North
India Travel Guide
Corbett Tourism
The Corbett National Park
is a primal jungle as Rudyard Kipling put it. Despite extensive tourism, the park
has managed to retain its primeval ambience, where man must walk timorously, in
awe and with a strong sense of his own insignificance.
The Park is named
after the famous hunter and naturalist, Jim Corbett, who popularised this land
and its animals in his book "The Man-Eaters of Kumaon". Corbett recounts
many fascinating tales of hunting down man-eating tigers. Always a nature lover,
he helped set up a sanctuary called Hailey Park in 1936.
Eventually, an
all India initiative for the protection of the Tiger was launched from here. The
park has a high density of tiger population. The park spans almost 920 square
kms, at an altitude of 600 to 1100 metres in the foothills of the western Himalayas,
in the state of Uttaranchal (formerly part of Uttar Pradesh). In its eventful
64-year life, it has grown considerably in size and now includes the Sonanadi
Wildlife Sanctuary as a part of its 1,319 sq km of reserved forest area.
Places
of Interest
Flora & Fauna
Corbett National Park is rich
in vegetation, with different kinds of trees and shrubs. The lower reaches of
the Park, where the land is flat compared to the upper reaches, consists of tall
and slender sal (Shorea robusta) trees. Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo) and khair (Acacia
katechu) trees are found in the middle reaches, while the upper reaches of the
mountains are full of bakli (Anogeissus latifolia), chir (Pinus roxburghii), gurail
(Bauhinia racemosa) and bamboo trees.
The Park is dotted with lantana
shrubs, a species that is a great cause for concern. Imported years ago from America,
the lantana shrub ensures that nothing else grows near it. In the Park are 110
species of trees, 51 species of shrubs, and over 33 species of bamboo and grass
that are mostly found in chowds, or meadows.
How
to Reach Corbett National ParkReaching ThereRamnagar
is the town closest to Corbett National Park, which is famous as a sanctuary for
Indian Wildlife. Ramnagar is well connected via road to Lucknow, Nainital, Ranikhet,
Haridwar, Dehradun and New Delhi.
Important Road Distances Delhi
- 260 kms
Lucknow - 145 kms
Nanital - 105 kms
Ranikhet - 112 kms
By
AirThe closest domestic airport to Corbett National Park is 50 kms away
from Corbett National Park at Phoolbagh, Pantnagar. At 295 Km from Corbett National
Park, the nearest International Airport is at Delhi.
By RailThe
closest railway station to Corbett National Park is Ramnagar, which is 12 km from
the Park. The Ranikhet Express plies between Delhi and Ramnagar, departing from
Delhi at 10.50 pm and arriving at 4.35 am the next day. The train from here for
Delhi begins at 9.05 pm, reaching Delhi at 5 am the next day.
By road:Most
people prefer to drive down to Corbett National Park. It takes approximately six
hours from Delhi to cover the 295-km stretch. The route takes you through Gajraula,
Moradabad, Kashipur and Ramnagar.
Indian Holiday offers Indian Wildlife
Tours to Corbett National Park. To book a tour, or for more information, please
enter your query in the form below.
