[Slushmaster]

Wonderful pictures and well written Travelogue. As a person who spends a week every month in the jungles of India, I can assure you that sighting a Tiger is not easy in jungles.

Talking about Corbett, the number of tigers in the national park is at an all time high and people still miss them even after doing multiple safaris. Last week I spent 3 nights in the Bijrani forest rest house and was unable to see a single Tiger. Then I moved to another zone outside Corbett adjacent to Ramnagar and within 2 hours I was able to click three different Tigers and almost all of them gave me a good 10-20 minutes to appreciate their beauty.

So, after so many years roaming in the wild, I keep my expectations low. But, honestly I still feel a little bad if I come out of the jungle without finding the animal I wanted to click.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by Yogi..Reeturaj

The Ramnagar property looks so peaceful and it has been added to my already burgeoning bucket list of stay options.

Thanks Reeturaj, yes, the Ramnagar property was indeed excellent. Located just beside the river amidst ample greens, it was serene. You will certainly love it.

On a side note a majestic full grown RBT has made his/her home at Koliabor ��, if you know what i mean

I certainly know what you meant there

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Nice travelogue Dada. Don't worry that you didn't sight a tiger.

Thanks much, I have no qualms about not seeing a Tiger at all. Sighting of a Tiger is not the only thing while doing a Safari. Of course, disappointment will crop up but that’s okay. I certainly had a wonderful time doing the safari’s.

Next year let's plan a Corbett/Ranthambore trip together. You can save the cost of driving to Delhi, and we can hope that 2 people with bad luck can collectively get good luck .

That’s a proposition I would certainly want to lap up, will be more than glad to join.

That movie was called Eeb Alley Oo. Just FYI, till a few years ago Delhi did have professional monkey-shooers, called "Kalandars".

Yes, that’s the name of the movie. Enjoyed that little gem. Also, I did not know they were known as Kalandars.

Originally Posted by Samba

Excellent photographs and writeup. Rated 5*.

Corbett is among one of the most scenic jungles in India.

Thanks much Samba, who else but you will tell about the beauty of Corbett. I intend to visit Dhikala next pretty soon now. And yes, I am glad that the Tiger saw us, will help next time when I greet them.

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Although tiger sighting didn't happen, it’s clear from the pics that that all of you had a great time throughout the trip with yummy food along the way. The hotel should have informed about the wedding booking, can understand how it felt when you guys wanted a sound sleep. The pictures and narration are great like always.

Thanks Sam, the trip was enjoyable alright. The night at Allahabad was a nightmare though. I will have to check the wedding dates before booking a hotel next time I suppose

Originally Posted by Slushmaster

Wonderful pictures and well written Travelogue. As a person who spends a week every month in the jungles of India, I can assure you that sighting a Tiger is not easy in jungles.

So, after so many years roaming in the wild, I keep my expectations low. But, honestly I still feel a little bad if I come out of the jungle without finding the animal I wanted to click.

Thank you so much for your good words. I can only envy you after knowing that you get to spend some days in the jungles every month. And indeed, keeping the expectations low and enjoying the Safari is more like it. One certainly gets surprised at the most unexpected time and that’s the fun part of being in a jungle. I am sure you had a wonderful visual delight in spotting the tigers up close.

[Sa!lor]

That is a very good jungle travelogue, I usually go for safari once a year and I try to cover different forest everytime my next visit is going to be Corbett so your travelogue helps in planning.
I think your best bet to see a tiger in Corbett is in Dhikala zone and given that you can actually stay inside the forest in Dhikala FRH makes it all the more attractive.
You are right about Garjiya zone where nature is being destroyed to allow more safari vehicles but even in Ranthambore I observed that just to get more people in forest they are taking away the joy of jungle feel by allowing too many canters and gypsy's.
As this safari tourism is getting popular in India which has its own benefits like awareness and conservation it is also important to maintain a balance between tourism and conservation.

