The Cold temperature Jungle safari

 We left for the jungle safari in an open jeep at six in the morning when the temperature was at six degrees. It was bone chilling cold and dark. However as we neared the park around quarter to seven it became light. The total park has an area of 1300km.of forest area with 488 species of trees. One can see hill locks, marshy lands, rivers and thick forest areas. The forest is divided into three areas. The first is a buffer area ehenere villages are established the the people in these areas use the products of the forests. Next to this is the touristic zone where one can travel only with a Government permit in a forest jeep and with a forest guide. After this is the core area where the public is not allowed. The whole park is divided into various areas such as Dhikala, Bijrani, Hhirna, Durg Devi. We got the pass to go to the Hhirna area. Only thirty jeeps are allowed in a n area at one time. We were not lucky enough to spot a tiger but saw plenty of deers, Antelope, elephants and deers. I have been to many safaris in Africa and seen many wild animals from close quarters. However those forests are very different from the Uttarakhand forests. The pollution free air, the sounds and sights of the forests are a treat.

The resorts in Jim Corbett National Park, in Nainital District of Uttarakhand are a new addition to the landscape. This park is one of the oldest wild life park in India. Established in 1936, to protect the endangered Bengal tiger it was earlier called the Hailey Park. As a child when I visited this area many times in 1962 or 1963, visiting relatives in Dhikala, Bailpadao, Ramnagar, I remember only huge forests covering the area. I have some memories of visiting a very well to do uncle who was a big landlord of the area and had big orchards of mangoes and licchis around the area. Their house had a lot of tusks of wild animals kept in the drawing room and through a child's eye, this room fascinated me and also created some fear of the wild. They were known to enjoy hunting as a pass time. Except their huge mansion like house, I only remember villages and small hamlets surrounding the area. The forests were not open to the public but I am not sure about this, for it was never a turistic place and I never heard of others except friends invited to hunting parties visiting the forest area. Today, the forests are an open space and open to public. This has resulted in the area being dotted with beautiful resorts. They provide modern amenities in a wild landscape. The resort where we are staying has a swimming pool, a huge dinning room and lots of open spaces. There are various cottages surrounding the pool and we are in one of the cottages. The rooms are very ethnically decorated with cane furniture, where the beds, sofas, chairs, tables, mirror frames are all made of cane. I am very happy to see the development of this region and the various tourists coming to this place. Uttarakhand has a lot of scope for tourism. Till now the emphasis has only been on pilgrimage tourism. Wild life tourism can be explored and what better place than Jim Corbett Park.