Corbett National Park is the most famous national park in Uttaranchal. Corbett National Park is located in the foothills of the Himalayas, about 144 kms. from Nainital. This park was established in 1936, as the Hailey National Park. Corbett National Park was the India's first national park and also the first sanctuary to come under ‘project Tiger’ in April 1973. This park was earlier a popular hunting ground of the British. This park was named in honor of the late Jim Corbett. This park is spread over an area of 1318.54 square kms and includes apart from Corbett National Park, additional areas of Sonanadi wildlife sanctuary and Reserve Forest buffer zone. The topography in this park comprises of hilly and riverine areas, temporary marshy depressions, plateaus and ravines. The major wildlife animals found in this park are Tiger, Leopard, Elephant, Deer, Wild Boar, 

Leopard Cat, Jungle Cat, Sloth Bear, Himalayan Black Bear, Wild Dog, Langur, Rhesus Monkey, Himalayan Palm Civet, Indian Grey Mongoose, Common Otter, Blacknaped Hare, Porcupine and Jackal. Along the banks of the Ramganga River, one can also spot the Crocodiles. Besides various wildlife animals about 580 species of resident and migratory birds are also found here. This park can be visited either by having an Elephant or a Jeep Safari. There are watchtowers inside the park from where one can also view the animals at a very close distance. The best season to visit the Corbett National Park is from November to June.

The Govind Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the Uttarkashi district of Uttararanchal. This wildlife sanctuary was established on 1st March, 1955 and spreads over an area of 957.969 square kms. This sanctuary forms the upper catchment of the Tons river, which is the most important tributary of River Yamuna in its upper reaches. The area is very rich in medicinal plants and its large area along with the forests of the neighbouring forest divisions helps in maintaining genetic diversity. The area is a home of over 15 species of mammals and 150 species of birds. The main attraction of this wildlife sanctuary is the Snow leopard. Black bear, Brown bear, Musk deer, Bharal, Himalayan Tahr and Common leopard are the other animals which can be seen in this sanctuary. The birds which can be seen in this sanctuary are Monal pheasant, Koklas pheasant, Western Tragopan, 

Himalayan Snow cock, Golden eagle, Steppe eagle, Black eagle and Bearded vulture, pigeons, parakeets, cuckoos, owls, minivets, bulbuls, tits, warblers, thrushes, finches, buntings, etc. The best time to visit this wildlife sanctuary is from April to June and September to November. The nearest airport is the Jolly Grant in Dehradun, about 231 kms from the sanctuary.

The world famous Valley of Flowers is situated in the upper expansions of Bhyundar Ganga in the far interior of Garhwal Himalayas in Uttaranchal. The valley of flowers is spread over an area of 87.5 square kms. The rich references of this colouful and eye catching valley can be seen in the Indian History and literature such as the Ramayana and Mahabharat. To conserve the nature’s benevolent gift and to maintain the natural balance of the valley, the valley was declared as a National Park in 1982. The Valley was introduced to the world as the Valley of Flowers by Frank S. Smith, the mountaineer, explorer, botanist who camped here for several weeks in 1937 and did valuable exploratory work.In 1939, Miss Margarate Legge,a botanist arrived

at the valley for further studies. While she was traversing some rocky slopes to collect flowers, she slipped off and was lost for ever in the garden of the gods. Her sister later visited the valley and erected a memorial on the spot where she was buried by the locals. According to local people, this valley is the playground of fairies and nymphs, and the Hanuman also collected herbs from this region to revive Laxman. The valley of Flowers National Park starts from Ghangharia but the main valley starts after crossing the gorge and the stream from Nar Parvat, 3 kms. from Ghangharia. In front of the Valley stands the snowclad peak of Ratban Parvat and at the back is the Kunt Khal, the Nar Parvat, which separates the Badrinath valley from this valley is in the left, and the dense Birch forests is on the right side. The river Pushpavati, which emerges from glacial deposits, cuts through the alpine valley. There are also various waterfalls that enhances the beauty of the valley. The region remains snow covered from November to May and the blooming of flowers starts immediately after the melting of snow but the peak blooming period is from mid July to mid of August. Almost 300 species of wild flowers bloom here in natural way. Various species of flowers like Anemone, Anaphalles, Geranium, Marsh marigold, Primulas, Potentilla, Lilium, Brahma Kamal, Campanula, Pedicularis, Impatiens, Ligularia, Anaphalis, Saxifrages, Strawberry, Rhododendrons, herbs and medicinal plants are also found here. The abundance of Asmanda fern in this valley is a rare sight than in other Himalayan valleys. Besides flowers, some species of Butterfly, Musk deer, Blue sheep (Bharal), Himalayan bear, Snow leopard, Himalayan mouse hare and some Himalayan birds are also found in this area. The splendour and the scintillating beauty of the valley attracts tourists from all over the world. The best time to visit the valley of flowers is from mid of July to mid of August.