Corbett National Park- an adventure in itself !

This was our 2nd visit o the Corbett national Park. It was a hassle free planned tour this time and we had an advance booking for stay in the Dhikala forest guesthouse too. We reached Ramnagar at 05:00 a.m. in the morning and reached the booking office to get the permit which was then closed..obviously. But the gypsy owners were waiting outside and were on lookout for customers. When they came to know that our stay was for 3 days, all of them were eager to take us as it would fetch them a good money in a single trip...after negotiations, we decided for Jalees bhai's gypsy which was in decent condition and soundless one. Since this was a forest adventure trip, hence to watch animals in their natural habitat, no disturbance should be made and there should be silence as much as possible. Hence we made it a point to hire a gypsy which would produce as little sound as possible.

The jungle way

At around 08:00 a.m., we got the permit and headed for the Dhikala gate, the road from the gate till the forest guesthouse is amazing....long tracks with forest trees all around and the Ramganga river flowing alongside....really wonderful!! Corbett forest reserve is very rich in terms of the bird species found-Pied Kingfisher, Riverchat, Great Tit, to name a few. While we were enjoying this scenic beauty, we decided to take the route to the forest guesthouse via the 'Crocodile Point'. The river at that point transitions into a beautiful turquoise color with green forest in the background giving a perfect contrast for photography. Just as we were photographing the nature at its best, we saw something moving at the edge of the river...binoculars made it clear that it was a tiger having an afternoon bath! Without wasting any time, we took some very beautiful pictures of 'his majesty'...and soon we saw something which was an unforgettable experience...the tiger started swimming across the river...that too so swiftly! How could we forget to capture this in our camera...

Tiger crossing the river

We were more than happy to see this and thought the visit has been successful as we saw tiger on the very first safari. So we decided this time we would concentrate more on the other kind of animals, birds, natural landscape etc. But our luck went in a different way.

We reached the guest house at around 02:00 p.m., took some refreshments and then started off for the evening safari, captured some wonderful photographs of the landscape and finally when we reached the 'Bhimsingh Rapta', we saw few gypsies searching something in the bushes. There was a tigress resting in the bushes...! At times she would turn around giving the impression that she would get up, but eventually did not...:(.. I tried a lot to get the glimpse of her....but unfortunately could see only her paws..:(. To add to my glum, huge number of gypsies immediately gathered to have a glimpse of the animal which now made it impossible for a better view. One thing I would like to mention here is, while watching the wild, we human beings should in no way cause any hindrance to their natural chores.The most disturbing one being the whispers(which is actually something more than that) which automatically comes in whenever we get excited. Anyways, these 'whispers' made the tigress reluctant to come out of her hide and in distress some gypsies left to proceed further. After sometime when the vehicles had left, the tigress stood up and and was in a mood to move towards the road on which we were waiting... there were 4 gypsies at that time and we all had positioned our vehicles in a such a way that when the tigress came out she had 2 to her left and 2 o her right...Hurrah...!! What a picturesque view!! Pin drop silence everywhere, nobody taking , only the cameras clicked, and then came the moment when this giant animal was face to face with us, we were hardly 20 meters away from her...she looked once at us, then at the other side and very calmly crossed the road without bothering for our presence, after all, it was her area!! What a magnificent moment! A scene o remember for ever.

A close encounter

The whole day went wonderful throughout. We decided to sleep early so that we could go out for the early morning safari. Forgot to mention, the guesthouse provides very delicious food, and the staff is very friendly too. This made our stay more comfortable. Next morning we woke up at 5:30 a.m. and were ready for another adventure safari . The gate opened at 6:30 a.m. and our gypsy roared through the grasslands to reach the 'Sambhar Road'. We were lucky this time too...;). There was this tigress walking right in front of us on the road, we followed her for 10 minutes...and then she vanished into the bushes.It was very early in the morning, and probably the tigress as moving inside the deeper areas of the jungle to save herself from the summer heat, which would in a short while cover the whole forest. We moved forward and saw some very beautiful birds, some of them were rarest of the species. The Corbett landscape is at its best in the morning, so if you plan to take some very nice pictures, don't miss the early morning safari. By 10:00 a.m. we were back in the guesthouse for breakfast, looked around the library which has a good collection of books on animals and forest adventures, rested for a while and finally after freshening up, got ready for the evening safari. This time we could not see any tiger but enjoyed watching wild elephants in the grasslands. the reservoir and the grasslands blend so beautifully that you cannot stop yourself from taking some really wonderful snaps!

Tusker in grassland area

Next day was our last day of the trip. We had booked for the morning elephant safari. This is a great experience in itself, as elephants take you deep inside the jungle, cross the river , take you close to the areas which are otherwise unreachable...and what not! Just as when we were returning towards the guesthouse from the elephant safari, to our surprise, the elephants stopped near the canal behind the guest house. And then we saw the reason...A huge male tiger was sitting beside the canal with its kill kept beside. It had killed a buffalo which had strolled inside the forest area from a neighboring village... We took some very closeup shots of this full grown male tiger.

This tiger was sitting behind our guesthouse

Finally it could be concluded that the elephant safari also provided something which was far beyond our expectation. Now it was time to return to the guesthouse, pack our stuffs and head for the railway station ....

The wonderful expedition ends here which has in turn built up a lot of enthusiasm for future forest adventure trips..:)

The Corbett landscape

Tips:

1. Always carry binoculars, they come very handy in forest adventure trips.

2. Try to maintain silence as far as possible, this would in turn help you to enjoy better.

3. Time to visit is October- June. June month is open for current booking, no advance booking. Best months being- March- April, since the tigers are easily viewable in the open grasslands.

4. Open gypsies are the best, as you can have overall view and enjoy the trails to the fullest. Each gypsy ride costs around INR 1200 , which might vary according to the seasonal rush.

5. If you want to explore other areas- like Jhirna, Bijrani, you need to have separate permits for them. For that you need to reach the Ramnagar office well in advance as people queue up since early morning- as early as 6:30 a.m. Else your resort or tour operator can also do the arrangement.

6. Staying in Corbett is not at all a problem as there are very good resorts. All of them are outside the forest gates. Hence for true experience try to book for forest guesthouse in advance. For Dhikala you need to have a night stay if you need to go for a gypsy safari.
Otherwise you can opt for the cantor rides which are operated by the forest department. Again you need to fill up form for that at the Ramnagar office for the permission.


How to reach:

From Delhi, there is a train connecting Ramnagar Railway station(Ranikhet Express).

Otherwise you can hire cabs from Delhi itself and head for Corbett National Park. Its an overnight journey.