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Jim Corbett National Park, almost every person in the country has heard about this park or about the person it is named after. Located in Uttarakhand, this is the oldest national park in India which is spread over 1318.5 sq. km. It was established in India under British rule in 1936 and was known as 'Hailey National Park'. In 1956, it was renamed to 'Jim Corbett National Park' named after the famous hunter and naturalist ‘Jim Corbett’. You might know Jim Corbett from his stories of man-eater tigers and leopards of the Indian subcontinent. Later, India’s famous ‘Project Tiger’ was launched in this park in 1973 to conserve and increase the tiger population.
I had visited Jim Corbett National Park earlier during my college days as a field excursion. The park was mesmerizing then and it was mesmerizing now too. This trip is special as during this visit I gained two friends who enjoy forests as much as myself and with whom I hope to visit many more parks in the future and write about them for everyone to read.
We reached Delhi early in the morning and after picking up Harshad, we started our road trip to Ramnagar - the town nearest to the park. Being December, it was slightly cold in Delhi and it has been raining for two days in Delhi. From Delhi to Ramnagar is about a 6-hour drive. We had planned to reach Ramnagar by 12 PM and then head to the park with our safari guide. But we were delayed and the safari guide was waiting for us, calling us frequently asking us to make haste. As soon as we reached Ramnagar, we switched the car and got into his gypsy. We headed to the Dhikala zone of the park.
Dhikala is the core zone which is about 50 km deep inside the forest. It is a mountainous forest road to reach the Dhikala zone from the park entry point and it takes about an hour to reach. The scenery on our way was amazing with a clear blue sky above us and the river Ramganga flowing beside us on several occasions. There are forest guest houses inside the Dhikala zone where tourists can stay. We had arranged to stay inside the zone in one of the guest house rooms.
By the time we reached the guest house, the other gypsy had started the safari. The guest house was situated on the banks of the Ramganga river with tall grasslands surrounding it from the other three sides. We quickly put the bags in our room and ran back to our gypsy with our camera bags. We were exploring the area near our hotel itself when we noticed the people from the nearby canter getting excited. We quickly reached the spot but due to the tall grass, we couldn’t see anything. Within the next few seconds, a head of tigress (grass-wali) emerged from the grass. Slowly she came out of the grass and crossed the road. Now she was close to our gypsy and after walking a few steps from the road she stopped. We could see the back of her head and she was watching something intently at a distance. We could not see what she was watching but in that instant, she got in the hunting position and started walking very carefully. We understood that she was locked on to her prey and within the next minute we might encounter the hunt. As soon as she ran to catch her prey, around 30-40 langurs started running and climbing the trees at a distance. We could not see if she was successful in her hunt or not. We tried to locate her again from other routes but she hid in the grass. Our guide told us that she has 3 sub-adults with her who would soon separate from the mother.
We spent the next few hours exploring the zone. Towards evening, we headed to explore the banks of Ramganga and we reached the spot where a few gypsies were parked. Ahead, down towards a river, from a gap in the shrubs, we could see the head of another tigress looking back at us. As she climbed down towards the river we all lost her from the view. Our guide said that she might try to cross the river so we headed towards the banks from where we could see a small part of the banks where she got down. But we never got to see her again. But the spot we were waiting at was equally interesting. We could see the Gharial swimming in the river calmly. We decided to explore another area as well before ending our safari for the evening.
We reached another bank of the Ramganga river. This bank was semicircular where several gypsies could park at the edge and observe the flowing river and forest next to it. The dusk was approaching fast and the sunlight was fading. Pied Kingfisher was hunting in the middle of the river. It was a sight to see him hover mid-air and dive in for a catch. A flock of Indian Cormorants was flying over our heads up in the sky. That’s when one of the gypsies spotted a tiger crossing the river at a distance. We caught the glimpse of the tiger before it went inside the bushes and we were waiting for it to come out again. About 5 minutes passed while we waited for the tiger to emerge from the bushes again. That's when Harshad pointed us to a few heads popping up in the river. One by one on the other end of the banks more heads started popping up and a big family of around 9-10 otters started running on the rocky banks of the river on the other side. They disappeared into the small pool of water in between the rocks and at the same time, the tiger came out of the bushes. Our guide identified it as another older daughter of the grass-wali tigress we saw that afternoon. She slowly walked across the rocky shore and entered the forest just when the light was almost gone. After such incredible moments on the first safari, we headed back to our guesthouse.
