Situated in the picturesque Kumaon hills in Nainital district, the 1,200 sq km Corbett National Park is the place from where Project Tiger was launched in 1973. Corbett is regarded as one of the true bird parks of the world. Out of the 2,060 species and subspecies of birds recorded in the Indian subcontinent, over 600 species/subspecies of birds have been recorded from Corbett at one time or another. The reserve, which covers 520 sq. kms. is not less than a paradise for birdwatchers. This number is greater than the total number of bird species found in Europe and represents around one fourth of the avilauca diversity found in India. Out of the 69 species of raptors found in India, 49 can be seen in Corbett making it a striking element of the local avifauna.

The park, with its rich biogeographic diversity, is home to more than 600 species of birds – about half of the total species found in the entire Indian subcontinent! You can see parakeets, owls, orioles, drongos, thrushes, babblers, bulbuls, cuckoos, doves, bee eaters, rollers, flycatchers, warblers, robins, chats, finches, forktails, hornbills, kingfishers and many many more. It is also possibly one of the best places in the world for observing birds of prey such as Oriental White-eye, Jungle Owlet, Alexandrine Parakeet, Himalayan Swiftlet, Lesser Fish-Eagle or even Great Thick-knee, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Brown Fish Owl, Himalayan Kingfisher, Brown Dipper and Plumbeous/White-Capped Redstarts. One can also see Little/Staty backed Forktails, Mountain/Rufousbellied Hawk-Eagles, Park, Blue Whistling Thrush and Red Jungle Fowl. Corbett is also the only home of the rare Indian pagolin. Consider yourself supremely blessed if you spot one! The rare fish eating, long snouted gharial is a common sight on the banks of the river Ramganga.

Corbett is one of the most congested parks in India with a ratio of 1 tiger to every 5 acres. Gullies, ravines and thick forest cover give tigers the right kind of habitat. And herds of deer, particularly the sambar, plenty of food. The tiger is reclusive, but can be somewhat predictable in its beat. You are more likely to spot a tiger close near a water body than to meet him or her accidentally on the forest path! About 300 – 350 Asiatic elephants roam around the park in herds, along the river Ramganga or foraging in the grasslands. Mammals include Chital, Sambhar, Muntjack (Barking Deer), Hog Deer and Common Langur.

The protective environment of Corbett Park has kept some endangered species safe and thriving, like the hog deer which has been virtually saved from extinction. At last count, the numbers had increased substantially.

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.