#BloggerContest: Jim’s Jungle Resort in Corbett—Luxury in a Tiger-filled Forest

Send me to a tiger-filled forest and I’m the happiest girl on earth. Add a stay in a cozy boutique hotel, lots of jungle safaris and delectable meals by a bonfire, where you swap tiger tales with the locals, and I’m in wildlife heaven. And that’s exactly where I was for the four days that I spent at Jim’s Jungle Retreat, a niche wildlife resort that mixes oodles of old world charm and warm hospitality with the comforts and luxuries that turn a mundane hotel stay into a treat to savour.

A Jewel in the Jungle

Away from the hustle and bustle of the other commercial resorts, Jim’s Jungle Resort is approached by a narrow road that takes you to this eco-conscious gem of a hotel with 22 tastefully done up cottages, lodges and tents. Nestled amidst the lush forests and hilly terrain of the erstwhile Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttaranchal, this boutique resort is spread out over 15 acres and offers countless opportunities to go bird watching, lounge around on your private verandahs, watch wildlife films or sip a glass of wine by the watering-hole shaped swimming pool.

A Serene Stay

I stayed at the Jungle Lodge here, a sprawling, sunshine-filled room at a 15-foot elevation. With large windows and doors, and a wide, wrap-around porch offering breathtaking views of the forest around, the Shivalik Hills and the river that often has a host of wild animals visiting it for a quick evening drink, this lodge is a haven in itself. Cozy yet luxurious, the Jungle Lodges have lovingly-decorated interiors, complete with century-old lithographs of Indian hunting scenes on the walls that are reminiscent of the Raj. With earthy rugs, cushions and linen, the rooms are perfect for curling up with a book, or for savouring the sights and sounds of nature.

Apart from the Jungle Lodge, Jim’s Jungle Retreat also offers luxurious, air-conditioned tents; whimsical jungle cottages with mud-coloured walls and thatched roofs; and, family cottages with a second bedroom for children. All crafted with local material by artisans from this area, each of these are just as beautifully decorated as the lodge, and a pleasure to live in.

A Delectable Dining Experience

 Delicious and prepared with garden fresh and local ingredients, the Kumaouni meals served at the open-to-the-forest dining area was another highlight of my trip. While the meals were lavish and redolent with regional flavours, what I loved most was sitting by the bonfire, enjoying mouthwatering barbecue dishes that were served with tiger stories a la shikar-camp style.

Forays into the Forest

Jim’s Jungle Resort invites its guests to ‘seek the tiger and find the jungle’, a quote that comes true as you journey into the forests with their naturalists on elephant back or bicycles, in jeeps and even by foot. I savoured every bit of my time in the sprawling 1,320 square kilometers Corbett Tiger Reserve, foraying into the different zones within the forest, observing with awe the diverse flora and the many wild animals that call this place home.

Apart from spotting animals like the spotted and Sambar deer, sloth bears, a leopard, civet cats and foxes, I even had the good fortune to ‘meet’ the King of Jungle, while he was lounging by the river, soaking in the last rays of the sun. But it is the overnight stay at a spartan forest lodge—something that the Jim’s Jungle Resort is happy to facilitate and also complement with a sprinkling of luxuries, that lets you delve deeper into this exquisite forest experience.

Their Heritage Walk to Jim Corbett’s home at Chotti Haldwani and bicycle rides in the buffer zones are other experiences that add a sparkle to the already exciting itinerary.

So, if I was to sum up my Jim’s Jungle Resort experience in a single sentence, I’d say, ‘I came to seek out the tiger, and found a haven in the middle of a tiger-filled forest’!