Destination Dooars

About the place

The Dooars are the alluvial floodplains in northeastern India that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the Brahmaputra River basin. This region is about 30 km (19 mi) wide and stretches over about 350 km (220 mi) from the Teesta River in West Bengal to the Dhanshiri River in Assam. The region forms the gateway to Bhutan. It is part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion.
Dooars means 'doors' in Assamese, Bengali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi and Telugu languages. There are 18 passages or gateways between the hills in Bhutan and the plains in India. This region is divided by the Sankosh River into Eastern and Western Dooars, consisting of an area of 880 km2 (340 sq mi). The Western Dooars are also known as the Bengal Dooars, and the Eastern Dooars also as the Assam Dooars. Dooars is analogous with the Terai in northern India and southern Nepal.


  • Attractions Places
  • Transport
  • Culture
  • History
  • Gorumara National Park

    This national park is famous for the breeding of the rare one - horned rhinoceros. Elephant ride and Jeep safari can help you spot the mighty bison, leopard or spotted deer and peacocks. The other mammals found here are, sambar, hog deer, reptiles, huge wild tuskers, wild boars and the rarest variety of animals and birds. It is a paradise for lovers of nature and adventurer. Nearby there are many a spot to visit. Watchtowers at Chuk chuki, and Jatra Prasad, Toto Para, Jaldapara, Dhupi Jhora, Bindu, Samsing, Rocky Island, Suntaley Khola, Buxar Tiger reserve, Cooch Behar etc are some of the places of Interest. Chapramari amidst of forests, rivers and wildlife will definitely instill new life and inspiration in a tourist for ever.

  • Lataguri

    Lataguri is bounded on the North and East by Gorumara forests, in the South Moulani more and in the West by Neora river. The main road crisscrossing the town South- North is the original National Highway 31. There is one road originating from this highway near Lataguri Welfare Association and moving east crossing the forest to reach Ramsai. Another road originates at Neora more and goes towards the West. This road crosses Neora river and to Malbazar. Most of the population in Lataguri are Bengali or Rajbanshis. Main economic activity till the 90’s was Saw mill, Timber merchant and goods transport. Today the economy is overwhelmingly dependent on tourism.

  • Meteli

    At the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas is a place called Meteli which is known for its lush tea garden an old township at the Jalpaiguri District. Because of its unique location in between the meadows of lush tea garden which offers the place the beauty most pictorial views of the tea gardens that are surrounding an old township which is only witnessed from Meteli.

  • Chapramari

    Chapramari forests is essentially a continuation of the Gorumara National Park. The two forests are divided by the Murti River. The North East side of the river is Chapramari Wild Life Sanctuary whereas the South West side is where Gorumara is located. If you are travelling through Dooars via National Highway 31, the forests you see on both sides of the road between Chalsa and Nagrakata is part of Chapramari WLS. The forest is relatively small in size but is one of the oldest in India. It was declared a reserve forest back in 1895. The West side of the river is bounded by River Murti and on the Eastern side by river Jaldhaka. The total area of the forest is about 10 square km. In the recent past, the area has come up as an important tourist destination in Western Dooars.

  • Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary

    This is one of the most visited sites of Dooars and preferable time to visit is from September end to mid May. This is a bird watcher’s paradise. The rare Bengal Florican can be spotted here along with hornbill, racket - tailed drongo and paradise flycatcher. One can also find the rarest variety of animals and birds including peacocks. The Sanctuary remains closed during May 15th to September 15th. It is one of the oldest sanctuaries, established in 1941. It is similar to the savannah of South America with elephant grasses, interspersed with trees and bamboo. One - horned rhinoceros, an animal threatened with extinction ca be found here in abundance along with leopards, elephants, sambhar, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, and herds of wild boars and bison. Elephant safaris is one of the most sort after entertainment and even Jeep safaris are sometime missed by traveler.

