My 3Days 2Night Weekend Trip to Dooars North Bengal,Day 1 - Jaldapara National Park

Hello my dear friends!

I'm Sujoy. I'm back with an exciting travel tale this time. I'd like to write it in 'travel diary' style,I hope you'll like it. So,lets start it.

I went to North Bengal on first week of May on a 3 days trip. On one weekend night, I boarded the Tista-Torsa Express from Malda at 10:15pm. Which took me to 'Falakata' at 7:15am next morning,the train was 2hrs late(!). Falakata is one entry point to Jaldapara,which is 19km from there. From Falakata station I took cycle-rickshaw to Falakata bus stand for 10rs. From there I took a tracker for 'Madarihat More' at the cost of 10rs. Jaldapara National Park (previously Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary) gate is 1.2km from Madarihat More.

Upon reaching the gate,I got to know that at morning there is no guided tour inside the jungle. I've to wait till 3:30pm in the afternoon for the guided jeep tour in the jungle. And tickets for the same can be booked from  the Jaldapara Tourist Lodge,2km ahead. He instructed me to get a photocopy of my ID card from Madarihat More,which will be needed for registration for the jungle tour.

After the photocopy,I headed to the Tourist Lodge. I booked a dormitory at 300rs per night + 5% service tax = 315 Rs charge. It's the best place to stay in Jaldapara. The tourist lodge is run by West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited (WBTDCL), govt of West Bengal undertaking. And the best part is,you can book Jaldapara Tourist Lodge and other lodges of WBTDCL online in advance at http://app.westbengaltourism.gov.in/WBTBooking/wbtdc.html

They have two dormitories,one having 5 beds in one room,another having 7 beds. So,you've to share the room :-(  But,fortunately,that day the dormitory was vacant,so I enjoyed full privacy :-)

They have normal Non-AC Deluxe Double Bedded room @1200, A.C Delux Double Bedded Room @ 1760, A.C. Deluxe Double Bedded Room (Brick) @ 1600, Cottage @ 2000, AC Suite @ 2400. Their checkout time is 10am.

The lodge is very good,good in every aspect; from hospitality to facilities. The manager is very good and helpful,he also gives you best tourist plan to enjoy your short/long trip to the Dooars if you have rushed to there quite unplanned like me.

Next, I took a good shower and headed for lunch to the dining hall of the lodge. They have thali-system (also called meal system) or you can order individual items according to your taste,price is quite reasonable. I ordered the Paneer Thali @ 160rs. It had one full plate of Paneer masala curry (quantity is superb!) and fine rice and dal with one veg curry. The taste of food was quite good,and surrounding jungle beauty added another charm to the taste! I finished my lunch in hurry and headed to the booking counter in the lodge premises for afternoon's Jungle Safari.

Although the ride starts at 3:30pm, people starts queuing from 2pm or so. They allow six tourists in the

jeep + one govt tourist guide + one driver; total 8 persons on the jeep. Rate is 1500 for a jeep,all inclusive. You can book the whole jeep yourself if you want. I shared it with one team having 5 persons. For

registration,you've to fill-up one form providing general details such as number and names of persons in the

trip,coming from,staying in,permanent address etc; with photocopy of any one member's ID card.

The ride started sharp at 3:30pm, along with us 6 more jeeps started. We entered to the jungle from

Jaldapara National Park gate,which I visited in the morning. I never entered a national park before,so I was enjoying everything! From occasional glimpses of peacocks,road crossing by squirrels,innocent looks of deers at our jeep and then running in shock. The guide stopped the jeep in places to give us the view of wild animals when he spotted them. Our jeep stopped at our first watch tower,we got out of jeep and climbed up to the watch tower. From there the guide showed us a rhino at around 800-900m distance near a water body.

Jaldapara is famous for one horn rhinos,and we're were lucky to have a view of that! I was lucky in many ways I'll tell later in this article! We again got into the jeeps and headed for our next watch tower. From there we got a magnificent view of wild elephants from just 15m away. There was a team of 3 wild elephants,two

gathered in the salt-lick (a hole in the soil filled with salt,where herbivorous animals come to lick salt) next to the watch tower. Both were male,so we were expecting a elephant fight......but nothing happened :-(

After they passed by,guide instructed us to return. In the return trip.....oh my god!

