John Harvey Photo

Corbett NP

Go to Slide Show Smaller Images A park in Northern India


Jim Corbett National Park is in the state of Uttaranchal, well North of Delhi.  My train ride there left Delhi at 11pm and we got into Ramnagar (the closest town) at about 7am.  (This was pretty much my only on time train ride in my whole trip to India).   I had arranged my stay in Corbett ahead of time so I was quite thankful to see a gentleman with a sign with my name when I got into the station.
 
Sunrise On The Road
From the train station we drove up the road to pick up our guide and then perhaps 20 minutes to the gate of the park.  There was some paperwork (I had to fill in the usual passport stuff for the accomodations) and we were back on the road.  This park is quite large and we drove for what seemed like an hour before we got to the central camp. 

Deer In Grass At SunriseBridge At Sunset
I had lunch (in the canteen instead of the buffet style tourist restaurant - my bad!) and after lunch we hung out in a tower overlooking the river.  Turns out (and I didn't understand this immediatly) that you can only be outside of camp durring two periods - morning just after sunrise and later afternoon until just before sunset.  As sunset approached we went on Safari.

Spotted Deer In The GrassSpotted Dear In SunsetPlanes With Sunset Light


Juvenile Male Asian Elephant
Most of Corbett National Park is forest covered hills.  There is a large plain near Dhikala that makes an excelent place to spot wildlife.  In December this plain is covered in grass and in most places the grass is so high that a tiger could be three feet from you and you wouldn't know it.  This tall grass is probably quite spooky for the small game (deer and the like) but for elephants it's an easy food supply.  I didn't know it at the time, but December is actually a bad time to see Elephants in Corbett - at that time of the year they are more often found in the forests towards Nepal.  That said, when we first went out onto the planes, there was a large herd of elephants grazing.  It was magic.



Juvinile Male Beating GrassMale In Front Of HerdMales Mock Fighting


Herd Of ElephantsElephants With Burned Trees Behind

Turns out this was the only day we saw elephants - one safari in seven.

Baby Monkey Feeding
Camp at Dhikala has it's own wildlife.  There is a large troup of Macaque's that live in the trees around the compound and are always looking to steal hand outs.  They are small but they can look quite threatening when they feel threatened.
 
Family Grooming Time


One of the attractions of Jim Corbett National Park over other parks are their Elephant safari's.  For roughly 500 rupees (about $12CDN) you ride on the elephants for several hours looking for tigers in the grass where the jeeps can't go.  There is often a waiting list to get on the elephants and sometimes your guide can make that your progress through the the list faster or slow.

Safari At SunriseElephant Walking Next To WaterSafari In Fog
 
The ride on the Elephant is something else - they are slow but steady - going down the steap banks to the river I thought we were going to topple but the elephant had no problem.  When the elephants aren't on safari they are working.  As far as I can tell they are mostly gathering food for the elephants, but they were out when we weren't allowed to be.

 
Forest RoadElephant Hauling Food
 
Brown Fish Owl
Corbett is known for the big wildlife, but like most reserves in India, the bird life can be quite spectacular.  My guide was a birding specialist (a 12 year old could be an expert on the mammals here - just hang out for a week) and I think my guide realized pretty quickly that I wasn't a birder - Unless the bird filled my rather meager 200mm, I generally wasn't too interested.

Two Vultures Circling

Big birds are generally the carnivors.  Where this park really shines are the grass birds (tiny birds) but I didn't have the means to put them on a memory card.

Kite On A StickKing Fisher In TreeLesser Fish Eagle

 
Having had such a great tiger viewing in the Ranthambore, I really didn't need to see tigers in Corbett.  Near the end of my time I got lucky.  As we drove one of the back roads, the guide spotted a tiger in the underbrush beside the road.  The sun hadn't yet risen so getting a photo was difficult to say the least.  The tiger got up, crossed the road and disappeared into the thich brush.  I figured that was it.  The guide tried some calling and two year olds emerged - we had seen Mom a few moments earlier.  The year olds weren't hunting so they hung out for a while.
 
Tiger In The Early MorningTwo CubsTiger Next To Road

On the long drive out I had one last bit of luck. 