  • Bindu

    Bindu is only 107 km from Siliguri. The last hamlet of West Bengal, Bindu is a valley encircled with hills of Bhutan and India on the banks of river Jaldhaka. It is a feast for the eyes and a stimulating experience for the mind. The road that leads to Bindu is in itself an unforgettable experience. The whole region is extremely beautiful with green vegetation all around. There is also the possibility of sighting wild life on the way. Bindu is a conglomeration of different aborigines. The peace loving people of Bindu are engaged either in Elaichi (Cardamom) or Suntala (Orange) cultivation. Terrace cultivation is quite common here. Just a few kilometers away from Bindu and paren on an accentuated height is Godak village. On either side of the road, you will find Cardamom and Orange plantation. From here, you can have a view of the few villages of Bhutan, Paren and Bindu. On the way to Godak Government has set up a Cardamom Curing Centre for the farmers.

  • Samsing

    At a distance of 82 km from Siliguri, it takes about 3 hours to reach Samsing from Siliguri through the most picturesque landscape. As you enter Dooars through the National Highway 31, you will cross Malbazar to reach Chalsa. From Chalsa take a left turn and drive on for 15 kms via Meteli to reach Samsing. The last few kilometres drive is a feast for the eyes as you pass through some of the most picturesque tea gardens of Dooars including the Chalsa Tea Garden, Zurantee Tea Garden and Samsing Tea Garden. The road is relatively narrow but there are few vehicles traveling through this route as the road ends at Samsing.

  • Gajoldoba

    Gajoldoba is a reservoir formed by the first Teesta Barrage, which was built for irrigational purposes. It is surrounded by the Baikunthapur forests, and is an hour's drive from Jalpaiguri. The reservoir is used by many water birds from Ladakh and Central Asia – Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Bar-headed Goose, Greylag Goose, Lesser Whistling Duck, Ruddy Shelduck, Common Shelduck, Cotton Teal, Tufted Duck, Common Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Spot-billed Duck, Mallard, Great Cormorant, Indian Cormorant, Little Cormorant, Indian Pond Heron, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Northern Lapwing, River Lapwing, Grey-headed Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, etc.

  • Buxa Fort

    Buxa Fort is located at an altitude of 867 metres (2,844 ft) in the Buxa Tiger Reserve, Alipurduar district, West Bengal. It is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Alipurduar, the nearest town. The Bhutan King used the fort to protect the portion of famous Silk Route connecting Tibet with India, via Bhutan. Still later during unrest in Occupation of Tibet, hundreds of refugees arrived at the place and used the then abandoned fort as refuge. This tiger reserve forest abounds in a fascinating diversity of flora and fauna. The surrounding region is home to the tribes like Mech, Rava, Oraon, Munda, Kora and even the smallest surviving tribe, the Toto. It is one of the reserve forests stretching to Bhutan as Phipsu reserve and to Rasikbill near Cooch Behar and is drained by rivers like Sankosh, Raidak, Jayanti, Churnia, Turturi, Phashkhawa, Dima and Nonani. Elephants and leopard can be spotted very frequently.

The main mode of transport in the area is roadways. Most of the places are well connected by roads. NH31 is the main highway of the area. Asian Highway AH48 is being constructed through the Dooars region.
Regular bus services provided by North Bengal State Transport Corporation and Assam State Transport Corporation and other private parties run between all the important places of the area. Shared jeeps and maxi-taxies are quite popular in the area.
There are some important railway stations in the area such as New Jalpaiguri, New Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, New Bongaigaon, hasimara, etc. An important rail route between Alipurduar Junction and New Jalpaiguri via Malbazar covers almost the entire Dooars.
Two important airports of the area are Bagdogra Airport near Siliguri and Guwahati Airport. Another airport is proposed to start in Cooch Behar shortly.

The festivals, the events, the attractions, all reflect the culture of Dooars in one way or the other. Tourism has picked up in the last decade or so and the local people are generally quite friendly towards the tourists. Come and be mesmerized by the intoxicating culture of Dooars.

The Dooars belonged to the Kamata Kingdom under the Koch dynasty; and taking advantage of the weakness of the Koch kingdom in subsequent times, Bhutan took possession of the Dooars. This region was controlled by the kingdom of Bhutan when the British annexed it in 1865 after the Bhutan War under the command of Captain Hedayat Ali. The area was divided into two parts: the eastern part was merged with Goalpara district in Assam and the western part was turned into a new district named Western Dooars. Again in the year 1869, the name was changed to Jalpaiguri District. After the end of the British rule in India in 1947, the Dooars acceded into the dominion of India and it merged with the Union of India shortly afterwards in 1949.