Corbett Park and the invisible tigers

We left Woodstock early Sunday morning to Corbett National Park with a car and driver arranged through Momo Tours (Momo was in the Woodstock class of ’80 and is a very cool dude!). We went through Haridwar, a holy city where devotees bathe in the Ganges as part of their pilgrimage to Hindu temples in the Himalayas. Rishikesh is another holy city (30 km upstream of Haridwar) that made headlines when the Beatles visited in 1968.

We spent two nights at Corbett National Park and went on three jeep safaris. We saw lots of deer, exotic birds (like horn bills, peacocks and hupus), wild elephants, and a jackal (India’s equivalent of a coyote). We did not see a tiger, which is why everyone goes to Corbett. However, the best parts of the park are closed during the monsoon season (June 15 to November 15). The part we visited is the only one open all year and is not the best for tigers (although a female and two cubs were spotted the day we got there). The best time to go is April and May when things have dried out and the animals move to the watering holes. Access to the park is limited; you need a permit and must be accompanied by a guide. I’d be happy to provide more information if you’re thinking of going.

Although much has changed in India, one of the things that hasn’t is rural India. We drove through a number of small farming villages on our safaris. I thought things look pretty much the same as they did 40 years ago. Even though cellular telephone networks cover most of the country, there are still plenty of houses in the poverty-stricken rural villages that don’t have electricity and running water. Fields are still plowed using mules or oxen and the crops are harvested manually. Modernization just hasn’t happened for these people.

This is as close as we got to seeing a tiger. The big round print is from an elephant.

Sunset over a monsoon wash at Corbett Park.

Lunch on the deck at Corbett Hideaway hotel. Kosi river in the background.

Rural India looks the same as it did in 1969. This photo of a ramshackle hut/house could have been taken 40 years ago... except for the sattelite dish of course!