As soon we took return journey,we spotted a crowd of wild Bisons. There was around 40 of them or

more! Seeing our jeep,some of them crossed the road in death hurry! And some starred to our jeep in

extreme surprise and fear. As our jeep slowly started scrolling,some who hadn't crossed the road,ran

back in jungle. It was a thrilling and fearful at the same time. We also spotted some Sambar Deers. One

funny thing,we spotted a peacock seated at the top of a tree!

We returned to the lodge at around 5:10pm. The next task was to get our booking for tomorrow's early

morning elephant ride. As soon as I get out of the jeep,I rushed to the same booking counter. The rule

for the elephant ride is- they allow only 4 persons on one elephant. The fees is 600rs for elephant +

60rs for Elephant driver + petrol and parking charge for the jeep which will take you to Holong Tourist Lodge. So,for 4 persons it becomes around (660*4)+ 260 = 2900rs. Again as being single,I joined another team of 7 people and shared the charge! This time,another form fill-up,but no photocopy required. So, after getting my registration confirmed,I headed to my room for a rest.

So friends,this was my day 1 of my 3 days and 2 night trip in Dooars. How was my writing? Did you enjoy

my writing? Please let me know in the comments below. More on my next article on day 2. Your appreciation matters a lot for me. So please give your views and join my blog by "join this blog" option at right hand side. Thanks for reading! I'd highly recommend you to join my YouTube channel ,details below.

General Information about Jaldapara National Park-

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What To Watch in Jaldapara National Park- One horn rhinos, Bison, Leopard, Spotted Deer, Hog Deer, Sambar,Wild Tuskers,Wild Boars, Pythons, Monitor Lizards, Turtles and more animals. Jaldapara is paradise for bird watchers. Expect- Bengal Florican, Crested Eagle, Pallas's Fishing Eagle, Shikara, Peacocks, Jungle Fowl, Peafowl, Hornbill etc.

Best Time To Visit Jaldapara National Park- November to May (closed from June-September during monsoon)
Online Booking Guide- If you want to book your room in any govt tourist lodge/resort, it's advisable to book it at least 1 or 2 month earlier that your trip day. It's very hard to get instant bookings in Murti Resort, Jaldapara Tourist Lodge,Jhallong Bungalow etc as rooms are booked from 3 months in advance by many tourists.

Must Bring- Binoculars, Camera with preferably high zoom lens.

Duration of Trip- A 3-5 days trip is good for covering the Jaldapara and surrounding.

How to Reach Jaldapara National Park from Kolkata-

There are various ways to reach Jaldapara from Kolkata. Nearby train stations are Hasimara and Falakata both are around 19km from Jaldapara. Nearby bus stand is Madarihat,which is around 1km from Jaldapara National Park.
By road- Buses for Siliguri departs from Kolkata Esplanade(Dharmatala) bus stand. Then from Siliguri you can go to Jaldapara by hired car/or by train. But travel by bus is not always a better idea.
By train- Trains like Kanchan Kanya Exp,Kanchenjunga Exp,Howrah Guwahati Weekly Exp goes to Hasimara(19km from Jaldapara). Or get Teesta Torsa Exp,Uttar Banga Exp,Kamrup Exp to Falakata(19km from Jaldapara). My point is that, just get any train to North Bengal,reach any North Bengal stations such as- New Jalpaiguri,New Mal Junction,Mal Junction,AlipurDuar Junction,New AlipurDuar Junction and then book any car and head to Jaldapara.
Other Places to Visit from Jaldapara- Jaldapara National Park,Chilapata Forest(for dense jungle and jungle camp),Murti Tourist Lodge(a leisure day at jungle),Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary,Jhallong-Bindoo Viewpoint(border of West Bengal & Bhutan,and hydel power plant),Gorumara Forest,Buxa Fort(historical place) and Tiger Reserve,Raja Bhat Khawa,South Khayerbari Leopard Rescue Centre,Jayanti River(nice scenic beauty),Kunjanagar Eco Park,Cooch Behar Palace(Coochbehar Rajbari),Baneswar Tortoise Project,Totopara Tribal Village(famous for orange orchard,anthropology),Raimatang via Kalchini(good sceneries),Bhutan etc.

ONE ANNOUNCEMENT!

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