Dooars is mostly famous for its picturesque tea-gardens and dense forests. The Dooars region in West Bengal consists of many National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, namely, Jaldapara National Park, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Gorumara National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary and the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.

I went on a trip to Dooars with my family just after Durga Pujo this year. This was our second visit to this place. We had booked rooms in Resort Murti and our main plan was to go for safaris in Gorumara and Chapramari Forests.

There are 7 different regions (or zones) that tourists can visit inside the forest. Separate booking needs to be done for each of them and one point cannot be clubbed with another. There are four different shift timings to visit the forest (Check out the tips/pointers section below for details).

Gorumara Jungle Safari

It had started raining while we were going from Siliguri to Murti and kept raining since. But we didn’t want to sit back and waste our first day so we booked the Gorumara Jungle Safari for the last shift. The gypsy picked us up from the resort and took us to Lataguri (The booking office and entry gate for this safari is located there). We got our permits and entered the forest.

The vegetation had become very dense after the monsoons and it was really tough to spot anything. Also, the road in this zone is very rough and the gypsy made a lot of noise which made it even more difficult!

We saw quite a few peacocks, a barking deer (which ran inside scared due to careless behaviour of some tourists in other gypsies) and a monitor lizard.

Though our first safari was not very eventful but the feeling you get after spending hours inside a forest, away from the hustle-bustle of city life, is something which words can’t explain!

We spent the next day exploring small villages in Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri districts (The blog post on this will be up soon).

We had two safaris planned the following day, Jatraprasad Watch Tower in the first shift and Chapramari in the last shift. The gypsy picked us up from the resort at 4a.m (Yes, you read that right!) and took us to Lataguri to get our entry permits. Seeing the queue there, we realized that getting tickets for Jatraprasad was impossible. People were standing in the queue from 2 at night! So we changed our plan and decided to go for the next best option – Medla Watch Tower. We got the necessary permits and started for the safari.

Medla Watch Tower

We drove through a significant portion of the forest, listening to the chirping of birds and enjoying the cool morning breeze. The forest looked so magnificent, bathed in the early morning light.

We reached a point where we had to get down from the gypsy and board a bullock cart, which would drop us near the watch tower.

We traveled through narrow broken paths, surrounded by tea gardens on our right and dense vegetation on our left. I had started photographing some peacocks after getting down, when our guide suddenly came to call us.

He told us that a Rhino has been sighted from the watch tower. I immediately ran for it!

And there it was, standing at the edge of the forest, looking towards us – our first Rhino sighting! I had almost forgotten in the excitement that I had a camera in hand!

And then we noticed another one! It slowly began to get hot and the rhinos ran inside the forest after having a mud bath.

We stayed back for sometime to admire the view from the watch tower. Mount Kanchenjunga is visible from here on days when the sky is clear.

The guide then informed us that it was time to leave. The bullock cart dropped us at the point where our gypsy was waiting. We saw numerous peacocks and peahens and a barking deer on our way back.

Chapramari Watch Tower

We got the permissions done for visiting Chapramari Forest in the last shift (Fortunately, the booking office for this is located just opposite our resort). The gypsy picked us up from the resort and we started our last safari of this trip.

As we waited for the forest gates to open, we heard that sightings were great at Jatraprasad in the morning shift and I felt really disappointed at having missed the chance.

The Chapramari Watch Tower is located at a few minutes distance from the entry gate. It overlooks a vast field where salt pits are created to attract animals. To our utter disbelief, there were at least 15 gaur (Indian Bisons) and a rhino grazing on the field!

As I was busy filming the movements of these magnificient beasts, our guide pointed out to an elephant coming out from the jungle! Ah finally luck was on my side!

Slowly, one elephant started coming out after another and there were 8 elephants standing in front of us! My happiness knew no bounds as the shutterbug inside me was waiting for a moment like this for ages!

I was so engrossed in the moment that I had no clue as to what time it was or where my family was! My Dad came to call me as it was time for us to go to another spot, where a tribal dance program was arranged for the visitors. We drove through the forest for sometime to reach a hilltop, where the arrangements were made. The view from there was spectacular.

We watched the performance for a while. The energy and smiles on the faces of the young local performers makes you realize that happiness can be found in the little things in life!

We left the place early as there is usually a chance to spot wildlife on the way back. But we weren’t so fortunate this time!

It got quite dark during our drive back to the resort. The forest in the evening feels so different from that during the morning. Every corner of the forest seems to hold behind countless tales untold and mysteries unsolved. And we will definitely return soon to unravel some of them!

Some pointers to help you plan your Dooars trip:

• New Jalpaiguri (NJP) is the nearest major Railway Station and Bagdogra is the nearest airport from Dooars. If you are travelling from any part of West Bengal, you can also take a bus to Siliguri. Hop on to a car from there to reach your destination. We had taken a Sumo from Siliguri, which charged us Rs. 2200. Car fare from NJP is between Rs. 1800 to Rs. 2000 (Depends on where you are staying). Shared cabs are also available from NJP.
• There are 7 different regions (or zones) that tourists can visit inside the forest, namely Gorumara Jungle Safari, Jatraprasad Watch Tower, Medla Watch Tower, Chapramari Watch Tower, Chandrachur Watch Tower, Chukchuki Watch Tower (Chukchuki Bird Watching Point) and Kinjal Watch Tower. Separate booking needs to be done for each of them and one point cannot be clubbed with another.
• There are two Booking Offices, one in Lataguri and the other in Murti. Permissions for visiting the first three points have to be done from Lataguri and the last four points have to be done from Murti.
• The booking office usually opens an hour before the respective entry time into the forest. But during the peak season, people reach the booking office way before time. So make sure you do the same, since the number of people allowed to visit each watch tower during each shift is limited to 40.
• The Gorumara Jungle Safari is closed every Wednesday and all the Watch Towers are closed every Thursday. So plan accordingly.
• There are four different Shift Timings to visit the Watch Towers. You can check out the ‘Timings of visit’ in the picture below. The Gorumara Jungle Safari is available only in the first and last shift.

Insider Tips: If you have limited time in hand to explore the region and got confused seeing so many options, try to visit Jatraprasad in the first shift and Chapramari in the last shift. If you have another day in hand, visit Medla. These are your best bets for wildlife sighting.

Note: The tribal dance program that I mentioned earlier is only organized during the last shift of Chapramari Watch Tower safari everyday.

• Safari Charges:

Note: The gypsy rates are applicable for people staying in Murti. Rates will vary if you are staying in Lataguri.

• Accommodations:

1. There are many mid range to high-end hotels and resorts in both Lataguri and Murti.
2. Government run accommodations are available at Gorumara Forest Rest House and Chapramari Rest House (both inside the forest) and also in Murti.

• You can ask your hotel to book a gypsy for your safaris. Inform them beforehand since gypsies are limited and each hotel/resort has a quota of gypsies they could ask for during each shift.

I really hope you enjoyed reading this article and you’ll find the tips useful whenever you plan to visit these forests in Dooars. 🙂

Have you been to Dooars? Then don’t forget to share your experience in the comments section below. Are you planning to visit anytime soon? Do let me know if you have any query and I’ll be glad to help.

Also, don’t forget to check out the YouTube video I made on this trip to Gorumara National Park & Chapramari Forest!

Happy Travelling!