Dooars

DOOARS TRAVEL GUIDE

A journey through the rolling hill slopes, widespread lush green tea gardens separated by meandering silvery mountain streams, high Sal forests, small quiet ethnic villages, vast meadows with a blue outline of the great Himalayan ranges on the horizon, and endless sky….. you are in Dooars!

Laying in the Himalayan foothills, Dooars has great natural beauty. The wildlife-rich tropical forests, innumerable hill streams cutting across the green carpet of tea gardens and undulating plains, and low hills rising from the rivers. A drive through the Dooars plains, the gateway of Bhutan and the entire North East of India can be the experience of a lifetime.

BUXA FORT / BUXA DUAR

The Tiger here is a very elusive animal. Although the forest is called Buxa Tiger Reserve, it does not come with the expectation of Tiger Sightings. Even the local villagers who visit the forest on a regular basis have not seen any tigers in recent memory. There are some claims of tiger sightings occasionally but there has been no concrete proof. Many believe that there are tigers in the neighbouring Bhutanese forests who occasionally visit Buxa but the forests of Buxa do not have any Tigers left. Though the forest department refuses to accept this argument, there has not been any proof on the contrary either.

CHAPRAMARI

Chapramari is a Wildlife Sanctuary in the western Dooars area. The forest is a continuation of the more popular and well-known Gorumara National Park. The two forests are divided by the Murti River. The North East side of the river is Chapramari Wild Life Sanctuary and the South West side is known as Gorumara National Park.

GORUMARA

You cannot afford to miss Gorumara on your trip to Dooars. Located on the floodplains of the Murti and Jaldhaka rivers, the Gorumara National Park offers a large variety of flora and fauna. The grassland of Gorumara is famous for the Asiatic one-horned rhino. In view of its great diversity of plants and animals, it was declared a National Park in 1994. The National Park has a total area of about 80 sq. km.

JALDAPARA

The Jaldapara National Park is situated at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas on the bank of river Torsa in West Bengal. The vast grassland with patches of riverine forests was declared a sanctuary in 1943 for the protection of the great variety of flora and fauna. The principal among them is the Asiatic one-horned Rhino. In 2012 the status of the forest was upgraded to a National Park. The forest here is a mixture of a mosaic of woods, grassland, swamps, and streams. The forest covers an area of 216.51 sq km.

RASIKBIL

Rasibil is a birding paradise. The bird variety includes cormorants, different varieties of storks, ibis, spoonbills, kingfishers, parrots, owls, and many others. You can enjoy a leisurely day simply by boating in the lake and watching the variety of birds. There is a large aquarium, a dear Park and a crocodile rehabilitation centre at Rasikbil.

SAMSING

Situated at an elevation of 3000ft, Samsing is a nice cool shady place, ideal for nature lovers. The journey to Samsing is a memorable one, as you slowly ride uphill through the most picturesque Dooars tea garden on the rolling hill slopes.

LATAGURI

Lataguri is the base for your tour of Gorumara National Park. Tourism around Gorumara started in Lataguri and its surrounding area although today a large number of tourist accommodation has come up all around the forest including in Murti, Ramsai and other areas.

Even today most tourists prefer to stay around Lataguri. There is a Nature Interpretation Centre at Lataguri which issues tickets for day visitors inside the forest, known as forest safari. Cultural programs such as tribal dance etc. are organized at the centre in the evening.

NEORA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

Situated in the Kalimpong sub-division under the Darjeeling district is one of the richest biological zones in the entire Northeast. The land of elegant Red Panda in the pristine undisturbed natural habitat with rugged inaccessible hilly terrain and rich diverse flora and fauna together make the park an important wilderness zone.

Gangtok enjoys a subtropical, highland climate, which is moderate all the year round. Winter temperatures from 4-7deg C, without snowfall. Spring and summer are the best time to visit (March-June), as you get clear views of the mountain ranges. Rain showers are common in the summer season, and nights can get chilly. Autumn is also pleasant, though a little colder.

The climate of Gangtok is perfect for outdoor activities and hiking. Moving around on foot is also common. The city is well suited for exploration and making day trips to other sights in Sikkim. Gangtok serves as a great base for touring around Sikkim.

Reach Dooars By Train

From Sealdah Railway Station, board the Kanchankanya Express train to New Jalpaiguri Junction. From Sealdah Railway Station, this particular train leaves at around 8:30 am in the morning and reach NJP at around 8 am in the next morning. Alternatively, you can also reach New Mal Junction, Alipurduar Junction, etc.

Reach Dooars by Air

You can reach Dooars from Kolkata by flight too. The nearest airport to this region is Bagdogra Airport (IXB). From Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU), board a flight to Bagdogra. The average duration of the flight is approximately 13 hours.

Reach Dooars by Road

Undoubtedly, the most convenient way to reach Dooars is by road as “the city of joy” is well-connected with all the prominent parts of Dooars. Several buses run from Kolkata to Siliguri every day. Once you reach Siliguri, you need to then hire a car to finally reach any part of Dooars. Darjeeling.