Jim Corbett National Park – where every life is respected
Jim Corbett National Park Trip

Jim Corbett National Park – where every life is respected

May 26, 2020 10:05:04 AM

Uttarakhand in India also called as “Dev Bhoomi” which means ‘The Land of God’ is famous for its temples, shrines, sacred places which show the presence and importance of God in this place. Places like Haridwar, Rishikesh, ...

Jim Corbett National Park is a forested wildlife sanctuary in northern India’s Uttarakhand state. This park was named after the British Officer Edward James Corbett. Fascinated by reading his history on Google on how he had protected and saved lives of people from dangerous man-eating tigers and leopards in the villages of Garhwal and Kumaon which is in Uttarakhand, I decided to visit the place and know more about it.

I boarded the Haridwar Express train from Mumbai which took an entire day to reach Haridwar. There are many buses that ply on the Haridwar-Corbett route and they are the most reliable and economical mode of transport. I hoped into one such bus; which took about 4 hours to reach Corbett. After reaching Corbett I checked into the hotel which was situated inside the national park. Most of the JimCorbett Holidays packages offer hotels located inside the park wherein tourists can enjoy the night stay and get the utmost experience of the dense raw forest.

Jim Corbett National Park spans over an area of 520 square kilometres. This entire area comprises of hills, marshy depressions, riverine belts, grasslands and large lake. It is among the few tiger reserves in India. Nature watch and wildlife viewing is done in an open four wheeler jeep and on elephant backs in the park. Apart from tigers, wild elephant, otters, deer’s, crocodiles; this place is also the home to more than 650 species of birds, both resident & migratory.

I woke up early the next morning at around 5:00 am; freshened up quickly as there was a jeep scheduled to pick me up at 6:00 am. It was an open jeep and the start to my first-ever Wild Life Safari. There are about five to six gates to enter the park; we got into the park through the Durga Devi Gate. This jeep was on a sharing basis and in order to enter the main sanctuary of the park we have to submit a copy of our Aadhar card. After completing all the formalities at the gate we were granted entry into the main area of the park. The Durgadevi zone is home to a large number of exotic birds, a paradise for bird-loving enthusiasts. The Ramganga River and the Mandal River cross each other at several places in this very zone, and this is what adds an extra charm to the forest landscape. 

A forest ranger usually accompanies these jeep safari’s wherein the tourist get a detailed description about the park. As the vehicle was moving forward the jungle seemed to be getting even denser. After a drive of about 15 minutes we spotted some monkeys and a few wild foxes; then there were the spotted deers, peacocks & wild elephants. We also saw a few barking deers. A few minutes further into the dense forest the jeep came to a screeching halt and the ranger asked us not to make any sort of noise, not a single word to be spoken, he also requested us not to click any further pictures. We did not understand the ranger’s comments at first; as all we could see was that the deers and monkeys were running helter-skelter. The ranger then informed us that there may be a tiger nearby cause there was no other reason for these animals to move in such a hurry. On hearing that; all of us in the jeep were both afraid as well as excited. In a few minutes we saw the gorgeous stripped cat i.e. the Royal Bengal Tiger, ferocious as it looked strolling on the road and that too at a distance of only 50 meters. The glorious walk of this feline is just enough to let us know why it is known as one of the majestic creatures of the world. That was the first time in my life that I got to see a tiger so close.  

After the tiger had crossed the path and disappeared into the jungle the jeep continued with its journey, we got to see a wide variety of birds too which included the White Pelicans, White-necked and Black-necked Storks, Eagles, Black-Winged Kites, Himalayan Vultures, Indian Shikra. Then there were green pigeons, parakeets, cuckoos, woodpeckers, mynas, bulbuls, tailor birds, robins and many more.

We also got to see the ‘Mighty Mahseer’ – the fighting fish in the Ramganga river alongwith other aquatic species like crocodiles, otters and turtles.

This park truly proves that even animals deserve a good life “worth living”. For these animals to have lives worth living it is necessary to minimize their negative experiences and give them a natural habitat free from human interference.

It was almost time for the gates to close; the jeep drove us out of the park and dropped us back at our hotels, a perfect end to our Corbett jungle safari. I could hardly sleep that night as I kept viewing all the photos that I had clicked with my cell-phone over and over again. 

Early the next morning I checked out of the hotel and proceeded towards Haridwar. Enroute I visited the Jim Corbett Museum which is actually the heritage bungalow of the renowned hunter Jim Corbett himself. The museum has many attractive belongings of Jim Corbett including personal article, paintings, sketches, his clothes, chair, the weapons that he used to kill the man-eating tigers, etc. There are a few shops around this museum from where you can buy some handmade rural and handicraft items that reflect the images of tigers and other wild animals. I also tried the local Shikangi, a cool refreshing drink sold there.

After having explored the museum I proceeded to Haridwar station to board the train back to Mumbai. Awesome picture of the wild animals some captured on my phone the rest of them on camera, an adventure worth exploring. Even today when I happen to take a look at those pictures, the memories come flooding back in my mind. 

This exploration did make me realise that killing these majestic creatures for fun, will never make us more of a man; but it does surely make us less of human beings. Earth was never only created for men, but for all to co-exist together. Rightly said by the famous animal rights activist Anthony Douglas Williams “It’s not whether animals will survive, it’s whether man has the will to save them”. 

If you would like to uncover the mysteries of these majestic beings at their best in the wild do get in touch with us on 1800 266 5588 or visit our website www.trinityairtravel.com for Wildlife Tour Packages or customised packages.
 



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