Lataguri, small town located in Jalpaiguri district of Indian state of West Bengal. Being a small town, it captures attention of nature lovers and wilderness explorers around the world. Its all about dooars, dense forests, elephant corridors enroute to Lataguri.
Expenses
Approximate cost comes to Rs 10,000/- as my total expense includes train fare, reserved cab, open gypsy(on shared basis), resort and fooding.
Best time to visit
November to March although I visited in 1st week of May'18.
Park is closed in monsoon season from 16th June to 15th September.
Excursion time
Two days are enough including travelling from station to Lataguri.
I boarded Uttar Banga Express(13147) from BWN Junction(9:16pm) and reached NJP junction(7am).
How to reach
By air:Nearest airport is Bagdogra International airport which is 71km
By rail:Nearest railway station is New Jalpaiguri Junction(NJP) which is 56km or Japaiguri Road station which is 30km or Siliguri Junction(SJU).
By road: Reserved cabs are available outside railway station and airport.I reserved a car from NJP which took 1.5hr-2hrs to reach Lataguri.There are regular bus service also from Siliguri to Lataguri both state run as well as private.
Top Places
1.Gorumara National Park/Wildlife Sanctuary
2.River Murti
Accomodation
Sun City Resort by Chocolate Hotels pvt Ltd.
Online booking was not available at that time so I visited resort and booked for Rs. 3000/- including one major meal and breakfast(while one can get good discounts online and may crack deal in between Rs1300/- - Rs2500/-)
Resort have elevated individual cottages with two rooms each. Each room is themed with wooden craftsmanship and ethnic forest retreat styling.I loved my cottage as it have every minute facility available such as attached living room in addition to bedroom with well furnished sofas and small refrigerator, another attached small room with 360 deg windows, dressing room with a big mirror and hair dryer, washroom with jacuzzi . There are lots of activities one can do inside the resort like pool bath, nature walk and even they use to arrange bonfire in winter.
Gorumara National Park
Located in the Dooars region of Himalayan foothills, medium sized park with grasslands and forests. It is famous for its good population of one horned Indian Rhino but unfortunately I did not get glimpse of Rhino. Resort itself booked jeep safari for a ride of approx 2hours and charged me Rs1800/- (including entry ticket).I was bit nervous to go alone inside the dense forest so got my jeep safari shared with a couple stayed in that same resort.
#Only open 'Gypsy' vehicles are allowed to ply inside the forest.
Journey to Gorumara National Park was so thrilling and fresh. We had a driver along with guide who was guiding us throughout the route, watch towers, revealing scary stories of animals etc.
We stopped at a point which is also famous for photography, people were clicking nature, enjoying panoramic natural beauty.
#NOT every place inside forest is safe to get down from gypsy because of wild animals so few spots are identified to get good clicks.
Enroute to safari, we were taken to one of watchtower for viewing animals inside the park.
Note:I missed tribal dance by local folk groups for visitors because of guide arranged by resort.Do no miss that.
River Murti
20min drive from Lataguri, I came across river bank full of boulders which is a very popular picnic spot for tourists as well as for locals.While the river have deep water during monsoon but at my time of visit, there was hardly knee deep water in the middle.
Fast current in river and slippery boulders making it difficult to cross river but it was fun while getting slipped..lol.
On my way back to NJP, I came across Coronation Bridge, also known as Sevoke bridge, spans across Teesta river connecting the districts of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri.
Suggestion
Plan with your bunch of friends and believe me it would be great fun with friends in an open Gypsy, and resort activities. In the night, I was engaged in collecting fireflyies at resort.
Avoid travelling in dark as route to Lataguri is full of elephant corridors.
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