Corbett National Park is part of Corbett tiger reserve in Uttarakhand state of Northern India. This tiger reserve is spread over an area of 1288.31 sq. kms which comprises Corbett National Park, Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary and Buffer area. Area of Corbett national park is 520.82 sq.kms. It is a famous tiger reserve among tourists, due to high tiger population and large number of bird species in this forest area. Due to closeness from Delhi, it is best suitable for tourists to visit this famous wildlife tourism destination and enjoy its jungle safari drives with easily available elephant rides. It is its natural beauty and rich wildlife treasure that attracted the attention of that time government and thus in year 1936, this forest area was recognized as an first National Park to be established in Asia thus it is also called the oldest national park of Asia. At that time, it was named as "Hailey National Park" which was later renamed as "Corbett National Park". It is located on Shivalik Himalayas and terai region due to which here we will find more wetlands, mountainous regions, gentle slopes, grasslands and thick green vegetation. This region is very much suitable for elephants, tigers, birds thus here we can see around 550 bird species which is richest in any tiger reserve area.
If we go by the history of Jim Corbett National Park, we will first find that this forest area was part of Kingdom of Tehri Garhwal which is now a days called Tehri Garhwal district. Rulers of Tehri Garhwal have threat from Gorkha Kingdom (Western Nepal) and Rohillas (Saharanpur ruler) thus they took help from East India Company to control them and in turn gave some of the area to them. Here Boksas tribe people settled down and started agriculture. They were evicted from this area, by British India government in 1860. It year 1868, this area came under British Forest Department thus it became prohibited area for local people. In year 1900, British India government planned to setup national park. Thus in year 1930, area was demarcated and named Hailey National Park in honor of Sir Malcolm Haile, Governer of United Province. Hunting was prohibited since that time. After independence, it was renamed as Ramganga National Park in year 1954-55. But sooner, in order to recognize the work or Sir Jim Corbett, in year 1955-56, it was again renamed as Corbett National Park
Corbett national park attracts large number of tourists from all over the world due to its sheer beauty. Due to closeness from Delhi, it is very convenient for wildlife lovers to reach this magnificent forest land in half-day road or train journey. In order to accommodate such large number of visitors, park management has divided it into safari zones which means during one safari we can visit to one safari zone only. Corbett national park has 06 eco-tourism zones or safari zones, listed below:
| Safari Zone | Entry Gate | Open Period | Closed Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dhikala | Dhangarhi | 15 Nov to 15 June | 16 June to 14 Nov |
| Bijrani | Amdanda | 15 Oct to 30 June | 01 July to 14 Oct |
| Jhirna | Dhela | Throughout the Year | On Poor Weather & Road condition |
| Sonanadi | Vatanvasa | 15 Oct to 15 June | 16 June to 14 Oct |
| Durgadevi | Durgadevi | 15 Oct to 15 June | 16 June to 14 Oct |
| Dhela | Dhela | Throughout the Year | On Poor Weather & Road condition |
Here in Corbett national park, jungle safaris are done by open jeeps, canter (open bus) and through elephant rides. You need to book jungle safari permits in advance to secure safari permit of your desired safari zone. Just like other national parks, we can do morning & evening safari drives for fixed duration. Those who are fond of trekking, may do walking safari on buffer zone. Core zone is restricted for walking safari. All sort of nature walks or trekking is done in company of trained naturalist or guide.
Here mammals population is healthy. Most popular Bengal Tiger population is good but due to thick vegetation, tiger sighting is challenging. Here commonly seen mammals are Spotted Deer, Sambar Deer, Hog Deer, Sloth Bear, Himalayan Black Bear, Langur, Rhesus Macaques, Leopard, Indian Grey Mongoose, Otters, Himalayan Goral , Jungle Cat, Asiatic Elephants, Himalayan Pangolin etc.
Corbett national park is very good for birding as here we can find 586 bird species, which includes resident and migratory birds. Here we can find some unique variety of birds. Due to hilly terrains and marshy lands, this topography is ideal for birds thus birding in Corbett is very good. Some of the regularly seen birds are Blue-winged Minia, Little Forktail, Spotted Forktail, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Long-tailed Broadbill, Long Billed Thrush, Brown Dipper, Common Green Magpie etc. Here Dhikala grassland, Ramganga lake are popular sites for birding. Apart from this, their are some distant sites also like Sitabani, Garjiya Temple, Powalgarh, Kosi Barrage, Haati Dangar, Mohaan, Kumariya etc. Some commonly seen birds are Crested Serpant Eagle, Himalayan Pied Kingfisher, Blacknaped Green Woodpecket, Lesser Golden Backed Woodpecket, Great Pied Hornbill, Indian Pied Hornbill, Hoopoe, Common Grey Hornbill, Great Hill Barbet, Red-wattled Lapwing, Blue-tailed bee eater, Rufous Turtle Dove, Emerald Dove, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Black-headed Oriole, Common Myna, Grey-headed Myna, Black Drongo. Here best time for birding is from September to March. During peak winter, fog may pose some challenge but in this time large number of migratory birds visit this area.
How to reach
Corbett national park lies in Uttarakhand state of North India.
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