Corbett National Park

Corbett has aptly been described as the land of the Roar, Trumpet and Song. It represents a scene of remarkable beauty.

Corbett had the proud distinction of being the chosen venue for the inauguration of Project Tiger in India. The rich bio-diversity of the Reserve is partly attributed to the variety of habitat found here. Due to the location of the Reserve in the foothills of the Central Himalayas, both Himalayan and peninsular flora and fauna is found in the Reserve.

The grasslands, locally known as Chaurs, are limited. The largest grasslamnd is the Dhikala Chaur. Some of the best grasslands including the famous Buxor Chaur and the Beri Chaur were submerged in the Ramganga reservoir in 1974. The areas made available as a result of the relocation of the villages, Dhara, Jhirna and Kothirau in 1994 are being developed into grasslands through habitat management.

The Ramganga reservoir, which came into being in 1974, stretches over an area of around 82 sq.km. with one half each in Corbett National Park and Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary respectively. The Ramganga riger is the lifeline of Corbett Tiger Reserve. Its principal tributaries are the Mandal, Palain and Sonanadi. Numerous mountainous streams locally called Sots flow into these rivers. The nallas and ravines are thickly covered with evergreen glades along them, which provide undisturbed cover and water for tiger. Part of the catchment of the Kosi river falls within the Reserve though the river is outside the Reserve.

Corbett is very rich in avifauna. Zoological Survey of India has recorded over 585 species of resident and migratory birds here. Corbett falls in the newly constituted state of Uttaranchal, curved out of former Utter Pradesh State in 2000.

Forest Types
Northern Moist Deciduous
Moist Shiwalik Sal
Moist Bhabar Dun Sal
Western Gangetic Moist Mixed Deciduous
Alluvial Savannah Woodland
Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous
Dry Shiwalik Sal
Northern Dry Mixed Deciduous
Khair Sissoo
Himalayan Subtropical Pine Forests
Lower shiwalik Chir Pine

General Information :
Best Time to Visit : November- May.
Nearest Town : Ramnagar (51 Km)

How to Gethere :
Air : Pantnagar (110 Km)
Rail : Ramnagar (51 km).

Corbett National Park Fact File

General Information
Area Core Buffer Longitude Latitude Altitude Rainfall Temperature Seasons Winter Summer Monsoon	1318.54 sq. km. 520.82 sq. km. 797.72 sq. km. 78º5' E to 79º5' E 29º25' N to 29º40' N 365m-1100m above m.s.l. 1400 mm to 2800 mm. Min 0ºC - Max 42ºC November to February March to June July to October

Census
Animals	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997
Tiger Leopard Elephant Spotted Deer Sambar Barking Deers Hog Deer Bear Wild Boar Gharival Mugger Ghoral Monkey Langur Blue Bull	123 100 417 31625 5576 2262 292 54 7670 224 118 424 12663 14091 -----	128 102 449 ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----	134 110 502 31919 5695 2271 294 58 7711 123 119 433 12574 14187 313	----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----	138 109 746 32059 5727 2229 477 40 7906 283 301 451 12764 14300 466

Tourism
New Tourism Zone - Dhikala represents the main area open to visitors. Day visits to Dhikala were banned in 1990 and only those visitors that had confirmed overnight accommodation were permitted to enter form the National Park gate. As the toatal number of beds in different forest rest houses in Dhikala Zone is a mare 113, this represented one of the strictest controls on the number of visitors entering the NP. The ban was enforced as per the recommendations of a committee constituted by the Government of India. In order to cope with the increasing demand of the tourists, an alternate day visit zone was set up at Bijrani. In 1996 three more tourism zones were demarcated within the reorganized Corbett. These included the Sonanadi WLS and the Jhirna and Lohachaur zone located in the buffer.

At present, the area open to visitors in Corbett Tiger Reserve has been divided into five mutually exclusive tourism zones, each having a separate gate/gates for entrance. A visitor wishing to go from one zone to another has to come out and Reserve-enter through the gate for the other zone. This has been done to disperse visitor pressure all around the Reserve and check excessive visitor numbers in more popular areas. Conducted Day Visits - Conducted day visits were initiated in 1996 to motivate visitors to stay out of the NP and go inside only for wildlife viewing in small groups.

Year	National Tourists	Foreign Tourists
1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98	28480 37265 37459 41283 45019 45009	3483 6199 4771 5415 4923 4391

Highways
No Highway passes through the Reserve. There is a State Highway (Moradabad-Tehari S.H.No.4) lying on the eastern boundary of Corbett Tiger Reserve from Ramnagar to Marchula for about 35 km.

Diseases
Nil

Encroachment
An area of 13.62 ha. Forest land is under encroachment by 74 families.

Other
Weeds
The spread of exotic weeds such as Lantana, Parthenium and Cassia species is posing a major threat to the habitat. Vast stretches of the Reserve are choked with Lantana growth. Parthenium is also invading fresh areas aggressively.