The Corbett No One Tells You About | Courtesy Corbett The Baagh

When it comes to the people of the millennial generation, it’s fair to say that a lot of things are different for us and those things which aren’t, are the things we take for us to make different, right? A lot of things have already been served on our platter that are a lot different from what the earlier generation had (with only a little that we can do about it) and a lot of things we work on to be different. It’s a time when ideas and innovation are termed greater than the supposed ‘this is how it’s supposed to be’ stuff.

Let’s take Corbett National Park for an example. Now, you’ve either been there or you haven’t, either way, you’re here looking at an article that’s about how you can do Corbett differently, about how there’s a side of Corbett, a face, a quality that’s not that out there but exists in all its grandeur. If that sparks your interest, read on!

We recently planned a short weekend getaway with everything from sightseeing to safari to the activities on our trip being taken care of by Corbett The Baagh Spa and Resort, our hospitality partner. However, they did something we had not quite expected from a place whose visit was deemed successful only if the answer to the question of ‘Did you see a tiger’ was affirmative.

Well in our case, not quite. The weekend that was ahead of us opened up Corbett in a way that can best be described as a unique and motivated us to curate this list of things you can do to experience Corbett much differently than what visitors are accustomed to.

Hiking

Now all you need is an experienced local explorer to get to the offbeat trails to trek on and the place you are staying at plays a big role here, in our case we were accompanied by naturalists from Corbett The baagh Spa and Resort. What came alongside the adventure were plenty stories about life around the area and their own experiences living there. The hike started downhill from Amtoli top that overlooked the village of Patkot (where we had our resort) and was about 4.8 kms of return to the resort. On our way we were delighted to see plenty of rare species of birds and walk around the thick sal forest in the thick silence juxtaposed with sounds of nature early in the morning.

We encountered small houses and a local school mid-way while talking about how people who lived in the wilderness had immense faith in their beliefs and worshipped everything from the tree to the soil to the animals, everything under the umbrella of nature.

Exploring Local Culture

The location of our Resort gave us the benefit of being connected to the local residents of Patkot Village while still being in touch of natural splendor that surrounded every bit of it. The resort, built so efficiently has the view of breathtaking hills and forests from every corner of its property.

Incidentally, our trip had coincided with the festival of Makar Sankranti coupled with the day of local weekly Saturday market. We were welcomed into the home of one of the residents of the village as they prepared for the festivities to take place.

Various stories surrounding the occasion were shared while flour and jiggery based “ghughutiya” delicacies were rolled and fried as we reminisced about how where ever you are, the festive feel and enthusiasm stays the same. There we sat under the stars rolling Ghughutia pieces to be fried on a small chulha sharing laughter with a family we had never known before.

Jungle Walks

We had the pleasure of spending one evening and one morning strolling around the forest cover that surrounded the resort and on one such exploration we encountered a lady perched on a tree top trying to cut some wood for work. “Don’t you get scared roaming like this in forest?” she said casually teasing us as she stuck her knife through the trunk alone just accompanied by her dog.

With the expertise of our Naturist guide Mr. Rajesh Bhatt, we were able to spot plenty of migratory birds, some tiger excretes and beautiful parasite trees co-existing one over the other and sounds of animal alarm calls, while also getting to observe how the people staying close by sustained their livelihood with small organic farms.

There’s more to Corbett than just the Tiger

“One thing I try to make people understand”, said Mr. Imran Khan, the Naturalist to us on the first evening, “when all you are coming here with is a picture of tiger in your head, you are actually foreseeing all the rest of absolutely beautiful things that surround you here in Corbett. Corbett is not just tigers! Yes, it does boast of the wild population of tigers here but it also has the rarest of bird species, elephants, various kinds of spotted deer, barking deer, rarest flora and a lot of little magical things that nature holds close to its heart. Come here as a blank slate and absorb it all in, etch it in your memory … and if you then have a tiger sighting, it’s a big add on, but nevertheless, you have so much!”

As they say, a bit of guidance and it all falls in place and so did this trip! We went for the Sitabani zone safari, popular for its deers and birds and spotted quite a variety while also stopping by the sitabani temple by the pond.

It is when you see a place from the eyes of a local, as they say, is when you truly see through its facades that have been created over a period of time. Corbett the Baagh made us go beyond the regular and see Corbett from the eyes of a local and all we saw were sights tinted with love for nature and its humbleness, its grandeur, its beauty and peace.

• Suggested Tour: Jim Corbett with Nainital Tour Package