Jim Corbett National Park

I am a huge fan of wildlife and hence Jim Corbett National Park since it is one of the closest national park to Delhi. Just 5-6 hours drive from Delhi. The road to Ram Nagar (the town), is also in a good shape. Once can reach Corbett by taking the following route: Delhi - Hapur - Moradabad - Kashipur - Ram Nagar. Road till Moradabad is very good but after that it gets a little bumpy.

You should only visit this place if you are a wildlife lover and loves to take safari. Generally there are two safari timings; one is around 5:30 am and other is around 2 pm.

The entire Jim Corbett National Park has four gates which allows safari i.e. Jhirna, Bijrani, Dhikala and Durgadevi. One has to get permit from the authorities in Ram Nagar for the safari. Make sure you take the permit well in advance because the numbers are limited for each gate and generally people book in advance.

Dhikala is the only zone where day safari by jeep is not allowed. One can only go if they are taking a Canter Safari or have a reservation for the Dhikala forest house for a satay. Dhikala is around 30kms inside the jungle. I personally like Dhikala zone the best, then Bijrani. Durgadevi zone has got a very dense jungle which is a totally different experience compared to other zones.

If you want to experience the actual wildlife then you should visit in forest house inside the jungle for which you need to book though the Corbett Forest Authorities else there are numerous luxury resorts just outside the jungle. The once I have stayed in is Manu Maharani, The Den (a little far) and Tarikas Jungle Retreat.

An elephant safari is the best way to experience the delight of Jim Corbett National Park. The elephants will take you to spots in the park where the jeep safari and canter safari cannot go. While roaming with my friends, sitting on elephants, we suddenly spot two tigers just in front of our eyes! The huge bodies of the tigers with shiny hair are really a thing to see. After tigers we also see Sambar Deer and The Great King Cobra. At night time if you don't have mosquito repelling Cream than you are in a big trouble. The best time to visit is Mid October to November.