Wildlife Tours in Uttarakhand

CORBETT NATIONAL PARK

Introduction
The Corbett National Park is a primal jungle as Rudyard Kipling put it. Despite extensive tourism, the park has managed to retain its primeval ambience, where man must walk timorously, in awe and with a strong sense of his own insignificance.

Set up in 1936 as India?s first national park and possibly the finest, the Corbett National Park was first delimited in consultation with that great hunter and conserver, Jim Corbett. The park spans across some 920.9 square km at an altitude of 600 to 1100 metres about the foothills of the western Himalayas in the districts of Nainital and Pauri Garhwal in the state of Uttaranchal (formerly part of Uttar Pradesh). In its eventful 64-year life, it has grown considerably in size and now includes the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary as a part of its 1,319 sq km of reserved forest area.

Climate
As with the rest of the country, there are three well-defined seasons at the Corbett National Park?winter from November to February, summer from March to June and the rainy season the rest of the year. Corbett is closed for public from June 15 to November 15.

Tourist Attractions

The main feature of this ridged valley is the Ramganga River, running broadly west by south west, the catchment streams of which vivisect the land into numerous little ridges and ravines. The topography is therefore very varied?the streams forming islands of ?sheesham? trees, the ridges being thickly foliated with ?sal? trees and the pastures carrying long grasses. In this variety of habitat abounds wildlife of enchanting beauty including 50 mammals, 577 birds and at least 25 reptiles. The river teems with mahseer, gharial, mugger and flocks of cormorants. Project Tiger was inaugurated here on April 1, 1973. The center of tourist activity in the park always continues to be Dhikala, at the heart of the core area. Here, substantial residential accommodation has been built along one end of a large grassy plateau perched on the edge of the cliff bordering the Ramganga reservoir. Apart from tigers (90 in number in 1984), leopards as well as lesser cats such as the leopard cat, jungle cat, and fishing cat are also found here. The sloth bear, Himalayan black bear, dhole, jackal, yellow throated marten, Himalayan palm civet, Indian grey mongoose, common otter, porcupine, black naped hare are the other attractions of this area. It is possible to see elephants all over the park. Four species of deer are found here. These are the barking deer, para, kakkar, and the well known spotted deer chital. The goat antelopes are represented by the ghoral.

There is a lot for the bird watching opportunities in this park as it has over 580 species of birds. Most of the water birds are the migrant variety, and arrive in winters. Some of these are the graylag, bareheaded goose, duck, grepe, snipe, sandpiper, gull and wagtail. The residents include darters, cormorants, egrets, herons, the black-necked stork and the spur winged lapwings.

The reptiles, which are residents of this area, are the rare fish eating, long-nosed crocodile gharial, and a few species of turtles and tortoises. The Indian python, viper, cobra, krait and king cobra also inhabit the Corbett National Park. The national park offers invaluable experiences for adventurous and serious-minded wildlife-buffs, photographers and anglers. It is advantageous to have one's own vehicle here. Walking in some areas is permitted, but only when accompanied by a guide. Elephant rides for wildlife viewing, in the mornings and evenings, can be booked in the Dhikala complex.

Excursions
In the vicinity of the Corbett National Park are the wildlife sanctuaries like Rajaji National Park and Dudhwa National Park. Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh and one of the major tourist destinations in the country.

RAJAJI NATIONAL PARK

Introduction
Rajaji National Park is situated in the state of Uttaranchal, now known as Uttarakhand. The picturesque beauty and rich biodiversity of the park serve as its major attractions for both nature lovers as well as wildlife enthusiasts. In the year 1983, Rajaji Wildlife Sanctuary of Uttaranchal was merged with Motichur and Chilla wildlife sanctuaries and made into Rajaji National Park. The park has been named after Late Sri C. Rajgopalachari (also known as Rajaji), a famous freedom fighter and first governor general of India . Rajaji National Park of India spreads over an area of 820.42 sq km and is open to visitors only from Mid-November to Mid-June.

Tourist Attractions
Rajaji National Park is situated along the hills and foothills of Shiwalik ranges in the Himalayan foothills and represent the Shiwalik eco-system. Combining three sanctuaries, namely Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji - Rajaji National Park is spread over the Pauri Garwal, Dehradun and Saharanpur districts of Uttaranchal. The Motichur and Rajaji sanctuaries are contiguous, and are separated from the Chilla Sanctuary to the south-east by the Ganges River and the Chilla River.

Motichur and Rajaji wildlife sanctuaries lie to the north and south of the Siwalik Ridge and are dissected by many ravines carrying water which descend from the main ridge, becoming broad pebble/boulder filled streams in the plains. These streams remain dry for most of the year but become raging torrents during the monsoon. The area is covered with diverse forest types ranging from semi-evergreen to deciduous and from mixed broad-leaved to terai grassland and has been classified as Indus-Ganges Monsoon Forest type. Lofty strands of sal dominate in many parts. Rajaji is home to avian species which are found in forested foothills and in open grassland. It's location in a transition zone between temperate western Himalaya and central Himalaya enhances the species diversity and consequently the viewing prospects. Rajaji's checklist has 324 species and includes good birds like Greater Scaup, White-naped Woodpecker, Great Hornbill, Black-bellied Tern, Pallas's Fish Eagle, Northern Goshawk, Black-necked Stork, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Scaly Thrush, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, Pale-footed Bush Warbler, Tytler's Leaf Warbler, Green Avadavat and Reed Bunting.

