Ramnagar

Ramnagar is the principal gateway to Jim Corbett National Park, India's oldest national park and the birthplace of Project Tiger. Set on the banks of the Kosi river where the Terai plains meet the Shivalik foothills, the town exists largely to serve the steady stream of wildlife enthusiasts drawn to Corbett's forests.

From here, safaris head into the park's famous zones — Bijrani, Dhikala, Jhirna and others — in search of tigers, elephants, deer and the park's extraordinary birdlife, with the riverine grasslands and sal forests forming one of the most evocative wildlife landscapes in the country.

Beyond the safaris, Ramnagar offers the riverside Garjia Devi temple perched atop a rock in the Kosi, the Corbett Falls amid forest, and the Corbett Museum at Kaladhungi, housed in the naturalist's former home. A wealth of resorts along the river make it an easy and rewarding wildlife base.

November to June for safaris; the core zones largely close during the monsoon (roughly mid-June to mid-November).