Safaris

Safaris are the ideal way of exploring the Indian land and the jungle safari tours have added excitement and fun to the journey. There are number of ways to cover the Corbett National Park. The Corbett National Park endorses Jeep Safari, Horse Safari, Bird Safari, Elephant Safari, Fishing safari and the Nature walk.

You can explore the flora and fauna in Corbett National Park with the Jeep Safari and Elephant Safari, which unfolds the beauty of the Park and is a delight for adventure lovers and wildlife photographers.

Booking of Morning Jeep Safari
Advance booking of Morning Jeep Safari in Corbett National Park is available 7 days in advance for Indian nationals and 30 days for foreign nationals. It is on first cum first serve basis and a non refundable advance needs to be deposited with complete photo id details of the person.

Booking of Afternoon Jeep Safari
It is strictly on first cum first serve basis and guest has to personally travel to Ramnagar Forest Office to book the safari.

Please Note:

Corbett Park is open 365 days a year. The Jhirna Zone remains open for tourists’ right through the year.
Jeep Safari package includes 01 bottle complimentary mineral water per person, tea/coffee & cookies.
There is no entrance fee for kids up to 5 years in Corbett National Park.
Bijrani, Jhirna, Sitabani & Durgadevi are a Half Day Game View Drive. Timings are: 0630 Hrs – 0930 Hrs and 1430 Hrs – 1730 Hrs.
Full Day game view drives are from 06:30 Hrs – 1700 Hrs in Bijrani Zone.
Dhikala is 6 Hrs Game View Drive (Inclusive of Entrance Fee) - 0600 Hrs - 1200 Hrs & 1130 Hrs – 1730 Hrs.
*The above rate is valid for Indian Nationals. For Foreign Nationals, the rate is Rs 2000.
Bijrani is open every year from October to 30th June. Dhikala from 15th November to 15th June.

Park Safari Timings

The park normally opens at 0600 hrs in the morning and is open till about 1100 hrs in the morning. However tourists who are booked for full day safari spend the time from 1130 Hrs – 1300 Hrs at any of the rest houses inside the forest and do bird watching. In the afternoon the park timings usually are from 1430 to 1730. However depending on the season the timings change locally which the forest authorities of Corbett notify.

Choosing the Seasons

Winter (September - March): Days are clear and pleasant, Nights get cold. Great time for bird-watching and Tiger sighting.

Summer (April to June): Hot days with pleasant nights. Ideal time for sighting animals, especially elephants and Tigers.

Monsoon (July - August): Humid days and nights. Great time for walks and trekking. Because of less crowd rush and high probability of sighting animals. Good for observing flora.

Booking Procedure
All the Safari’s are booked by the Forest Department from Ramnagar Forest Office and it is completely at the discretion of the forest department. There are restrictions on the number of vehicles which can enter in each zone and it is strictly followed. The vehicle restrictions are

Zone	Restriction During Morning	Restrictions during Afternoon
Bijrani	30	30
Jhirna	25	25
Sitavani	No restriction	No restriction
Durgadevi	15	15

Advance Booking of Jeep Safari
Advance booking of Jeep Safari in Corbett National Park is available for morning safaris in Bijrani, Jhirna and Durgadevi Zones. The booking is on first cum first serve basis and a non refundable advance needs to be deposited with complete details of the person. For advance booking a photo id for Indian Nationals and Passport Details of Foreign Nationals is mandatory

Photo ID
Driving License/ Voter Id / Pan Card is required. One can send us the id number; date of birth, full name and gender and date of expiry of the ID for booking .While travelling the guest will have to carry the same ID.

Passport Details
Passport number, full name & gender, date of Issue and expiry, date of birth and nationality is required for advance bookings of morning jeep safari. Advance booking of safari can be done one month in advance. However, it is advisable to place the application to the forest department the moment you decide about the safari for better chances of confirmation.

Booking of Afternoon Jeep Safari – is strictly on first cum first serve basis and guest has to personally travel to Ramnagar Forest Office to book the safari.

