Jim Corbett National Park
Where India's oldest wilderness raised the world's densest tiger kingdom
LOCATION
Ramnagar, Uttarakhand
BEST SEASON
November - June
NEAREST CITY
Ramnagar, 2 km
KNOWN FOR
Bengal Tigers - Highest Density on Earth
ABOUT THE DESTINATION
The forest that started it all
Established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, this was India's first national park - later renamed for the legendary hunter-turned-conservationist Jim Corbett, who spent a lifetime moving through these hills before his writing on the tigers of Kumaon changed how the country saw them.
Corbett holds the highest tiger density of any reserve on earth - more than 260 tigers move through the forest here, roughly 14 for every 100 square kilometres. Leopards and jungle cats share the terrain with immense herds of Asian elephants, chital, sambar, barking deer and hog deer. Along the Ramganga, Sonanadi and Mandal rivers, gharials and mugger crocodiles bask in the shallows, while over 600 species of resident and migratory birds move through the canopy and the chaurs - the wide grassland meadows that open along the valley floor.
This is also where India decided the tiger was worth saving. On the first of April 1973, Corbett became the launch site of Project Tiger - the country's founding conservation programme, born from the same forests Jim Corbett once walked with a rifle and later with nothing but a notebook and a camera. His shift, from hunter to protector, is written into the land that carries his name.
WHAT SETS IT APART
Reasons to choose Jim Corbett
260+
Tigers in the reserve
The highest tiger density recorded anywhere in the world - close to 14 tigers for every 100 square kilometres of forest.
1288
Square kilometres of wild
Sal forests, riverine valleys and open chaurs unfold across three districts of the Uttarakhand Himalaya - a landscape built for elephants as much as tigers.
600+
Bird species recorded
Resident and migratory birds move through the canopy and grasslands alike, alongside gharials and mugger crocodiles in the rivers below.
8
Safari zones to explore
Dhikala, Bijrani, Jhirna, Dhela and Durga Devi lead into different corners of the reserve, each with its own terrain and rhythm of sightings.
1936
India's first national park
Founded as Hailey National Park and the birthplace of Project Tiger in 1973 - Corbett is where the country's tiger story began.
∞
Tailored to you
We build every Corbett expedition around your pace, your interests, and the wildlife you came to find. Nothing is templated.
THE EXPERIENCE
A day in the wild
Dawn
Morning safari
You head into Dhikala or Bijrani gate as the mist still sits over the chaur. Spotted deer graze the open grassland, elephants move along the riverbed, and your naturalist points out pugmarks pressed fresh into the mud before the sun has fully cleared the ridgeline.
Midday
Rest and recharge
Return to a lodge on the edge of the forest as the heat rises. A slow meal, shade, and the sound of the Kosi or Ramganga somewhere close by - the wild doesn't disappear, it just goes quiet for a while.
Afternoon
Evening safari
The second drive sets out as the heat breaks. Elephants gather at the waterholes, tigers move toward the chaurs, and the sal forest turns gold in the last light before the gates close for the night.
Night
Under the stars
Dinner in the open air, with the Himalayan foothills dark against the sky. Stories from the day's sightings pass around the table, and somewhere beyond the tree line, the forest that gave Project Tiger its start settles into the night.
VISUAL JOURNAL
Glimpses of
Jim Corbett
