From small beginnings and relative obscurity Jim Corbett National Park has come a long way. Our country’s and Asia’s first Reserve Forest the park was initially the Private property of local rulers prior to 1820 after which it was turned over to the British Administration. Till 1850 the park continued to be stripped off its timber and natural resources until Major Ramsay chartered out a comprehensive conservation plan to protect the forest. Through his efforts farming and cattle rearing, felling of trees was banned and forest fires taken care of. Finally in 1879 the area was declared as Reserved forest under the Forest Act.

In 1934 the then UP Governor, Sir Malcolm Hailey acting on the recommendations of Sir. Michael Keen to turn the forest into a Sanctuary, with the help of Major Jim Corbett demarcated the boundaries of the park and in 1936 The United Province national Park Act was enforced and this Reserved Forest became the First National Park of India fittingly called as the Hailey National Park after its Governor..

The park was expanded to its present area of 520 square kilometers (core area) in 1966 from its initial area of mere 323.75 square kilometers to accommodate larger mammals. After independence the Park was renamed as Ramganga National Park in 1952 due its location at the banks of the river Ramganga, a tributary of Ganges.

The Park in 1956 was again renamed as Jim Corbett Natioanl Park as a tribute to the legendary Scots man who helped establish the Reserve, wrote six books about it and worked to preserve its natural diversity. Known as `Carpet Sahib’ by the locals of Kumaon and Garhwal he helped save numerous lives from Man eating tigers of these hills. Son of a Post Master in Naintial he was only a Matriculate but he played various roles during his life time he was a legendary hunter, worked as fuel inspector and assistant station master at Bihar, then as labour contractor, later he helped train allied soldiers in jungle warfare for British Army and finally went on to become Lieutenant Colonel. Upon his retirement for twenty-four years he served as an elected member of the Nainital municipal Board.

Though a gifted hunter he gave up the sport after a Shikar round with three Army Oficers when noting thousands of birds at a lake they began shooting and nearly 300 birds were dead in a matter of minutes, Jim Corbett felt saddened by his actions and decided never to indulge in the sport again.

After this incident whenever Corbett wielded the rifle it was to protect the villagers form man-eating tigers a service he carried late into life shooting his last man eating tiger after the age of 60. At that period in history he was perhaps the only able an brave soul who had the skill and stoutness of heart to face a man eating tiger face to face and thus he became a household name, in the Kumoan and Grahwal hills.

Jim died at Kenya where he had settled with his sister Maggi in his last days. Jim’s home now a museum stands at the fringes of the park surrounded by a tiny village called `Chota Haldwani’ part of the land gifted to the villagers by Jim. Its older residents still tell tales of the legendary White Brahmin Corbett. He was honored by the Indian government as the powerful missionary for wildlife preservation in India.

In the year 1973 the park was internationally honored by being chosen as a venue for the launching of the Wildlife Conservation Project `PROJECT TIGER’.

Jim Corbett National Park sprawls across the Sivalik and Outer Himalayan region and is blessed with a combination of wild life species, birds and Flora both of the plains and the mountainous landscape. The Bengal Tiger and the Asiatic Elephant are the most popular of the natives here. The park is a paradise for Birdwatchers as it has over 600 varieties of birds. Variants of the cat family like the Leopard Cat, Jungle Cat and Fishing Cat are also found here.

Other animals sighted are the Himalayan Palm Civet, Indian Gray Mongoose, Common Otter, Blacknaped Hare, Porcupine Wild Dog, Jackal, Langur, Rhesus Monkeys, Chital, Sambhar and various other Deer species.

Ramnagar fishing camp provides a scenic valley written about in Corbett’s books for angling Mahasheer which grows to quite a size here. A two hour Jeep ride proves the best way of seeing the entire park during which one is expected to remain quiet and not attract undue attention or alight from the vehicle at certain dangerous spots.

Shisham , khair, bakli (Anogeissus latifolia), chir, sal and bamboo abound in the forest.The Ramganga flows through the forest and irrigates it. The park opens from Mid November to Mid June when closes for the coming monsoon as rains make inroad into the forest impossible. Tourist cottages abound on the fringes of the forest but require prior booking.

Phoolbagh in Pantnagar is the nearest airport about 50-kms from the park, where as Ramnagar is the nearest Railhead from where taxis and buses to the Park are available.