Kaladhungi, a small Bhabbhar village in the foothills of the Himalayas at an elevation of 300 mts, is flanked by the Boar river on one side and the various tributaries of Nihal on the other. Before the road from Nainital to Kathgodam was built, Kaladhungi served as a staging point for travelers who had to walk the arduous climb to Nainital. Dandies and ponies were used by the old and children. Corbett walked up this route several times to attend meetings at Nainital.
He shot the last cattle lifter in Kaladhungi itself in 1946 upon the insistence of the villagers. He had said that he would rather pay compensation than go for a cattle lifter.The highlights of the trail are the canal and the ghats, pan chakki, Arundale, farm yard, foundry, forest rest house and the jungle studio.
Arundale was built by Christopher William Corbett, Jim’s father who was the post master of Nainital, as a summer home for his family of 14 children. The 10 acres of land was arranged by Henry Ramsay. It was a big colonial style bungalow built in stone with large rooms. As a child Corbett lived in Arundale in Kaladhungi. The jungle behind this house was where Jim got his first lessons in hunting from his brother Tom. He grew up here knowing the forest like the back of his hand. Lying in bed in Arundale, Jim could make out what was happening in the jungle and it could be verified in the morning by tracking. Just behind the house runs the Kaladhungi Nahar which had ghats made all along. Corbett mentions them in his writing as places where he would guard his sisters while they bathed in the canal. The house has now been pulled down completely.