Birding in Rajaji can be: i) around the various forest rest houses, ii) on the 26 Km forest drive at Chilla across grassland and mixed forests, iii) along the Phanduwala - Kansrao - Motichur trail. This 40 km trail goes through undisturbed stretches of dense forest. The Suswa river runs parallel to these three connecting forest ranges and marks the northern boundary of the park. A jungle road connects these ranges from Asarori to Motichur via Phanduwala and Kansrao. Approaches to this route can be from the Asarori gate opposite Karvapani gate on the SH-DD highway from where Phanduwala is about 10 km. An alternative route is from Ramgarh gate near Clemet Town. This road goes through the Mathurawala swamps along Suswa river to reach Phanduwala.

Fauna in Rajaji National Park
The park has the largest population of Elephants in Uttarakhand. It also has a good number of Tigers and Leopards. Both elephants and tiger are here at the North-Western limit of their distribution in india. Wild animals found in Rajaji National Park. The park also houses over four hundred bird species. The Great Pied Hornbill, Himalayan Pied Kingfisher and fire tailed sunbird are some of the residents of our retreat. This area is the first staging ground after the migratory birds cross over the mighty Himalayas into the Indian subcontinent

Flora in
Rajaji National Park
The permanent vegetation of the park may be classified under the Northern Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests and can be grouped into following six types:
Sal Forest It dominates the Rajaji National Park
Mixed forest The trees like Acacia catechu(Khair), Vetiveria Zizanioides(Khus), etc.
Riverine forest The vegetation occurring in low water logged areas, along brooks, river beds and streambeds has developed into a riverine forest.
Scrub forest These forests represent degradation stage of Dry Deciduous Forests which are formed as results of adverse biotic factors like over grazing, lopping, felling and fires etc.
Grassland It is consist of Grasses.
Pine Forests The area covered by this type is very small. Chir (Pinus roxburghii) occurs on higher slopes of Shiwalik, mixed with stunted Sal forest.

NANDA DEVI NATIONAL PARK

Introduction
In the vicinity of Nanda Devi (7817 m), the second highest peak in India, is situated the Nanda Devi National Park, which has some of the most unique high altitude flora and fauna in the world. The spectacular views, sylvan environment, and richness of biosphere make it quite different from the other wildlife sanctuaries of India. The park has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and in its vicinity are the Valley of Flowers, Badrinath Temple, and Hemkund Sahib.

Though the park was notified only in 1982, it has a long history. W.W. Garden was the first person to reach this region in 1883, but his expedition to the Nanda Devi Peak failed to create any impact. In 1936, Tilman and N.E. Odell scaled the Nanda Devi and opened its vista for others to follow.

This led to the region becoming a game sanctuary in 1939. The area of the park remained undisturbed until 1950's when organized expeditions for Nanda Devi started. To save the park from these disturbances, the Government of India declared the region a National Park in 1982 and later it was given the special status of a Biosphere Reserve.

Location
The Nanda Devi National Park is located in the Indian state of Uttaranchal in the upper Himalayan ranges. A part of the Garhwal Himalayas, the park extends from the latitude 30?24' in the North to the longitude 79?53' in the East. The entry to the park is from Lata village around 23 km from Joshimath. Mountain peaks surround it from all sides except the west where it is bounded by an inaccessible gorge.

Climate
Being in the high altitudes, Nanda Devi National Park has a distinct climate. For six months of the year, the region remains under a snow cover. For the rest of the year, the region has a dry climate with heavy rainfall from June to August. April to June are the months when the temperature increases a bit and they are the months when one can visit this place.

Tourist Attractions
Flora : The forest cover in this park is mainly restricted to the Rishi Gorge and the main vegetation is of fir, birch, rhododendron, and juniper. In the inner sanctuary, conditions are drier and near the Nanda Devi Glacier, there is almost no vegetation. From Ramani, the vegetation changes to alpine and only juniper scrubs are the dominating vegetation. The Juniper scrubs gradually give way to grasses, prone mosses, and lichens. In total, 312 floral species have been found here of which around 17 are considered rare.

Fauna : Animal population of species like bharal, Himalayan tahr, serow, goral, snow leopard, Himalayan black bear, brown bear, leopard, common langur, Himalayan musk deer, and brown beer dominate the park area. Warblers, gresbreaks, rose finches, and ruby throat represent avifauna here. Approximately 80 species have been spotted in this park.

Excursions : Joshimath, at a distance of around 23 km from the Nanda Devi National Park, is an important place in any expedition to the higher altitudes of the Garhwal Himalayas. Badrinath, Valley of Flowers, and Hemkund Sahib are all wonderful destinations in this region and all can be approached from the Nanda Devi National Park. The Nanda Devi peak is considered to be one of the toughest peaks to climb in the world and a favorite destination of mountaineers from across the globe.