I had once mentioned that one of the reasons I would not fly Air Deccan is the risk of cancellations. Now there is a relief for those Deccan passengers who would otherwise find themselves stranded in the airport very often because Deccan announced yet another cancellation.
Air Deccan and Jet have come to an agreement to accommodate each other’s passenger’s in case of flight cancellations.
“Under the agreement (termed Passenger Disruption Agreement), in case of cancellation of flights of either airline on account of technical reasons, weather problems, or inadequate airport infrastructure, passengers would be accommodated on the other’s flight.”
I am sure Air Deccan passengers will be delighted to find Air Deccan staff escorting them to a Jet’s flight, but I wonder how Jet’s passengers would feel about having to settle down for an Air Deccan flight!
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
+Previous: An encounter with Pachyderms
+Next: Travelling to Varanasi
+Go to beginning of the series
To sum up everything about the place, Corbett is a great place for wildlife viewing, of great variety including tigers as well as birds! It has great landscapes to offer too.
Tiger sightings are common, especially in summers. Other mammals include four type of deer(chitals, barking deer, hog deer and sambar), otters, wild boars, elephants, etc. When it comes to birds, Corbett is a heaven for seeing raptors(birds of prey) and has sightings of more than 40 species! The common ones include Crested Serpent Eagle, Changeable hawk eagle, and Pallas fishing eagle. I sighted several vultures too. Overall, more than 400 species have been sighted in Corbett. You also get to see Gharials and crocodiles in Ramaganga River.
Deer crossing! The waterbody see behind is the Ramaganga river
With Ramaganga River and several small streams flowing in the park surrounded by Himalayan foothills, Corbett has great landscapes to offer. It is especially beautiful during winter mornings.
HOW TO REACH
Corbett is just 6-8 hour drive from Delhi via Moradabad, Kashipur and Ramnagar. Ramnagar is the nearest town head to Corbett. If you are taking a bus from Delhi, there are several buses plying directly to Ramnagar, or you can change buses at Moradabad to Ramnagar. You can also take a train to Ramnagar.
ACCOMMODATION
There are a couple of budget hotels in Ramnagar on Ranikhet road, which also hosts the CTR(Corbett Tiger Reserve) office.
There are many resorts spread all along the Nainital highway outside Ramnagar and on the way to the reserve. The forest department runs a tourist complex in the heart of the park at Dhikala. Dhikala is a great place to stay as well as for wildlife viewing. It is located on a large grassland, with Ramaganga to one edge of the complex and thick forest on another side. Tigers are often spotted walking on the riverbed close to the tourist complex. There are many other guest houses in the park at places like Sarapdhauli, Khinnanauli, Gairal and a few more. Except for Dhikala, other places do not have food and other conveniences and you need to make your own arrangements. All these places have to be booked at CTR office at Ramnagar.
SIGHTSEEING AND SAFARI
As I mentioned earlier, Dhikala is a good base for roaming around the forest. Access to Dhikala is restricted to those who are staying in the forest department guesthouses. For those who do not stay in these guest houses, only way to go to Dhikala is to take the CTR group safari van, which leaves everyday early in the morning(approx 8 hours, 100kms). But there are other places like Bijrani area where you can take your own vehicle with a guide along. Permission can be taken at CTR office for this. If you opt to stay in Dhikala, you may have to hire a jeep to travel into Dhikala and for roaming around the forest once you are there. No other transport is available to reach Dhikala. When you are on the way to Dhikala, don’t miss giving a visit to the museum at Dhangadi gate. You can also opt for elephant safaris(twice a day, morning and evening) at Dhikala.
Tourist at Elephant Safari
Best time to see animals in Corbett is summer. But keep in mind that it will be very hot there in the summer. Winter mornings are a great time to see beautiful landscape of Corbett. The reserve is closed for visitors during the rainy season between June and November.
More on Corbett National Park at paintedstork.com
* Images from Corbett
* Arriving at Corbett
* First day at Corbett: safari day trip to Dhikala
* Corbett: In the nature – A struggle between fear and love
* The desperate tourist’s tiger hunt
* Photo Essay: Landscapes of Corbett
* My Days in Corbett
* Encounter with Pachyderms
* Information about Corbett National Park
* Moving on from Corbett
This is a question I was asked several times after I became a frequent traveller in the last few years. For me, answer was simple – “because I like travelling”. To say simply, there are many things that people like, and there need not always be an answer to the ‘Why’s. But as I got this question from more and more people, I thought of it a little more and tried to list all the things that I get from travelling. I could list many things that made my journeys worthwhile though it would not be complete. There are things that are fairly obvious, like –
1. The thrill of adventure – like when I go skiing.
2. The joy of being part of the beauty of nature – like in the mountains or when I go hiking or trekking.
3. Experiencing the pleasures of life – like when I go driving, taste exotic food, lie in the beaches or go to a disco.
4. Seeing the beautiful things created by man is a worthwhile experience – like visiting the Taj Mahal or the temples of Belur and Halebeedu.
5. There are places that just make me feel good. I stop thinking, worrying, or bothering about anything worldly. I can sit on the bank of Ganges at Rishikesh and spend days and days without a care about anything in the world.
6. See variety. See different type of people, different ways of life, etc. It is a great experience.
And then there are some things that are not so obvious. Travelling helps us learn. I have come to understand that the much-used cliché “travelling broadens your mind” is indeed true. We become open to new things. We come out of our shells and come to understand many things that we would not know earlier. It could teach us to live happily within our means after seeing all the chaos that the world has to offer. But again, it could also leave a longing for the beautiful and exotic places. Six months of travelling has taught me to be more humble. It has taught me to be happy with what I have and yet strive to achieve what I wish to. It has taught me that the world is not a bad place to live, but we can work to make many improvements in it.
And then you meet fascinating people. The best thing about an Indian travelling in India is meeting Indophiles from the west. They come in every size and shape, of all ages and all kind of background. The only thing common with them is they are crazy about India and they can’t help but keep coming back. I have met several of them on my journeys and everyone told me how lucky I am to be Indian! And then there are some unforgettable people like the man I met at Varanasi who had retired from his good corporate living and was now striving to do some good for the holy city. Such people also play a role in opening up our mind.
There are so many good things that come with the joy of travelling. But then, it is very much possible that you miss these good things if you are not looking for them, but just hurry from place to place ‘sightseeing’!
Now, for all those travellers who read this blog, why do you travel?