Corbett National Park

India’s first national park 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 the 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 provide an accurate and surprisingly sympathetic picture of the wildlife and peoples of this region.

Sadly, much of the impenetrable tract of forest that once covered the foothills of the Great Himalaya has now gone, so Corbett is a very important refuge for the remaining wildlife of the southern Himalayan slopes. The park is home to tiger, leopard and 48 other species of mammals. 

Corbett is also a bird watcher’s paradise and the Kalagarh Dam on the Ramganga River attracts large numbers of waterfowl. By April the forests are alive with the calls of a variety of summering cuckoo, including Indian, Himalayan, small, Eurasian, and red-winged crested cuckoos. Crested tree swifts, white-rumped needletails, and Himalayan swiftlets fly just above the canopy of sal forest, while a wide range of raptors, parakeets, owls, orioles, drongos, thrushes, kingfishers, bee-eaters, hornbills, barbets, woodpeckers, babblers, flycatchers, warblers and many more make up an impressive bird-list. India’s national bird, the peacock, is also found here. Many birds are migratory, and the park’s location at a natural crossroads means it is a meeting ground for species from high altitude areas, plains and the eastern and western regions. Even the fringes of the park are eminently rewarding for birdwatchers.

Wildlife viewing in Corbett is from an open-top jeep. The park is a six-hour drive from Delhi, but there are a couple of options to travel by overnight train.

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