Park guide · 02
Corbett, on one page
India's first national park, made in 1936. Tigers, yes, but also wild elephant herds, a river full of life, and grasslands that look like Africa got lost in Uttarakhand. And the name on the gate belongs to the man who shot Champawat and then spent the rest of his life protecting tigers.
भारत का सबसे पुराना नेशनल पार्क, एक पन्ने में। ज़ोन, महीने, और वह सब जो इसे अलग बनाता है।
Dhikala · ढिकाला
The crown of Corbett. Open grasslands, the reservoir, elephant herds. Day visitors enter by canter, the open bus. To take a jeep in, you stay INSIDE the park at a forest rest house, and that night is one of Indian wildlife's great experiences.
Bijrani · बिजरानी
The classic jeep-safari zone, close to Ramnagar. Sal forest, streams, strong tiger ground. If you have one morning and no inside stay, it is usually this.
Jhirna & Dhela · झिरना और ढेला
The southern zones, and the park's year-round door: they stay open through the monsoon, weather permitting, when everything else is shut.
Durga Devi · दुर्गा देवी
The hill zone in the north-east. Fewer tigers on show, superb birding, and the Ramganga's mahseer water. For the second or third visit, or for birders, the first.
When to go
The year, month by month
Corbett opens in stages, zone by zone, so the honest bar looks like this. Dhikala, the crown, runs roughly mid-November to mid-June. Exact dates move with the weather; the permit carries the real ones.
Jan
open
Feb
open
Mar
best
Apr
best
May
best
Jun
closing
Jul
south only
Aug
south only
Sep
south only
Oct
opening
Nov
open
Dec
open
March to June. The dry heat pulls everything to the Ramganga. Best tiger odds, and the elephant herds are out on the grasslands.
November to February. Dhikala open, cold clear mornings, unbeatable light. Himalayan birds come down for the winter.
July to September. Monsoon. Rivers rise, most zones shut. Jhirna and Dhela usually stay open, weather permitting.
ढिकाला नवंबर से जून। गर्मी में सबसे अच्छे चांस, सर्दी में सबसे अच्छी रोशनी। बरसात में झिरना-ढेला ही खुले।
What is different here
Corbett's own words
The basics — zones, permits, alarm calls, pugmarks — are all explained in the Bandhavgarh guide. These four are Corbett's own:
Chaur · चौड़
The open grasslands. Dhikala chaur is the famous one: kilometres of grass with deer herds, elephants, and every so often a tiger walking in the open. Central India rarely gives you this sight line.
Canter · कैंटर
The open safari bus, and the only way for a day visitor to see Dhikala. Less private than a jeep, but it goes where the jeeps of day visitors cannot.
FRH · फ़ॉरेस्ट रेस्ट हाउस
Forest rest houses INSIDE the park. Book one and you sleep surrounded by the jungle, with dawn starting at your doorstep instead of at a gate queue. Dhikala FRH is the most wanted wildlife stay in India. Plan months ahead.
Ramganga · रामगंगा
The river that makes the park. It feeds the reservoir, fills the chaur with life, holds mugger, gharial and the great mahseer fish. Corbett without the Ramganga is just hills.
One honest warning. Corbett's tigers are harder to see than Bandhavgarh's. The forest is taller, the ground more broken, the grass higher. You trade sighting odds for wilderness. Many people think the trade is worth it. Tell us what matters more to you and we will point you at the right park.
The name on the gate
This park exists because of a tigress
In 1907, a young Jim Corbett shot the Champawat tigress, the deadliest man-eater ever recorded. What he found in her broken jaw changed him, and the hunter became the hills' most stubborn protector of tigers. In 1936 he helped create this park. Read her story before you visit, and the name on the gate stops being just a name.
Dhikala stay or Bijrani morning?
That is the real Corbett question, and it depends on your dates and how far ahead you are planning. Tell Jai what you have in mind and get a straight answer.
तारीख़ें बता दीजिए। ढिकाला मिल सकता है या बिजरानी बेहतर रहेगा, साफ़ जवाब मिलेगा।
Next guide · अगला पार्क
Tadoba, on one page