Very few ecosystems in the world can rival the sheer beauty of Corbett National Park. An expansive swathe of land that is nestled into the foothills of the Himalayas, Corbett is simply stunning. With the mountains as its backdrop and the swift flowing tributaries of the Ram Ganga river flowing through it, Corbett’s landscape and legend lends itself to the wildlife lover’s imagination.

Thick copses of Sal form the heart of a moist deciduous forest of Peepul, Mango, Haldu and Rohini trees. Corbett is sandwiched between the Lesser Himalayas at one end and the Shivalik range at the other end. It encompasses a vast terrain of hills, marsh, grassland, riverbeds and a lake and forms a part of the Himalayan sub-tropical eco-zone. It is the oldest national park in India, and is named after Jim Corbett, who was ironically a big game hunter turned ardent conservationist, who spent several years in the area and came to call it his own. Corbett’s biodiversity is immense. This park is that natural habitat to herds of elephant, tigers, the Asiatic Black Bear, Leopards, and several other species of birds and animals.

While many national parks claim to have the high Tiger density, it is actually Corbett which has the highest Tiger density in the country. Along with Kanha and Nandhaur it is considered one of the safest havens for the tiger. Conservationists estimated that if tigers lose their stronghold and their numbers start to dwindle, Corbett would be among the last parks to lose them all.

Corbett has close to 550 species of birds, and is one of the few parks that offers accommodation inside the national park. The forest rest houses, some of which are over a hundred years old, are located in the heart of the forest. These rest houses were made by the Britishers during the Raj era. Staying in these rest houses is a sheer delight. Dhikala, Sarpadulli, Khinnanauli, Gairal, Sultan, Malani, Rathuadhab, Halduparao, Kanda are some of the FRH’s inside the forest.

If you are into photography then this is one park where you will not sit idle for a second. There is always something wonderful to shoot wherever you look. Be it the landscape, the river, the birds, elephant bathing in the river, the dust bath. This is one park where even if you do not see a Tiger you will not be disappointed a bit.

• A large portion of the lands that constitute Corbett were once a part of the kingdom of Tehri-Gahrwal.
• A regional tribe, known as the Boksas, settled here to cultivate the land.
• The Raja of Tehri gave a portion of his kingdom to the British in return for protection from the Gorkhas. When the British took possessions they evicted the Boksas from the land.
• In the mid-1800s, the region was demarcated as a protected area but it wasn’t well into the 1930s, that it became a national park. The person who was largely instrumental in institutionalizing the game reserve was Jim Corbett, a former shikari big-game hunter – particularly well known for his prowess in bringing down big cats – who turned into an ardent conservationist and lobbied hard for the region’s flora and fauna to be protected from hunting and logging.

Corbett was the first national park to be set up in India. It was also the first park to launch the Project Tiger wildlife conservation program and is one of the thirteen parks that make up the World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s Terai Arc Landscape program. Corbett is critical for the survival of three of the Indian subcontinent’s big game species, which includes the tiger, the Asiatic Black Bear and the Asian Elephant.

The weather in Corbett is temperate. Winters are very chilly, especially the early mornings and late evenings, when a heavy fog and abundant dew cover the greenery.Entry from Durga Devi gate in the winter months where the sun does not hit the ground in many areas is an experience that you will remember for a long time!

One definitely needs a warm jacket, even as late as March. The summers here are warm, and can go up to around 40-45 degrees centigrade (approximately 115 degrees Fahrenheit).But even in Summers the morning and evenings are very pleasant.