Jan 12, 2015 11:45 AM
152708 Views
(Updated Jan 14, 2015 09:09 PM)
We had booked for accommodation with Club Mahindra at their Jim Corbett resort for stay between December 25, 2014 and December 27, 2014(three nights). We reached Ramnagar in the night at 8:50 pm by Uttark Sampark Kranti Express and got picked up at the station, having organized for travel arrangements through Club Mahindra. The pickup and check in process was smooth.
The next day we were off to the Jim Corbett Museum that had some stuffed animals on display and then visited a nearby temple. The Activity Centre/Traveldesk folks were resourceful enough to arrange for an elephant safari for us in the evening though we had not done prior bookings. These are privately conducted tours in the forest buffer zone and not through the Forest Department. We were lucky to spot a tiger in the bush that stood up the elephant neared it.
The mahout then steered the elephant a little away from the tiger as the elephant and the tiger were nervous in each other’s presence. We retreated a few feet away on the elephant and took in a good view of the tiger over the next five minutes in absolute silence. Then on our way back from the forest zone, we also spotted a few deer. The Activity Center organized an audio visual program for evening entertainment centered on Jim Corbett National Park. The food at the restaurant was quite good – the spread and the taste backed up by good service. We enjoyed our breakfast, lunch and dinner at the restaurant in the resort.
The next day, we went on an early morning drive to the reserve forest in the morning(booked online 30 days in advance). This requires government issued id to be carried with oneself and is checked by the Forest Department folks at the entrance gate. A guide from the Forest Department(besides the driver) accompanies the visitors on the trip and offers insights into wildlife. The guests are picked up in a Maruti Gypsy from the resort where they stay(Most resorts are located on one road in a stretch of 3 kilometers in Ramnagar). We ended up spotting very few animals during this drive – a few species of deer, peacocks and monkeys. We went for a similar drive in the afternoon as well and ended up spotting a tiger(we got lucky), languor(monkey), different species of deer and a few birds besides domesticated elephants maintained by the Forest Department. Spotting tigers requires luck and also good guides who look for pugmarks as we drive in the vehicle. We were waiting in the vehicle at a particular spot for about half an hour in the afternoon as the guide was pretty confident that the beast was lurking around and he was proved right.
The evening was spent in the resort followed by Kumaoni dinner at the restaurant. The food is less spicy and healthy. We checked out the next day after breakfast and left for Binsar for a stay at Club Mahindra.
The resort is well maintained and is a fairly large property with a swimming pool right on the banks of the Kosi river. One can enjoy the food at the grill restaurant as well if one can bear the cold winter weather in December. The maintenance and upkeep of the resort is quite good with proper housekeeping while the Activity Centre folks have enough activities to keep the children engaged.
The check out process was smooth as well. The Traveldesk arrangements were good. We really had a memorable experience here. The team work of the staff shines through in this resort, offering an overwhelmingly positive experience to guests(Front Office, Traveldesk, Restaurant, Activity Centre and Housekeeping – all offering reliable and consistent level of service). We ended up upgrading our membership from being Red season members to Purple season members by the time we checked out.
Tips for travellers: This property is good for a family vacation. Decembers can be cold, but the National Park is less crowded. Ramnagar is connected to Delhi(Old Delhi railway station) by trains. National Park allows limited number of vehicles from each gate daily(30) and hence book in advance. Remember to carry government issued photo id.