Various Zones of the Corbett National Park for Jeep Safari

Durga Devi
Durga Devi is a tourism zone within the Corbett National Park. It is a virgin area used only for long elephant safaris and has access to the Ramganga River for the purpose of fishing Leisure Hotels has got the opportunity to have the first private lodge in the area, accessible through the Durga Devi gate of the park and will be providing angling facilities at the Jamun camp in the private untouched pool in the Ramganga River.

The Durgadevi tourism zone is open from the 1st November to 30th June. During monsoon it is closed because of the poor roads in the forest

This is on the north-eastern boundary of the Park. The entrance gate is about 20 Km away from Corbett Hideaway. The Mandal range of Corbett Tiger Reserve through Durgadevi entrance involve challenging birding species to lookout for include the grey headed fishing eagle, crested laughing thrush, black chinned Yuhina, maroon orile, slaty blue flycatcher, long tailed broadbill, little forktail, and bar tailed tree creeper.

Lohachaur forest area is known for wild elephants all round the year and the undulating terrain provides excellent opportunity to see the leopards as well as tigers.

Bijrani Zone
Bijrani Zone entry is through Amdanda Gate which is 4 Kms from The Corbett Hideaway. Bijrani has mixed topography with thick sal forests interspersed with grasslands. There are a large number of stream beds which are mainly boulder strewn paths. Along the side of the streams there are riparian forests and thick lantana bushes due to which tiger sighting chances, as compared to other tourism zones, is higher in this area. Once you reach the Bijrani guest house, you can avail the elephant ride also.

The Bijrani tourism zone is open from the 15th October to 30th June. During monsoon it is closed because of the poor roads in the forest

Jhirna Zone
Jhirna Zone entry is through Dhela Gate which is 20 Kms from The Corbett Hideaway. Jhirna tourism zone falls within the southern part of the Corbett National Park. It is the only tourism zone of the Corbett National Park which remains open throughout the year. Its topography is mainly dry deciduous and secondary forest with large open grasslands, which allows good visibility of wild animals. From the machans, visitors can view wild animals in their natural habitat. Vast stream beds and steep cliff edges provide good opportunity for bird watching.

Jhirna Zone is open throughout year

Sitavani Safari
Sitavani is located about 35 km from The Corbett Hideaway and within the reserve forest area of Ramnagar Forest Division. It boasts of beautiful dense forests of sal and mixed vegetation with open grasslands and riverbeds. The safari takes one to the ancient temple of Goddess Sita. According to a legend, this is the place where Goddess Sita disappeared into the earth.

Sitavani Zone is open throughout year

Sitavani is a part of Corbett buffer zone and there is a gated entrance but does not require any special permits to venture inside.

The forest offers ample birding opportunities in the surrounding thick sal and mixed forest. Preferably early morning drive is the best to view wildlife like tiger, sambar, barking deer, porcupine, King cobra and lots more.

Sitavani is well known for the wild elephants and tiger all round the year as both the animals frequently visit the river Kosi for water and get across to raid the crops and lift the domestic animals that stray away from the village.

Safari to Dhikala Zone
It is a picturesque location at the edge of a grassy plateau perched high above the Ramganga reservoir and set into a bend in the river. The famous grasslands of the Dhikala chaur disappear into the dense sal forests at the foot hills in the region. This is indisputably rated as a favourite viewing area to the visitors here.

The Dhikala tourism zone is open from 15th November to 15th June. This is an area with very high restrictions as far as tourism is concerned.

Day visits to Dhikala are only through canters (an open bus with gallery seating)which are arranged by the forest department. For overnight stays visitors can take their own vehicles.

The Vehicle Timings are 0600 Hrs – 1200 Hrs and 1100 Hrs – 1700 Hrs. There are two canters each of 16 seats in during both morning and afternoon.

Safari to Bhowankhal
Located in the foothills of the lower Himalayas, Bhowankhal falls on the border of the Kumaon and Garhwal region. The safari goes around the periphery of Corbett Tiger Reserve and takes one through the dense forests, picturesque landscapes and river beds. It is situated at a distance of around 30 km. from the resort.

The safari provides a very scenic drive dotted along the way by typical Kumaoni/Garhwali villages.

From a place called ‘Kaath Ki Nau’ one can view the breathtakingly beautiful Himalayan ranges.