Jim Corbett National Park - First National Park in India.

 

Jim Corbett National Park is a forested wildlife sanctuary in northern India’s Uttarakhand State. Rich in flora and fauna, it’s known for its Royal Bengal tigers. The park has sub-Himalayan belt geographical and ecological characteristics. The park contains 488 different species of plants and a diverse variety of fauna. ​Dense moist deciduous forest mainly consists of sal, haldu, peepal, rohini and mango trees. Forest covers almost 73% of the park, while 10% of the area consists of grasslands. It houses around 110 tree species, 50 species of mammals, 580 bird species and 25 reptile species. Jim Corbett National Park is the sole national park in India that offers night stay inside its Jungle.

 

 

The present area of the reserve is 1,318.54 square kilometres (509.09 square meters) including 520 square kilometres (200 square meters) of core area and 797.72 square kilometres (308.00 square meters) of buffer area. Park comprises 520.8 square kilometers (201.1 square meters) area of hills, riverine belts, marshy depressions, grasslands and a large lake. The elevation ranges from 1300 to 4000 ft (400 to 1220 m). Winter nights are cold but the days are bright and sunny. It rains from July to September. The reserve, located partly along a valley between the Lesser Himalaya in the north and the Shivaliks in the south. It has numerous ravines, ridges, minor streams and small plateaus with varying aspects and degrees of slope. The Indian government has organised workshops on ecotourism in Corbett National Park and Garhwal region to ensure that the local citizens profit from tourism while the park remains protected.

 

 

Leopards are found in hilly areas but may also venture into the low land jungles. Small cats in the park include the jungle cat, fishing cat and leopard cat. Other mammals include barking deer, sambar deer, hog deer and chital, sloth and Himalayan black bears, Indian grey mongoose, otters, yellow-throated martens, Himalayan goral, Indian pangolins, and langur and rhesus macaques. Owls and nightjars can be heard during the night. On the banks of the Ramganga Reservoir, plentiful prey make this reserve an ideal habitat for tigers. In the summer, Indian elephants can be seen in herds of several hundred. The Indian python found in the reserve is a dangerous species, capable of killing a chital deer. Local crocodiles and gharials were saved from extinction by captive breeding programs that subsequently released crocodiles into the Ramganga river. More than 586 species of resident and migratory birds have been categorised, including the crested serpent eagle, blossom-headed parakeet and the red junglefowl - ancestor of all domestic fowl. 33 species of reptiles, seven species of amphibians, seven species of fish and 36 species of dragonflies have also been recorded.

 

 

Jim Corbett National Park is the first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named Hailey National Park after William Malcolm Hailey, a governor of the United Provinces. In 1956, nearly a decade after India's independence, it was renamed Corbett National Park after the hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett, who had played a leading role in its establishment. In order to promote tourism in the region Corbett National Park has been divided into five different zones. These are the marked buffer or core area of the park where visitors can be part of wildlife safari and can enjoy the intriguing behavior of the animals with bare eyes at proximity.

 

 

Ramnagar has a very good network of road that connects the different cities. The Corbett National Park is situated at an approximate surface distance of 260 Kilometer from India's national capital Delhi. The state government of Uttarakhand plies buses at a short interval of time from Delhi, Moradabad, Haldawani, and Nainital that reaches Corbett directly. The railway station in Ramnagar receives trains from different major cities of India like Delhi, Moradabad and Bareilly. A direct train to Ramnagar runs from Delhi. Once you reach Ramnagar, then it takes only half an hour to reach Corbett National Park. The park is around 15 Kms from Ramnagar railway station.