[Slushmaster]

Originally Posted by Sa!lor

As this safari tourism is getting popular in India which has its own benefits like awareness and conservation it is also important to maintain a balance between tourism and conservation.

Tourism is ruining jungles and even the people who are responsible to manage tourists(Guides/Drivers) in the jungle are responsible. Whenever I go to Ranthambore, I feel very bad after seeing the way canters and gypsies push the tigers. Guides don't strictly enforce the rules as they are more worried about their tips.

Tourists go into jungles to click photos, they are not bothered about the jungles or the animals. In January, I and my trusted gypsy driver picked almost 10 kg of plastic from a reserved forest, mainly namkeen and chips packets plus water bottles. Not sure why Indians are so obsessed with aloo Bhujia and nut crackers .

Lastly, there are so many vloggers who pose as naturalists on YouTube and unnecessarily glorify things and that pushes more and more people to go to jungles to get their pictures clicked. Sorry for the rant.

Coming back to Corbett, Dhikala is a very good place to go, if you really have the money, time and liking for basic lodging facilities. Also, these days the sightings are not that great as the famous tigress and her cubs have shifted to other parts of the jungle. If you are short on time and want to do 1-2 safaris, go to Jhirna/Dhela as there tigers are used to vehicles and chances of sightings are much better than Bijrani, Garjiya or Durga Devi.

[pd1108]

Lovely Pics and a great write-up. I could feel your enjoyment and happiness reading thru, and I look forward to your next write-up. Thanks for the post

[Carfool_Wheeler]

Really great read and amazing pics Dada - especially of the peacock and Sambar!!

I had gone for a night stay at Bijrani FRH last November and despite staying for 3 nights (8 safaris), only got to see the majestic cat once. And this was when all the other Gypsys were rolling in multiple tiger sightings each day. Luck (along with a good guide and driver) really does impact the experience within the resort.

Regarding the night stay at Corbett, I have a few pointers if interested (snagged a Dhikala FRH for this April):

• Book only from the official website - https://www.corbettonline.uk.gov.in/
  
  
• Booking from other websites can cost you north of 20x the actual price! (Eg: one night at Dhikala would cost you 3k, but the agencies have no qualms in quoting upwards of 45k!)
• There's a fixed booking schedule, available on the website. For example, booking of tickets for stays between March 15th - April 14th opened back on Feb 2.
• Dhikala sells out fast. And I mean really fast. Especially the double bedrooms (no single bedroom option for whatever reason).
• On the day that booking opens, the site gets flooded by agents trying to get a booking for their clients. The site frequently logs you out, sometimes even after payment goes through (government services in their natural habitat).
• Hence, it can take a LONG time to get booked (I spent a good five hours of my office grinding my teeth on that homepage)
• The FRHs are minimally equipped, Bijrani was powered solely by Solar power, which allowed for one geyser and a couple of charging points in the room.
• Unlike the private resort, there won't be any provision for fun activities (bonfire et al.). You do get to hear the occasional tiger and witness frightened Cheetals rush to the safety of the compound.
• There's very limited cellular connectivity - atleast in Bijrani I was wandering all over the place searching for a good reception while my parents drove themselves paranoid
• The main benefit over a day safari is that you have an additional 2 hours available in each Safari (no time wasted on moving between the gate and Safari area).

Hope this is useful, and wishing you many more enjoyable escapades blessed by the big cat!

[DevOnWheels]

Once again a super hit writeup Abhi da.

The shots are beautiful and the food looks too yummy.

[turboNath]

Thanks ABHI_1512 for treating us to another fantastic travelogue which revolves around one of my favourite National Parks - Corbett ! When you're in those lush green surroundings, complete with a beautiful stream & a rocky terrain, you can't help but appreciate the magic of Corbett (especially at dawn & dusk). You also got lucky with the sighting of a Changeable Hawk Eagle ! As for tigers, I am sure you will be revisiting this place once again to fulfil your wish. The crisp narrative coupled with those superb pictures once again showcased the storytelling nature of the vagabond accountant ! The delicious spreads from Lucknow is now motivating me to plan a drive to Tunday Kaababi soon. The pictures from Varanasi rekindled so many memories from that soulful city. Hope to go back someday.
Till then keep on revving and plan a new adventure !

