The short answer, which is the one the house gives when asked: October to April for the sky and the safaris, late May and June for the fruit, and the monsoon for the green and the quiet. The long answer is below, month by month, from a farm six kilometres from the park that lives through all twelve of them. Three things move through the year, and the best time to visit Jim Corbett depends on which of them you are coming for: the park's zones, which open and close on a calendar; the weather, which runs from fog to forty degrees; and the farm, which has a harvest, a flying season and a sky of its own.
When are the safari zones open?
The reserve runs on a calendar, and it is the first thing to check against your dates.
| Zone | Open | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bijrani, Garjiya, Durgadevi | Mid-October to mid-June | Closed for the monsoon. |
| Jhirna, Dhela, Sitabani | All year | The three zones open through the monsoon. |
| Dhikala | Mid-November to mid-June | By canter from Ramnagar, or a night inside the park at the forest rest houses. |
So any date from mid-November to mid-June has every zone to choose from; mid-October to mid-November has all but Dhikala; and a monsoon stay still gets a safari in Jhirna, Dhela or Sitabani. How a safari is booked has the slots, the permits and the costs. The one rule that does not change with the month: permits open weeks ahead and sell out in season, so send your dates early.
Jim Corbett month by month
October. The forest reopens in the middle of the month, green and tall after the rains, and the first safaris of the season go in through long grass. Days are warm, nights are beginning to cool, and the air clears. On the farm the flying and the telescopes start again, and Diwali, which falls in October or early November, fills the house on festive terms.
November. Dhikala opens mid-month, and the whole reserve is in play. This is the start of the clear-air season: the sky over the foothills is at its best from now until February, and the mornings in an open jeep are cool enough for a jacket. Pleasant days, the pool still usable at noon, the bonfire lit by the end of the month.
December and January. The cold months, and for many guests the best ones. Nights fall to near five degrees, there is fog on some mornings, and the first hour of the morning safari is cold in an open jeep: bring layers you can take off by nine. Days are clear and bright, the sky after dark is the darkest of the year, and the farm has the bonfire, the hammam, which opens in peak winter, and New Year with the whole table. Christmas and New Year go first; book them early.
February and March. The forest begins to warm and to flower, the semal trees go red, and the birds are at their most various. Days are comfortable, nights are mild, and the tall grass of October is down by now, which opens up the views. Among the nicest months of the year to be here, and Holi brings a long weekend.
April. Hot by the afternoon, warm in the morning, and the waterholes are shrinking, which is why sightings in the park improve as the heat climbs. Morning safaris, the pool in the afternoon, the telescopes at night; the clear-air season is over but the nights are still fine.
May and June. The hottest months, with afternoons past forty degrees, and the two months when the park gives up its animals most readily at the water. On the farm this is the harvest: the mangoes and lychees come off the trees in late May and June, and the orchard walk ends with fruit in your hands. The pool earns its keep. The flying and the stargazing run to the end of June, and most zones close in the middle of it.
July, August and September. The monsoon. Most of the reserve shuts, Jhirna, Dhela and Sitabani stay open, and the flying and the telescopes stop until October; the fishing sits outside the monsoon too. What is left is the green and the quiet: the orchard after rain, the river high, the birds at their loudest, and the farm at its emptiest. The road from Delhi is the same highway, slower in the last stretch after rain. The year on the farm has these seasons in one table.
Which months are the busiest?
The long weekends, Diwali, Christmas to New Year, and Holi. On those dates the permits for the popular zones sell out on the day they open and the festive dates have their own terms, so a stay then is booked months ahead, not weeks. Weekdays in November, February and March are the opposite: the same forest, half the jeeps.
What should I pack for each season?
From November to February, layers for the dawn safari and something warm for the evening by the fire; the days are mild. From March to June, cotton, a hat and sunscreen for the open jeep, and swimming things. In the monsoon, something waterproof and shoes that do not mind mud. In every month, clothes in forest colours for the park, and binoculars if you have them.
So when should you come?
For the stars, November to February, when the nights are clearest and TARA runs on every clear night. For the best chance of seeing something on safari, March to June, as the heat brings the animals to water. For the fruit, late May and June. For the quiet, the monsoon. For all of it at once, a weekday in November, February or March.
Whichever month it is, the farm is the same: the rooms and cottages on the official booking site, the two cottages for anyone bringing a dog, and the two packages that put three days together in whatever shape the season allows. Getting here has the road, which is five and a half hours from Delhi in every month but the wet ones.
