The Corbett National Park (CNP) is named after celebrated hunter-turned-naturalist, Jim Corbett, the man who immortalised the area through his famous books. Corbett is India’s first national park and was established in 1936. It lies 280 km northeast of New Delhi in the Nainital and Pauri Garhwal districts of Uttaranchal. We took the Delhi Transport Corporation’s bus and reached Ramnagar eight hour later. The thick Sal forests in the Bhabar zone and the chaurs (open grassland) are intersected by river valleys and streams. Tributaries of the Ramganga and Kosi rivers have created primeval forests which are a hotspot of bio-diversity. Most of the core area of 330 sq kms at its heart remains out of bounds and many visitors are disappointed to find that safaris on foot are strictly forbidden, though permissible in the fringe areas of the forest.

While CNP is justly famous for its healthy population of large mammals, including the Indian Tiger and the Asiatic Elephant, it also harbours a rich species of birds. Lesser Fish Eagle, Cinereous Vulture, Pallas’ Fish Eagle, Tawny Fish and Spot-bellied Eagle Owl,