P.S. Baahon was dearly missed !

[Neversaygbye]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Thanks much, I have no qualms about not seeing a Tiger at all. Sighting of a Tiger is not the only thing while doing a Safari. Of course, disappointment will crop up but that’s okay. I certainly had a wonderful time doing the safari’s.

As always, your TL is replete with details that will immensely help anyone who is planning to drive down from Cal. I was hooked and finished reading it in one go. The details on food and the pics made me hungry despite having a hearty lunch just a while back!

I also did Corbett in 2019 from Delhi along with my mom and my in-laws in my brother's i20 Active (was VERY unimpressed by the car's performance but that's a discussion for another day).

Like you, we were also unlucky in that we never got to see the big cat (a few pug marks were all we saw), and now my FIL is gone and my mother has developed a back problem so another trip with the same group will not happen. But that's the luck of the draw, I guess. We did squeeze in a trip to Nainital and also visited Jim Corbett's home and also the resort where we stayed (Sterling) was quite nice.

Here are a few pics from that trip - I did not see any mention of the Corbett museum and I guess your schedule did not leave you with enough time to visit Nainital - it is a very easy day trip from Corbett. We actually just went there for lunch! In one of the pics I'm playing TT with my MIL at Sterling - she's a pretty good player!















We did get to see these birds - I suppose you and turbo will be able to identify them. They just looked like two different species of Eagles to a noob like me.

[SS-Traveller]

A rather late response from my side, Abhi, but yours is a very well-written travelogue. I read & relished half of it, bookmarked it, and then forgot about reading the rest of it! Anyway, better late than never, as the saying goes!

The few times we've been to Corbett (3C's (Car, Camera, Corbett) minus 3C's (Cellphone, Clinics, Classes) = Peace), we've not met the big cat either. Yet, we enjoy the ambience of the area, and love taking short holidays there. The last one was in July last year, monsoon & off-season, and the major entry gates into the forest and the core area were closed. So for a couple of nights, we had a very restful time at a tented resort (recently opened then, and referred by a friend), and never got around to writing a travelogue just because there weren't many pictures, or much of a story to tell either. Maybe I can put up a few pics here, and would hope that you won't mind.

https://youtu.be/3yrCTh3Vdvw

[haisaikat]

Detailed narration wonderful presentation Abhi as always. I am still catching up on TLs hence the delay in responding. In all the forests we have visited so far till date, except Nandan Kanan but it was like spotting an animal during it's sleep.

But the real steal of this journey is the opportunity to travel together with friends in the same car and enjoying the ride together and of course the food. Probably apt naming of thread could have been something like "in search of tiggy, friends became foodie" . Jokes apart the thread is now a treasure trove of information for Corbett safari and am sure will refer to it during our visit if at all we get the opportunity in the future. Liked that Allahabad photo of group of birds flying with the bridge in the backdrop.

Two other things, you had 5 on board in the Creta, could the kid manage to sleep during the night time drives? Also instead of taking the ghazipur/durganti diversion from nh2 to Purvanchal expressway, the optimal place to divert we felt was sultanpur, capitalizing NH-731 to an extent after crossing Varanasi ring road.

Eagerly waiting for your next TL, rated this one top stars.

[sayakc]

What matters is the camaraderie of friends, of good food and the feel that is winter - of the 'kulhad chai' dhaba or the slanting sun and the presence of the forest. And your eloquent narration.

This is yet another excellent piece of travelogue from you and heres wishing you keep travelling for the rest of us , who get to read awesome stuff like this everytime!

PS : look forward to catch up soon.

Cheers
Sayak