Jackal Looking At Us
This rather large Jackle met us on the road.  My guide believe she was traveling from one grassy area to another and the road, while not particularly safe from humans, was safe from tigers.  This animal decided it was safer to walk within a foot of our stopped jeep rather than give us a wider birth in the jungle.  You get the sense the tiger population here is still very much alive.

Jackal Walking By
 
I had a great time at Corbett National Park.  It's not a fast and pushy as Ranthambore and you get the feeling it's more sustainable - a good thing.



Kite On A Stick
Species: Elanus caeruleus (Black-shouldered Kite)
Altitude: 325m (1066 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, India, safari
Deer In Grass At Sunrise
Tags: atmospheric perspective, safari, sunrise
Sunrise On The Road
Tags: road, safari, sunrise
Planes With Sunset Light
Tags: atmospheric perspective, sunset
Juvinile Male Beating Grass
Altitude: 335m (1099 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: grass, India, safari
Males Mock Fighting
Species: Elephas maximus (Asian elephant)
Altitude: 333m (1092 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: India, safari
Lesser Fish Eagle
Species: Ichthyophaga humilis (Lesser Fish Eagle)
Tags: bird, India
Bridge At Sunset
Altitude: 353m (1158 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bridge, sunset
Spotted Deer In The Grass
Species: Axis axis (axis deer, chital, spotted deer)
Tags: India, safari
Spotted Dear In Sunset
Tags: atmospheric perspective, India, safari, sunset
Brown Fish Owl
Species: Ketupa zeylonensis (Brown Fish Owl)
Tags: bird, India
Juvenile Male Asian Elephant
Species: Elephas maximus (Asian elephant)
Altitude: 333m (1092 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: India, safari
Herd Of Elephants
Species: Elephas maximus (Asian elephant)
Altitude: 333m (1092 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: India, safari
Two Vultures Circling
Species: Sarcogyps calvus (Red-headed Vulture, Asian King Vulture)
Tags: bird, bird in flight, India
Elephants With Burned Trees Behind
Tags: burned, forest, India, safari
Tiger In The Early Morning
Species: Panthera tigris (tiger)
Tags: India, motion blur, safari
Safari At Sunrise
Tags: India, safari, sunrise
Safari In Fog
Tags: fog, India, safari
Male In Front Of Herd
Species: Elephas maximus (Asian elephant)
Altitude: 336m (1102 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: India, safari
Elephant Hauling Food
Forest Road
Tags: India, road
Tiger Next To Road
Species: Panthera tigris (tiger)
Tags: India, road, safari
Two Cubs
Species: Panthera tigris (tiger)
Tags: India, safari
Baby Monkey Feeding
Species: Macaca mulatta (rhesus macaque)
Tags: baby, India, safari
Jackal Walking By
Species: Canis aureus (golden jackal)
Tags: India, safari
Elephant Walking Next To Water
Tags: fog, India, river, safari, sunrise
Jackal Looking At Us
Species: Canis aureus (golden jackal)
Tags: India, road, safari
Family Grooming Time
Species: Macaca mulatta (rhesus macaque)
Tags: India, safari
King Fisher In Tree
Species: Megaceryle lugubris (Crested Kingfisher)
Tags: bird, India, safari
Tags: India(24), safari(22), bird(5), sunrise(4), road(4), sunset(3)
From: John Harvey Photo > India > Corbett NP
From: John Harvey Photo > Trips out of the Country > India > Corbett NP

I like these pics, too good :) I am planing for a visit to jim corbett, is 2 day stay enough ? and is it open in oct ? where can I book rooms for overnight stay in park?
Manish
Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 00:51:47

Lovely photographs that gave a real sense of the area. I have a cousin who bides his time in India quite often (the other half in England); Mangalore, I believe. He seems to love the country and its people. Anyway, good job on the pictures.
S. Patterson-Wallace
Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 13:01:54

Sir I find these photographs very nice and taken with full involvement. Congratulation. You were lucky to observe all these animals. I had also visited Jim Corbett number of times and every time I felt to come once again and I am following this urge every year.
Surendra Pandey
Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 22:47:33

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