The flat forest belt below the hills, where the tea gardens run into the jungle and the elephants come through at dusk.
Altitude
90 m to 300 m
Getting there
Bagdogra (IXB) 60 to 130 km depending on the forest
Best time
October to April; forests close mid-June to mid-September
How long it needs
2 to 3 nights
About The Dooars
The Dooars is what the hills empty into: rivers coming off the mountains, tea gardens, and a chain of forests holding elephant, gaur, leopard and one-horned rhino.
Gorumara and Jaldapara are the two names worth knowing. Both run jeep safaris; Jaldapara also runs an elephant-back ride that has to be booked well in advance. Chapramari is small and dense, and the watchtowers over the salt licks are where the good sightings happen.
Jayanti, on a dry riverbed under the Bhutan hills, is the quietest place in this whole guide.
What people come for
Jeep safari in Gorumara and Chapramari
Jaldapara and its rhino population
Jayanti riverbed and the Buxa foothills
Watchtower evenings over a salt lick
Samsing, Suntalekhola and the Murti river
Tea garden bungalows, if you book early enough
Know before you go
West Bengal forests close to tourists from roughly mid-June to mid-September for the monsoon breeding season. We will not sell you a safari that cannot run.
Safari permits are issued by the forest department in limited numbers per slot and are booked in your name against photo ID. Early booking is the difference between a morning safari and no safari.
Wildlife is wildlife. A safari buys you the drive, not the animal.
Packages
1 trip that includes The Dooars
Each of these can be lengthened, shortened or recombined. If you want The Dooars on its own, or bolted onto something else entirely, just ask.
Closed in monsoon2N Lataguri or Murti · 1N Jaldapara
Tell us roughly what you want. We will send back a real itinerary.
Dates, how many of you, and anywhere you have your heart set on — that is enough for us to start. You will get a day-by-day plan with named hotels and one all-in price, in writing, before you pay anything.
