Dhela, Jhirna or Bijrani: which Corbett zone should you book?

Most first-time visitors arrive having read that Dhikala is the best zone, try to book it, discover it does not work the way they assumed, and end up somewhere else anyway. Here is how the six actually differ.

Dhela

The closest gate to us, about ten minutes, and the zone our property shares a boundary with. Opened to tourism in 2014 as a buffer zone, open all year including through the monsoon. Open grassland, sal stands and waterholes, with tiger, leopard, sloth bear, elephant and heavy deer and bird density.

Dhela carries a slightly unfair reputation as the consolation zone, mostly because it is newer. In practice it drives well, it is less crowded than Bijrani, and its year-round opening makes it the reliable choice.

Jhirna

Twenty minutes, also open year-round. A mix of abandoned farmland turned scrub and denser forest makes it the best bet in the park for sloth bear, alongside wild boar, elephant and good chital numbers. Flatter terrain, which matters with older guests or young children who will not enjoy three hours of being thrown around.

Bijrani

Forty minutes, open 15 October to 30 June. This is the zone that looks like the Corbett of photographs: tall sal, open chaurs, long sightlines. Historically strong sighting rates and the photographers' favourite. Permits go quickest here.

Dhikala

The famous one. Open 15 November to 15 June. Day visitors enter by shared canter, not private jeep, unless you hold a forest rest house booking inside the zone. The Ramganga reservoir and the Dhikala chaur are genuinely spectacular and unlike anything else in the park. It is a long day — plan it as the centrepiece of a three-night stay.

Durga Devi

Ninety minutes, open 15 October to 15 June, and the hilliest and least crowded. The Mandal and Ramganga rivers run through it, there is mahseer in the water, and the birding is the best in the park. Not the zone for a tiger. Very much the zone for a forest.

Sitabani

Outside the reserve, which changes everything practically. No permit, flexible timings, and the freedom to stop and walk. Excellent birding and a quiet temple. The right answer when permits are sold out or when you want two hours rather than four.

What the zone does not decide

Your guide matters more than your zone. A naturalist who reads alarm calls, knows which waterhole is still holding and has the discipline to sit quietly for twenty minutes will find you more in Dhela than an indifferent one will in Bijrani. So will the behaviour of the people in your jeep.