Jim Corbett National Park is one of the most popular national parks in India. This is located in Uttarakhand, spread in about 1318 km². Jim Corbett national park is named after Jim Corbett who was a British hunter, naturalist and author. He hunted many man-eater tigers and leopards in India. He was born in Nainital in 1875 and lived in India, Uttarakhand to be more precise, until Independence, after which he left for Kenya lived there till the end.
Read: Gurney House – Jim Corbett’s home in Nainital
Jim Corbett national park attracts tourists from all across the world as one expects to sport the famous Royal Bengal Tiger here along with many other rare wild animals and birds.
Since, Jim Corbett National Park is situated in Nainital district in Ramnagar in Uttarakhand state, the only convenient way to reach is via road. The highway is well connected but only good if you have your own personal vehicle. If you live in Bareily or Delhi NCR, it becomes easier as there are number of buses for Ramnagar.
Nearest Airport is Jolly Grant Airport, which is about 220 kms from Jim Corbett.
Ramnagar also has a railway station and train to Delhi is quite nice. It is an AC Chaircar train which costs around 500-800 rupees.
From Kanpur, there are no direct trains to Ramnagar.
Though I have always travelled to Jim Corbett from my own car whether it is from Delhi or Kanpur; but this time I decided to explore the other way.
I booked an AC Chaircar train called Garibrath from Kanpur to Haldwani. The ticket costs in between 700-900 Rs. This train only operates on Tuesdays. The train was decent as it was AC but it was so SO late. From Kanpur, it had to depart around 6 AM but it left at 7:30 AM. The train kept on stopping at random places on the way in the jungles and reached Haldwani 4.5 hours late.
From Haldwani, I had booked a private taxi using MakeMyTrip which costed me around 2200 rupees from Haldwani to Ramnagar (my stay in Jim Corbett).
The distance from Haldwani station to Ramnagar is approx 55 kms which takes around 1.5 hours to reach.
Now, if you are going for 1 week, then fine because this train only moves on Tuesdays, otherwise, you can come to Delhi and then to Kanpur OR come to Barielly via bus and then to Kanpur.
There is NO convenient air route to and fro, so don’t even think about it.
My experience with Garibrath train was really bad because it disturbed my entire routine and wasted 4.5 hours. The total time that I spent in the train and to reach my accommodation in Jim Corbett, I would have reached directly from my car as the distance from Kanpur to Ramnagar is approx 450 kms and takes about 10 hours in total, including the rest-stop.
My personal suggestion would be to:
option 1) go by your own vehicle or private taxi
option 2) do a break-journey – Kanpur to Barielly and Bareilly to Ramnagar
option 3) Kanpur to haldwani via train (if you don’t mind train arriving late) and Haldwani to Ramnagar via private taxi
Hope this helps!
Also read:
#IndiaWelcomesCheetah – Tips to Plan a trip to Kuno National Park
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75 Things to Do in INDIA at least ONCE in your LIFETIME
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