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Corbett Museum: In the Den of the Tiger Man
Jim Corbett's house at Kaladhungi has been made into a museum. Everyone who fell in love with the jungles, thanks to his books, should come here.
Those who have grown up on stories of and by Jim Corbett, usually do what it takes to visit the Corbett Museum at Kaladhungi. Corbett grew up here and was shaped by the region. After serving as a railway employee for some years he returned to set up a village in Kaladhungi, called Choti Haldwani.
He gave the settlers land to till and built them houses and facilities; it was an idyllic, self-sufficient little community. When Corbett left India for Kenya, in 1947, he ensured that the villagers inherited the land they had been tilling for him. Carpet Sahib's legacy is still alive and thriving.
The Corbett Museum at Kaladhungi is a compact two-cottage estate. One served as an office for the hunter naturalist and the other, as a private quarter for him and his sister. Both these spartan cottages house Corbett's personal effects: the palanquin in which he travelled, enamelled cutlery, his canvas hat, his stout walking stick and plenty of rare pictures and letters.
For a Corbett fan, it is thrilling to be up close to the canvas chair he sat on, the hat he wore or his personal bric-a brac. There is a souvenir shop in the vicinity that sells jungle memorabilia and organic Kumaoni produce. It is a great place to buy a gift or two, for folks back home.
Good to Know
Location: 43 km from the Sterling resort, on the Ramnagar Road
Entry Fees: As applicable
Timings: 8am to 5pm during winters and till 6pm during summers
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