Kaladhungi — the foothill town where Jim Corbett lived
Kaladhungi in Nainital district, the foothill town where Jim Corbett lived: his house is now a museum, the iron-stone name and the road to Ramnagar.
Uttarakhand⛰ 345 m2 itineraries
Ramnagar
Ramnagar, the gateway to Jim Corbett National Park: the park and its zones, Garjiya Devi Temple, Corbett Falls and Kaladhungi, with road times and the season.
Itineraries you can copy
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One day from Ramnagar — the park gate and the Garjiya Devi Temple
Day plan · nature lovers · nature
A one-day plan from Ramnagar: a morning at the Dhangarhi gate of Jim Corbett National Park, then the Garjiya Devi Temple on its rock in the Kosi river.
Best Jan–Jun · Nov–Dec
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One day from Ramnagar — Corbett Falls and Kaladhungi
Day plan · families · Temples & heritage
A one-day plan from Ramnagar: Corbett Falls, a 20 m forest waterfall by the highway, then Kaladhungi, the foothill town where Jim Corbett lived.
Best Jan–Mar · Oct–Dec
See the plan →Going together
No one has started a group going to Ramnagar yet. Start one and other travellers can ask to come along.
Ramnagar is a town on the Kosi river in the foothills of Nainital district, at about 345 m, and the usual gateway to Jim Corbett National Park. The park was established in 1936 as India's first national park, and Wikipedia says it was the first to come under Project Tiger. The town was founded in 1850 and named for the British commissioner Sir Henry Ramsay. It is about 65 km from Nainital.
The park lies north and west of the town, between the Lesser Himalaya and the Siwalik Hills, along the Ramganga river; Wikipedia counts about 260 tigers there in the 2022 census. Read the park page before you plan a safari. On the river, the Garjiya Devi Temple stands on a rock in the Kosi, about 21 minutes from Ramnagar on our routing. On the road towards Nainital, Corbett Falls and Kaladhungi, where Jim Corbett lived, are each about 49 minutes away. Sitavani, a forest shrine of Sita about 20 km away by Wikipedia's account, is in the same country; we have no measured drive time for it.
The park's core zones close for the monsoon, so the season matters more here than almost anywhere in Uttarakhand. Read when to visit, how to reach Ramnagar and things to do in Ramnagar, and copy the park-gate day or the Kaladhungi day.
Photos: Timothy Gonsalves (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Anamdas (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Sayanti Sikder (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Places worth the drive
Jim Corbett National Park — India's first national park
Jim Corbett National Park near Ramnagar: India's first national park, about 260 tigers, the Dhikala and Bijrani zones, the season and the permit rule.
Corbett Falls — the forest waterfall on the Kaladhungi road
Corbett Falls, a 20 m waterfall in dense forest beside the Kaladhungi–Ramnagar highway: where it is, our measured drive and the Wikipedia distance conflict.
Garjiya Devi Temple — the shrine on a rock in the Kosi
The Garjiya Devi Temple near Ramnagar, on a large rock in the Kosi river: the Shakti shrine, its Kartik Purnima festival and the drive from Ramnagar.
On the map
Open the Ramnagar map →The places a Ramnagar day reaches, with the road time from town. Each opens on the map with its plans and pages beside it.
Before you go
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Things to do in Ramnagar — the park, the river shrine and Corbett's village
Things to do around Ramnagar: a Jim Corbett National Park safari, the Garjiya Devi Temple, Sitavani, Corbett Falls and Kaladhungi, with sources and permits.
How to reach Ramnagar and Jim Corbett National Park
How to reach Ramnagar, the gateway to Jim Corbett National Park: measured road distances from Delhi, Haridwar and Nainital, the rail link, buses and airports.
Best time to visit Jim Corbett National Park — season and zones
When to visit Jim Corbett National Park: the main season runs from November to mid-June, the core zones close for the monsoon, and April to June suits tigers.
Nearby destinations
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Questions people ask
How far is Ramnagar from Delhi?
About 246 km from the Kashmere Gate bus stand on our routing, which gives 190 minutes of free-flow driving. Wikipedia puts Delhi's airport about 255 km away. Traffic on the plains section adds time, so allow most of a morning; the hill roads further in are slower than the plains.
When is Jim Corbett National Park open?
Wikipedia counts 15 November to 15 June as the main visiting season, and Wikivoyage says the Dhikala and Bijrani zones close from 16 June to 14 November for the monsoon. Rules and dates change, so check the Corbett Tiger Reserve's notice and the reception office in Ramnagar before you plan a safari.
Do you need a permit for Corbett?
Yes. Wikipedia says permits are necessary to enter the Corbett Tiger Reserve and are issued at the reserve's reception office in Ramnagar, and that visitors cannot drive their own cars inside the park but hire permitted vehicles. We have no verified fees, timings or booking rules, so ask the reception office.
Photographs by Wikimedia Commons contributors (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA), resized; each picture is credited on its own page.