We had forgotten that we didn't have lunch and till dinner, we all were buzzing with the incredible sightings of the safari. After dinner, we spent some time under the starry sky in the pleasant cold air. Coming from the bustling city of Mumbai, watching a night sky full of stars was a rare occasion. From the guesthouse, we could hear the alarm calls of deer in the distance and we knew that the tigress and other animals were nearby.
The next morning, when we started the safari it was cold in the air and we could feel it hitting our faces. The beauty of the landscape in the morning was outstanding. Perhaps a day before we had not looked at the landscapes of the Dhikala zone due to the rush to reach the guesthouse and later so many beautiful sightings happening all around. On the same road where we had seen grass-wali tigress a day before, we had a small glimpse of her again this morning. She quickly went into the grass and never came out. Near our guesthouse, 2-3 jackals were just waking up from their sleep. We decided to drive around as the sun was coming up and warming up the hilly Dhikala zone. The forest was also getting active along with the warmth of the sun. Birds were coming out to bask. A Crested Hawk Eagle was sitting on the top of the dried branch. Scarlet minivets too had taken up a dried tree for basking. A flock of Yellow-fronted Green Finch was feeding on seeds of Wild Tulsi herb.
Near the river, the fog was so dense that it seemed like a cloud. Or perhaps, it had become a cloud by now. Sitting near that river against the backdrop of the forest to watch this scenario was peaceful. Near our guesthouse, the rays of the sun falling to the ground from the gaps in the tree canopy were magnificent. That scene later became my mobile wallpaper and every time I open my phone, it takes me back to this memorable trip.
The afternoon safari was similar to that of the morning. Other than the chirping of the birds, the forest was silent. There were no signs of any large mammal movements. After exploring the zone for a while we headed towards the river. Two peacocks were perched on a nearby tree. We spent the afternoon watching them play on the tree. They would sit together for a while and hop onto the other branches calling the other one. Our guide was telling us stories of his experiences and sightings from the park. He spoke of a tigress ‘Ped-wali’ who would often climb the nearby tree branch and sleep on it. Towards the evening, while we were watching the peacocks and other birds, a head emerged from the bushes opposite to peacocks. No one had realized that there was a tiger nearby and it seemed she was sleeping. The Ped-wali tigress was looking straight toward us. It was almost time for the afternoon safari to end and the ped-wali tigress again put her head down in the bushes. We headed back to the guest house and we were discussing how the forest had hidden her from everyone who was present there. Near one of the curves of the road, I noticed a movement. Our jeep driver and guide had not noticed it and when we came close to the curve where I had spotted a movement, I noticed another tiger walking towards the river. I quickly instructed the driver to stop the car. For a moment, I thought it would be a Ped-wali female coming out from another side but instead got a good view of a shy male tiger.
After getting a few of these wonderful sightings in our first three safaris, the next morning we asked our guide to show us the different parts of the forest in the Dhikala zone and another biodiversity of the park which often gets ignored. They were happy to oblige and started showing us around. From beautiful grasslands with an open sky to a dense canopy where the light shines through small gaps, and a clear blue river cutting through the mountain and forest, this Dhikala zone of the park had everything. A place that every person should experience at least once in their lifetime. The guide told us stories of various scenarios they had experienced. They told us to visit again during summer because that’s when the elephants migrate to this forest and are often found near the river and tall grasses. They drove around to show us the Collared Falconet, the smallest bird of prey in this region. While driving we also got to see ‘Yellow-throated Martin’. We also went back to the river edge where we had first seen the Paar-wali tigress. The beauty of this place during daylight was stunning. The blue sky at the top, a green mountain in middle, a rocky white patch below it, and finally a clear blue river. While returning, a male sambar deer came out of the bushes and walked the road ahead of us. The male deer with his strong antlers looked majestic against the green and blue background.
