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Well, for my last post on this trip. This piece is for those people who are interested in making the trip to Corbett and intends to make life a little bit easier for them. Hope you like it and is as informative as I intended. 

As I informed you all earlier, Corbett is divided into 4 main tourist zones – Dhikala, Bijrani, Jirna and Durgadevi in the order of preference by tourists. Dhikala and Bijrani have perennial water sources and hence the chances of sighting the tiger are more. Jirna, on the other hand has water during the monsoon while dry during the summer. Durgadevi has both hilly terrain and is far and hence is least preferred by both tourists and gypsy drivers alike. Bijrani is nearest to Ramnagar town while Durgadevi is farthest.Entry to the Dhikala zone is through the Dhangadi gate which also houses a pretty good museum. Day Safaris are allowed at all zones except the Dhikala zone. A conducted day tour by a canter van is allowed to the Dhikala zone. Alternatively safaris and private vehicles are allowed into this zone only if one has overnight stay bookings/permits for the forest rest houses in the park. 

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Corbett National Park is located just 71 km from Nainital and the drive is just wonderful both for driving and visually. The park is divided into 4 main tourist zones – Dhikala, Bijrani, Jirna and Durgadevi in the order of preference by tourists. Dhikala and Bijrani have perennial water sources and hence the chances of sighting the tiger are more. Jirna, on the other hand has water during the monsoon while dry during the summer. Durgadevi has both hilly terrain and is far and hence is least preferred by both tourists and gypsy drivers alike. Bijrani is nearest to Rampur town while Durgadevi is farthest. Entry to the Dhikala zone is though the Dhangadi gate which also houses a pretty good museum. Day Safaris are allowed at all zones except the Dhikala zone. A conducted day tour by a canter van is allowed to the Dhikala zone. Alternatively safaris and private vehicles are allowed into this zone only if one has overnight stay bookings/permits for the forest rest houses in the park.

Corbett Featuring the Ram Ganga Reservoir
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We had been talking about going to Nainital for a very long time. A three day holiday just seemed the best time to do it. So we sorta decided on the spot. The Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigams Office in Lucknow (Just behind Hutch house on Shah Najaf Road) was helpful and made the necessary bookings at their tourist rest house at Sukhatal in Nainital (two nights) and Corbett International Resort at Corbett (Three nights).This is a pvt. hotel for which KMVN makes bookings – Public-Private partnership as the PRO at KMVN called it – Damn costly though. In this story I am writing about Nainital. I would share my Corbett tale along with pics in a subsequent post, hopefully very soon. We did see ‘the thing’ in Corbett so stay tuned.

Naini Peak
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My summer trip to Nainital and then to Corbett started from Lucknow, the place where I live. I initially thought of writing all of this in one long story but someone suggested that it might be better to separate stories, it might be easier to read.

So here’s on my first post, I am writing about a Road-Review. Its not very detailed but I would love to answer any comments or questions fellow ghumakkars might have.

The first leg is Lucknow – Nainital
We started from Lucknow at 6 in the morning. We would have started earlier but past experience taught us that with a longer drive one tends to get sleepy in the afternoons which is dangerous. So we decided to allow just enough time to get out of the city. Breakfast was at a Reliance A-1 just 50 km before Sitapur. Good infrastructure but lonely little spot cos petrol costs 10 bucks more. No one really stops. However, the man at the counter said they do get some customers for lunch and dinner.

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