Comon Tiger Corbett Corbett is popularly called the land of roar, trumpet and song – means it is known for tigers, elephants and birds. This is right as it has the highest density of wild tigers in the world with one of the best male female ratio of the Asian elephant (1:3) and an amazing diversity of avifauna with 625+ species of bird. It is rarely understood as a good area for butterflies. Corbett region is a paradise for butterflies and for those who love butterflies. People usually visit Corbett to watch ‘wildlife’ and from most of them understand ‘wildlife’ means tiger, leopard,...

Jilling Our trip to Jilling, near Nainital, was a welcome respite from the August heat. After a short hour’s walk assisted by a guide with a horse carrying our bags, we arrived at the main house, situated just below a long ridge, from which the view of the himalayas- when free from cloud cover- is said to be fantastic. There are other houses on the mountainside, but not many, and the overall feeling is one of a peaceful haven. After the hustle and bustle of the previous days, we were suddenly filled with the desire to just relax- to sit back and read, watch the birds, and take short walks through...

We left Dhikuli village with Sumantha Ghosh, Paramveer Singh Hayer, Oli Gray-Read, Pascale, Eric and Sarah-Eve Longsworth and myself and headed to the mountain areas to reach the village of Devidhura. The village is situated at the trijunction of Almora, Pithoragarh & Nainital districts. A unique feature of the fair is the image of the goddess, kept in a locked brass casket. This casket is taken in a procession to a nearby mountain spring where a blindfolded priest ritually bathes the image and replaces it in the casket.The “goal” of our journey was to go to see the festival of Bagwaal....

He is however known more as Jolly Uncle. Jolly joined the Forest Department in Garwal as a dakwallah or postman in 1956 when he was just 16. Also known as The Tiger Man of Corbett Jolly has witnessed when India’s finest national park Hailey National Park was renamed as the Ramganga National Park and then in 1956 as the Corbett National Park and finally he saw Project Tiger being launched from the  Corbett Tiger Reserve in 1973. Jolly has never known fear and never will. While serving with the forest department he has caught several poachers and has caught hunting army soldiers, a member of legislative...

General Practitioner from Shorpshire UK, this avid angler, dedicated son and husband and dreamer is truly an unsung hero. James first trip to Uttarakhand was in the monsoons of 2001 and organized a fishing trip into the upstream sections of the Ramganga. It was here that he really reeled in my first Mahseer and proudly let is go. This was a turning point in my life. Eventually when I wanted to develop a community based wilderness fishing loge on the Ramganga James stood by me and helped in every way possible. Not only did we manage to development a unique wilderness lodge but managed to conserve...

Wildlife photographers, film-makers, this naturalists couple  have adopted Corbett Tiger Reserve as their main area of work since 2004. During this period, they have worked with the park authorities to promote healthy tourism in Corbett National Park through the medium of short films and their photographs. Their film – Wild Saga of Corbett – is the most comprehensive travelogue on Corbett and showcases how tourists can come better prepared for their visits to Corbett and thus help in conservation efforts of the people of Ramnagar and the forest department. The film – marketed...

During my time here in Corbett the last few months I have witnessed the challenges of conservation in India and this region in particular, many incidents have happened which have saddened the heart and brought despair to me but yesterday an event of such magnitude occurred that I can once again see the light at the end of the tunnel for conservation in India.  India is not just home to the Tiger but to some of the most majestic animals that roam this earth each possessing a quality that stands them head and shoulders above the rest. In this time of rising Man-animal conflict it is hard to see...