A Jim Corbett National Park tour is the easiest way to add tigers to a trip that starts in Delhi. Corbett is India's oldest national park, set up in 1936 as Hailey National Park, and the place where Project Tiger was launched in 1973. It also has more tigers than any other reserve in the country: the 2022 national tiger estimate counted 260 inside Corbett Tiger Reserve. None of that means you will see one, and the park is more complicated to book than most first-time visitors expect.

We have planned trips from our Jaipur office since 2005, and wildlife routes are a regular request from guests in the UK, the US and Australia. These are the questions we hear most about Corbett, and the answers we give.

Where is Corbett, and how do you get there from Delhi?

The park sits in the Himalayan foothills of Uttarakhand, with the town of Ramnagar as its base. From Delhi it is about 250 km by road. Our 15-day Golden Triangle and wildlife tour plans it as roughly five hours in the car, after a morning in Old Delhi at the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid. We treat it as a travel day: you arrive for an early dinner, not a safari.

There are two alternatives. Trains run from Delhi to Ramnagar station, about 12 km from the park gates, in roughly five to six and a half hours. Pantnagar has a small domestic airport around 85 km from Ramnagar, though flights are limited. For most guests the car is simpler. Our guide to a private car with driver in India explains how that works day to day.

Flying in from the UK, non-stop flights from London Heathrow to Delhi take around nine hours. India is four and a half hours ahead of the UK in British Summer Time and five and a half hours ahead once the clocks go back on 25 October 2026. Arrange your e-Visa first; our India visa guide for US, UK and EU travellers covers the steps.

Which safari zone should we book?

Corbett is divided into tourism zones, each with its own gate, and your permit is for one zone and one drive. The zones open on different dates:

  • Dhikala: the big grasslands along the Ramganga river, known for elephant herds. Open 15 November to 15 June, entered through Dhangari gate. Day visitors go in by shared canter (a large open vehicle), not by private jeep.
  • Bijrani: mixed sal forest and open meadows, and the most popular jeep zone. Open 15 October to 30 June.
  • Jhirna and Dhela: in the south of the reserve, open all year, including the monsoon months when the core zones are shut.
  • Durga Devi, Garjia and Sitabani: quieter zones that suit a second or third drive.

We'd suggest Bijrani for your first drive and Dhikala if your dates fall between mid-November and mid-June. The real prize is a night inside Dhikala at the forest rest house, deep in the core, which is booked through the Uttarakhand government's portal. Foreign visitors are expected to book around 90 days ahead, and rooms go quickly in winter. If you decide late, jeep safaris from a hotel near Ramnagar still make a very good trip.

How many safaris do we need?

More than one. Corbett's sal forest is dense and the river grass grows tall, so a tiger can be close to the track and still unseen.

The rhythm on our 15-day tour is a good template. Day 2 is the drive from Delhi. On Day 3 you leave the hotel at 6.00 for a morning jeep safari, come back for a shower and breakfast, have lunch at 14.30, and then go out again for the afternoon safari. That gives you two drives in one full day. If tigers are the main reason for your trip, add a second full day: four drives in two zones is what we recommend for keen wildlife watchers.

We advise against Corbett as a day trip from Delhi. Five hours each way for a single drive is a poor bargain.

What else lives in the park?

Corbett is known for its wild Asian elephants, particularly on the Dhikala grasslands. You can also see leopard, deer, otters, and gharial and mugger crocodiles in the Ramganga, and birdwatchers have more than six hundred species to look for.

When is the best time to go?

Corbett is a winter-and-spring park. From mid-November to February the forest is green and the light is soft, but mornings are cold and foggy in an open jeep, with night temperatures that can drop to around 5°C. Pack a warm layer, a hat and gloves; our list of what to pack for India, season by season has the rest. March to mid-June is hotter and the forest thins out, so animals come to the water and sightings tend to get easier, at the cost of dusty midday heat.

From mid-June the core zones close for the monsoon. Bijrani reopens in mid-October and Dhikala in mid-November, which is why an October trip has fewer zones to choose from.

Does Corbett fit with the Golden Triangle?

It can, but here is the honest drawback: Corbett is in the opposite direction from Agra and Rajasthan. On our 15-day tour the drive from Corbett to Agra is 400 km and takes about eight hours. That is a long day in the car, and we tell guests so before they book. The route then carries on to Keoladeo, Ranthambore and Sariska.

If you only have a week, a Rajasthan reserve is easier to fit in. Our comparison of Ranthambore and Sariska covers the two that sit closest to Jaipur. With two weeks or more, Corbett is worth the extra mileage, and our wildlife tours show how we combine it with other parks. You can also read about the park on our Jim Corbett destination page, or browse the wider wildlife destinations we cover.

Who looks after us on the way?

Your driver stays with you from Delhi to the end of the trip, which matters on a wildlife route full of early starts. One guest put it better than we can:

"Our driver, Anand, was the true hero of our trip. Navigating India's chaotic traffic requires a special kind of skill, and Anand made us feel safe and relaxed every step of the way."

David Lamper, Google review

That review, and the rest of our 4.8 rating from 303 reviews on TripAdvisor and Google, is on our guest reviews page. Our cars, from sedans to larger vehicles for families, are listed under car rental with driver in India.

Jim Corbett National Park tour: quick answers

Can children go on a Corbett safari?

Yes, children can join jeep safaris with their parents. The early starts and four-hour drives are the real test, so with young children we suggest one drive a day.

Is a tiger sighting guaranteed?

No, and you should be wary of anyone who says otherwise. The forest is thick; more drives in more than one zone improve your odds.

Is Corbett open in October?

Partly. Bijrani opens on 15 October, and Jhirna and Dhela are open all year. Dhikala does not open until 15 November.

If you would like Corbett built into a private tour, with permits, hotels and a driver arranged from Jaipur, send us your dates and we will plan the route with you.