best time to visit is February till middle of April. Thereafter, it gets warm & uncomfortable inside. There used to be no electricity but I am now told it is there in Dhikala.
Hope it helps!
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