When we got back to the guest house, from the viewing deck near the river we could see a Gharial swimming in the river. Near the fence of the guest house, domesticated elephants were feeding on grass and it was clear that they were alarmed. It was clear that probably the grass-wali tigress is nearby and elephants were able to see her. One of the other guides informed that the tigress had hunted a deer and is probably sitting in the grass feasting on her hunt. Although it was so close, we couldn’t go out as safari time had ended and it would reopen only after lunchtime in the afternoon.
When the safari reopened in the afternoon, the domesticated elephants were relaxed and were no longer showing any alarm signs of any nearby predator. We wondered if the tigress had fallen asleep and where could her cubs be. All jeeps spread out in the zone to look for any recent activity. We too headed near the river. We waited for a while but there wasn’t any activity in the forest. Our driver took us back to the guest house and took us near the watch tower. The watch tower was closed down but we waited in the shade. While we were discussing among ourselves, our driver heard something and started the jeep. As we came out of the shade of the tower and on the road, the grass-wali tigress had come out and was walking towards the guest house in front of us. Other jeeps had started gathering on the other end of the road near the guest house. On this end, it was only us with another jeep and no other way in or out. Within a minute, another head of the tiger came out of the bushes and started walking behind the grass-wali. This was a two-year-old cub of the tigress. We realized that the rest of the family would also be in nearby grass and slowly each one started coming out on the road. Now there were four tigers in front of us. While the grass-wali kept slowly walking towards the guest house, the cubs sat down on the road a little apart from each other. Everyone was super-excited to see four tigers at a time. While the grass-wali tigress kept walking towards the other end of the road, one of the cubs got up, walked towards us for a while and entered the bushes. Only two cubs were now still sitting on the road and watching us all. Meanwhile, the grass-wali tigress almost reached close to the jeeps on the other end and at the last moment turned and disappeared in the grass. As the other jeeps came close to these remaining two cubs, they too quickly got up and followed their mother in the grass. For the rest of the safari, everyone simply discussed this sighting of four tigers.
When we came to the guest house that evening, we assumed that we had seen it all. The end of this trip the next morning was glooming over our heads and we decided that tomorrow we should simply just drive around during the morning safari with packed bags and take this forest framed in our minds. Little did we know that the forest had a last surprise for us!
The next morning, we started the last safari of this trip. We explored a new route we haven’t been to before. At one of the T-junctions, we came across a lone jackal who was hurrying off to the other end of the road. When we came to the end of this route, it joined the grassy area where we had first seen the grass-wali. The other jeeps were waiting there. While we were asking them why they were waiting, one of the tourists spotted a leopard on a tree. The leopard was slowly climbing down from the tree. We had seen leopards before, but this was the first time we saw one on a tree. When he finally got down, he too disappeared in the grown grass. While other jeeps stayed where they were, we waited near the turn to see if the leopard would come back. That’s when we saw an unbelievable scene where a tiger was trying to climb another tree. Technically tigers can climb a tree but due to their weight, they cannot climb higher. This particular tiger was trying hard to climb it and reached almost the middle of the tree. Our guide identified her as another grown daughter of the grass-wali tigress. That’s when we noticed an orange-yellow color on top of the tree. When we looked closely through binoculars and camera, we realized that it was a leopard who was on top sitting with a tight grip on one of the end branches of that tree. The tigress was trying to climb the tree to get to the leopard. If it was the same leopard from earlier or another is still unclear but the scene is memorized to this day. The tigress finally gave up but she was now trying to figure out how to climb down from the tree. After a few efforts and jumping from one branch to another, she finally got down. We couldn’t see her due to the tall grass but knew that she was there as the leopard on top was still scared and wouldn’t move his grip from the branch he held on to. After about 30-40 mins or so he finally got up and looked around. He slowly started climbing down while looking around to see that the tigress is not around. In the end, he jumped from the tree to the ground and ran off. Although we didn’t get to see him we could hear him run in the grass. With this final memorable surprise, we headed back to Ramnagar saying our goodbye to the Jim Corbett National Park.
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