Corbett or Ranthambore

I would really appreciate your experience and your help me to decide whether I should visit Corbett tiger reserve or Ranthambore National Park at the end of October. Ideally I would like to see lots of four legged wild life such as tigers, leopards, elephants, deer etc. I am currently reading a lot of information and reviews on both parks, but am unclear over some reported information:-
1. Is it necessary to book a safari some months or weeks in advance or will I be able to arrive and book a safari for the following day? – as I have done at other parks in India.
2. Do I need a permit and it this separate from the ticket for entry; do I need to pre book this permit??(some reviews suggest they need to be booked months in advance).
3. I read that canters are the only option much of the time, is this true or are jeeps always available for all safari bookings?
4. I read that the canters are loud and this frightens the animals. I also read that the jeeps are mainly kept for exclusive hotels and ticket sellers – is this correct?
5. As a backpacker on a budget I can not be specific of the date I will not be able to pre book on the internet etc? Will I be able to purchase a ticket at the parks ‘ticket office’for the following day?

From what I have read so far doing a safari at these parks sounds like quite a lot of hassle to avoid being overcharged or end up on a second class safari route. I really would appreciate your guidance and any other tips you can offer please thanks indiamikers!!

My choice would be Corbett, few canters there! Have a look at this link:
Corbett park made easy
I love Corbett, the variety of wildlife there is spectacular.It is definately worth booking things in advance if you can.

Thanks for this useful information - I have started reading the uploaded links - and will continue; thanks again!

You will not see too many elephants in Ranthambore. They (all the parks)are all a pain to book. Try to pin down some dates and stick to them. There are, so many permits, held back, to be booked on the day. But there could easily be twice as many queueing to get them. You would be well advised to book well in advance. Also, if you are backpacking, and trying to do it all on a shoestring, best would be to travel to Corbett by train. Trains are cheap, and an overnight train doubles up as an hotel.
You can now book trains online 120 days in advance, and the tickets for the train will sell out, so get in there early too

Hi there,
Thats really good advice which I am very thankful for. I am doing my planning as we speak! Thank you once again..

If elephants feature high on your agenda then Ranthambore is struck out. The only elephants you will find there will be on the joy ride (elephant safari). None the less, it is also a great place to go. Winter time, both are packed to the rafters. But if you're looking at diversity, then probably Corbett is a good choice. That and all the other points others have mentioned.

Have a nice trip.

Basically as everyone said, if you are interested in wild Elephants then Ranthambhore is definitely out. About rest of the animals, there is no guarantee that you will spot them either at Corbett or at R'Bhore.

Also the month of October is not that really a great month to go big cat spotting. The reason being the monsoons are just over and there is enough water and food for the prey and the predator deep inside the jungle that they seldom venture out on the jeep/canter tracks. But having said that the jungle is at it most beautifull during this month, its lush, its green and the lakes (in R'Bhore)are full of water

I have been to Corbet a numerous times and have never been able to spot a tiger there, I also have been to R'bhore a numerous times and every time I have been lucky to spot a tiger so naturally as a wild life enthusiast I love R'bhore.

R'bhore has canters and jeeps both. Yes the canters do make noise,(the people in it even more) but the chances of spotting wild life do not diminish in a canter. The animals are actually so used to these vehicles within the R'Bhore park that they dont consider them a threat.

But yes the comfort level is much better in a jeep and also you dont need to jostle with another 30 people in the vehicle for photographs.

I would suggest that you fix a date if you want to visit the park and book your canter/jeep ticket online. They really get booked very fast. If you ask your hotel to do it, they will help you but charge you a premium. Not worth it, since you still have time.

Also if you only want to enjoy the jungle (minus the elephant) and just hope to get lucky for spotting big cats, another option would be SARISKA National Park (also in Rajasthan). This park has 5 tigers (way less then R'bhore & way way less than Corbett) but its not at all commercialised. You can easily get a jeep ride there and its cheap as well. Infact you can hire the whole jeep for yourself at almost the same cost for what you will pay for one seat in a jeep at R'Bhore. The guide and the driver of the jeep will get all the tickets for you.

You also might get lucky as apparently a tigress there has delivered cubs. She has not yet taken them out so not confirmed. If she has she will take them out by August

Good luck

Hello my friend,
I can not thank you enough for your input and very useful information, everything you say is very interesting and of great help for me planning my trip. I am considering all of your points - thank you very much indeed!! I will let you know the final plan and the outcome - thanks again!

Hi there, thanks for your tips - I am taking all comments on board and collecting as much information as I can now from you guys- before I make any final decisions. I am very grateful for your insight - keep it coming please!!

Dear Penny

These are the latest developments on tigers reserves in India

http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-ne...es_789354.html

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/su...13?trendingnow

Kindly keep an eye on the following developments before you finalize your plans.

regards

Wow - what can I say!! Thank you for these links, I will keep a close eye on how it all unfolds. This information is very useful for my planning, thanks very much.