Dooars - A Rendezvous with Nature

West Bengal is not just about the vibrancy of Kolkata. It is replete with scenic beauties with snow-covered mountains on one side and a variety of beaches on the other. Somewhere in between, there is a special place called - Dooars.

Green jewellery@Dooars

Dooars refers to the entire vast floodplains and tea garden region in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. It comprises several small towns; and we visited two of them - Lataguri and Jaldapara. The intent was clear - a Wildlife Safari in the jungles of Gorumara and Jaldapara National Park. 

Our journey started on the Vande Bharat express, which departs from Howrah at 5:55 am. Catching the train at such early hours was quite a challenge, but once we boarded the train, we heaved a sigh of relief. It's a good train with automated doors and spacious washrooms, but not as special as we had imagined. 

We reached our destination - the NJP station - on time. However, the NJP station was not that passenger friendly. We had to walk for almost 1 km to get out of the station and board our vehicle, which I had booked impromptu at a travel agency outside the station.

Lataguri

Hotel Debrani International

It took us more than 3 hours to reach our hotel - Debrani International - at Lataguri. It was a luxurious hotel, right on the NH31 highway. We spent the evening at the hotel and enjoyed the delicious food at the hotel restaurant.

Next day, after breakfast, we went to the Gorumara National Park for the jungle safari, starting at 9 am. We had to book two gypsy cars for Rs.2000 each as they allowed only 6 passengers in one car and we were 7.

Navigating through the dense jungle in an open gypsy was a ride to remember. During the ride, we saw two big elephants hardly 10 metres away, but the jungle was so dense that the elephants disappeared within a minute. That was amazing!

Jungle Safari 

Every now and then, we saw peacocks crossing our way. A couple of them also spread their wings and it was a beautiful sight to capture.

The jungle safari was of 1.5 hours in which we covered 50 km inside the jungle. We had senior citizens on board and even they enjoyed the ride as much as I did.

I spent the afternoon in the hotel's swimming pool along with my son, who was delighted to unwind himself in a 'personal' swimming pool. I tried swimming after two decades and wasn't even able to float. Clearly, it's a myth that one can never forget swimming and cycling.   

The next morning, we started off for our local 7-point sight-seeing tour that proved to be 10x times better than our expectations.

The Jaldhaka river

Our first point was a hill top from where we could see mist-covered mountains and the Jaldhaka river flowing by. From there, we went down to a bridge near the Jaldhaka power plant. 

We did a little adventure and walked down to the river bed. Honestly, I have never seen a river more beautiful than the Jaldhaka river. With crystal clear water flowing smoothly over clean pebbles and between high green mountains, the river offers a picturesque view while the power plant generates a sound equivalent to a series of waterfalls.

Rock Garden

Our next stop was the Rock Garden. Though it was the same rocky bed of the Jaldhaka river, the photos we clicked there seemed like paintings. 

We then started moving upwards on a treacherous road leading to India's last village, Bindu. There was a small market beside the river where we bought souvenirs of our trip. On the other side of the river, there was a high mountain that belonged to Bhutan.

Our next destination was Samsing. We reached there through quiet villages and tea gardens. It was a good place but probably not as beautiful as the places we visited earlier during the day.

We returned to our Lataguri hotel in the evening and were greeted by heavy rains. It however led to quality family time as we gathered together in one room and had dinner delivered in the room.

The next morning was bright and sunny again. After three days of comfortable stay and pleasant memories, we checked out of Hotel Debrani and set off for Jaldapara. We reached there in just about 2 hours.

Jaldapara

Teahouse

Teahouse - our homestay at Jaldapara - was quite unique. It was situated amidst tea gardens and offered a rustic charm that was very attractive for people like us who came from concrete jungles. 

We entered the tea garden, spoke with the workers, and clicked pictures. I realized that I have never felt so close to nature before!  

It rained heavily in the evening and night, but the dawn felt beautiful with the sun rising from the greenery all around. 

The elephant at Jaldapara

Our jungle safari at the Jaldapara National Park on gypsy started at 7 am. Though we had enjoyed a similar trip recently, we were expecting to see rhinos, bisons, and elephants. 

The Jaldapara jungle was less dense and had watch towers, but unfortunately we didn't see any rhinos. We saw an elephant and a bison from far away, and a barking dear from close quarters. Of course, there were scores of peacocks as well and I saw a peacock fly, which was a rare sight. We actually wanted to do an elephant safari but the tickets were already sold out and my son was very upset about it.

View from our balcony @ Teahouse

We had a sumptuous lunch at the homestay and left for the NJP railway station in the afternoon. The Teahouse host's hospitality was so endearing that it stayed in our memories. 

Throughout our trip, the weather had been extremely supportive and comfortable. There we no hassles with the hotel or transport either. However, the climax was yet to come. 

At the NJP railway station, the Padatik Express played games with the passengers and created ruckus by switching the bogies. Luckily, we had hired coolies to help us board the train and they ensured that our luggage was moved swiftly. Even after boarding the train we faced challenges as there was no pantry. I somehow managed to get some food in one of the stations, but overall it was a very inconvenient journey. We reached the Sealdah station at 9 AM. After spending 4 days amidst natural beauty in a pleasant climate, we were back again in the familiar terrain. 

My perception about Dooars was that of a quite stay in the wilderness and so I had planned a complete family trip including my parents and in-laws, but what we got to experience was highly enriching.  Jungles, tea gardens, nascent rivers, comfortable weather, awesome hospitality and quality time with family - what more does a tourist want. Now I know why some people keep visiting Dooars again and again.