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The Corbett National Park and Tiger Reserve is situated in the low foothills of the Himalayan Mountains in the state of Uttaranchal. While only about 260 km (163 miles) it takes about 8 to 9 hours by car to reach the area, due to the poor state of some of the roads. We travelled with our friends William and Caryn, their children and William's parents Zoe and Raymond. Over the weekend we stayed at the Corbett Riverside Resort that sat alongside the Kosi River and took a jeep safaris within the reserve.
The park is named after Jim Corbett (1875-1955) who was born in the nearby hill station of Naintal. Growing up in the area he developed a strong interest in wildlife and the local jungles. He learnt to hunt young shooting his first leopard at the age of 8, but later in life became a conservationist. He continued to hunt man eating tigers and killed one tigress reputed to have killed over 400 people. While he was involved in the development of the reserve as a National Park when it opened in 1936, the park was only named after him in 1956 as a tribute to his conservation effort. Corbett left India after Independence starting a new life in Kenya and was hosting Princess Elizabeth at Treetops when King George VI died in 1952. He also wrote many books about his experiences with tigers and the region.
The park covers over 1300 sq km (500 sq miles) and include the Ramganga river and reservoir. The terrain changes from savannah grassland to hilly ridges and deciduous forest. The wildlife within the park includes tigers, leopards, deer, crocodiles, elephants and nearly 600 species of birds. We were not fortunate enough to see all of these but the safaris we took was still a fascinating experience.