* A DAY SAFARI IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK *

* A DAY SAFARI IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK *

 
  In April 2008 i had been to Jim Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal. The trip was not as eventful as the previous one to Ranthambhore. Yet the beauty of the jungle did wonder. Ramnagar is the nearest town from where one can take either Gypsy or Canter safari to the park. Unlike Ranthambhore park, private vehicles are also allowed inside the park. But getting a permit to visit the park is a tough job unless you book it well in advance. I had to cut short my journey to a canter safari which lasted for 6 hours. My plan for an elephant safari in the jungle, which was possible only by a night stay at the park, remained unfulfilled.
   
  Putting an end to my try from early morning, on midday, Officer-the-mighty at the booking centre announced 1 seat is available and soon i found myself in a canter heading to a place called Dhikala. My fellow travellers include families with children. Dhikala, the most popular spot in the park followed by Bijrani, is a small area inside the jungle where night stay is allowed. On the way we passed by beautiful landscapes and spotted deers, monkeys, crocodiles, gharials and big fishes. One fish was about 1 metre of length. We saw travellers on elephant top cut through narrow paths in the jungle. We spent 30 minutes in Dhikala watching a dry river and the greenery on the other side. 
 
  On the way back we had 3 sightings of elephants. First was a herd of 15-20 elephants grazing on the field. Secondly a giant tusker having a bath. He looked at us curiously, but didn't hesitate to carry on the bath. The third one was in a unfriendly mood. It was standing on a small side road which leads to the river. We stopped at the joint to watch it. It was looking at us within a distance of 15 metres. All of a sudden, it charged towards our vehicle furiously. Now all in the vehicle yelled to the driver to start the vehicle and he accelerated it to safety. The animal gave up and turned back to the side road with the same speed. All this happened within seconds. Another canter, which was behind us, stopped at a safe distance. From the localites i heard that there were instances when a wild elephant attacked a canter and a tiger attacked a tame elephant on safari. Recollecting the sightings of the day, i travelled back to Delhi in a night bus.