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Corbett - Dhikala Guest House

Dhikala Guest House is a government-run lodge in the centre of Corbett National Park. It is Corbett's main camp and run by the park staff. Built by the British it has seen better days, but it does offer comfortable (if basic) accommodation in 30 rooms divided between bungalows, cabins and huts. Rooms have en-suite facilities, but lack furnishings. There is a basic restaurant in the lodge complex which serves good hearty food. Although it is definitely not luxurious and quite basic the lodge is generally preferred by serious wildlife enthusiasts due to its location in the heart of the park, surrounded by forest and overlooking the Ramganga reservoir. Guests enjoy twice daily jungle safaris.

Corbett Dhikala Guest House Corbett Dhikala Guest House

Corbett Dhikala Guest House Corbett Dhikala Guest House

Corbett Dhikala Guest House Corbett Dhikala Guest House

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    Corbett was India's first national park and is notable not only for its rich and varied wildlife and birdlife but also for its scenic charm and magnificent sub-montane and riverine views. The park comprises the broad valley of Ramganga River backing onto the forest-covered slopes of the Himalayan foothills and was named after the legendary hunter and naturalist, Jim Corbett. Corbett's books about the hunting of man-eating Tigers and Leopards still provide an accurate and surprisingly sympathetic picture of the wildlife and peoples of this region. The park is home to Tiger, Leopard and 48 other species of mammals. Sadly, much of the impenetrable tract of forest that once covered all the foothills of the Great Himalaya has now gone, so Corbett is a very important place for the remaining wildlife of the southern Himalayan slopes.

    Corbett is a bird-watcher's paradise with over 620 species, and since the creation of the Kalagarh Dam on the Ramganga River, large numbers of waterfowl have been attracted here. By April the forests are alive with the calls of a wide variety of summering cuckoo species, including Indian, Himalayan, Small, Eurasian, and Red-Winged Crested Cuckoos. Just above the canopy of the Sal forest fly Crested Tree Swifts, White-Rumped Needletails, and Himalayan Swiftlets, whilst a wide range of raptors, parakeets, owls, orioles, drongos, thrushes, kingfishers, bee-eaters, hornbills, barbets, woodpeckers, babblers, flycatchers, warblers and many, many more form a most impressive bird-list. The National Bird of India, the Peacock, is also here of course. Many birds are migratory and the park's unique location forms a natural crossroad and meeting ground for avian species from high altitude areas, plains and eastern and western regions. Even the fringes of the park are eminently rewarding for days of fascinated birdwatching.

    Wildlife viewing in Corbett is by open-topped jeep and Elephant back. Overnight Elephant safaris are offered in this park, but you should be prepared for very basic accommodation. On all occasions you will be accompanied by both a driver/mahout and guide, assigned by the National Park authorities. Corbett is reached via a long drive from Delhi of about six hours, and there are also a couple of overnight train options.