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Would you believe, if we tell you that we were actually chased by a herd of elephants ?? Okay, now there is nothing to get scared off. We were inside our car during the jeep safari, with proper guides and with a pro driver. And not to mention the famous Kukri that our guide had, it made us feel absolutely secured from any form of danger what so ever ….

The Dooars or Duars are the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the North-Eastern part of India around Bhutan. Duar means ‘door’ and name is like that because the region forms the gateway to Bhutan from India.

You can reach Dooars via 3 ways :

1) Via Air – Land in Bagdogra Airport & take a cab (2 h 58 min approx 134.3 km) or take a flight to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Kolkata Airport and board an overnight train

2) Via Rail – Land in Siliguri or NJP from Kolkata and hire private or shared cab to Dooars area (2 h 44 min approx 125.4 km)

3) Via Roadways – From Kolkata hire a cab or take a bus (17 h 56 min approx 790.4 km). Note if you take a bus you have to get down to Siliguri or NJP and then you have to hire a shared or private cab

We started our journey from Kolkata and we boarded the famous Darjeeling Mail from Sealdah Station. Once we landed in NJP, we took a private cab from NJP station to reach Jaldapara National Park.

Tips : Try to book a train which takes you to New Mal Junction or Hasimara, the closest railway station to the Dooars region if you want to avoid the road journey from NJP

Jaldapara National Park

We were 3 friends who planned this trip and we chose to do a Jeep Safari in the famous Jaldapara National Park. Jaldapara in West Bengal was declared a sanctuary in 1941 for protection of the great variety flora and fauna, particularly the one-horned rhinoceros, an animal threatened with extinction.

We had booked the famous Jaldapara Tourist Lodge from the West Bengal Government website and trust me guys that was the best decision we could have done. The journey from NJP station to the Jaldapara region costed us around Rs 2000

Tips – There are two lodges by WB govt in Jaldapara region, one is the Jaldapara Tourist Lodge & the other one is the famous Hollong tourist lodge, which is actually situated inside the dense forest. We chose the former, as we wanted to go out & explore local markets also.

You can book the hotel from this link. If you want to read a detailed review of this hotel, do check our Reviews page.

Few pictures of the property :

The Jeep Safari

Now, let us tell you what happened on the very day we reached NJP. We were supposed to reach NJP by 8 am however the train delayed and we reached at around 11 am. Train running late is a common thing during the winter season in India mainly because of the foggy weather. Anyways as we were already late to reach NJP, we immediately hired a cab and finally we reached the resort at around 2:30 pm (cab broke down in the middle). So we had done our formalities for check in and by that time it was already 3:30 pm. The booking counter for the jeep safari was inside the resort campus luckily. The person sitting at the counter told us that the last vehicle for the jeep safari leaves at 4:30 pm and for the next day they don’t have any schedule and the day after tomorrow we are checking out.

Uggghhh…. big problem 🙁

So we have one hour to take shower, get freshen up have lunch and attend the safari.

But guess what ?? we made it….. 😉

So if you take one jeep for yourself it would cost you around Rs 1800-2000 , but luckily we got ourselves two elderly gentlemen who were ready to share the jeep with us. So the total cost for three of us came around Rs 1470 and the jeep had a total of 5 people on sharing basis.

Tips :

a) Try to book the first jeep safari in the morning or the last one, the chances of seeing animals will be higher.

b) As soon as you reach, try to book the safaris whether its jeep or elephant, as the bookings are done on first cum first serve basis.

c) They also have elephant safari which is not very much recommended for elderly people with back problem

Leaving everything aside, we started our jeep safari inside the forest and trust me it was beautiful. The lush green forest on both sides, the barking of deer, the scream of peacocks was surely something which we don’t get to see or hear in our daily lives and we felt that after a long day of hassle, this was definitely worth it.

The first point where we stopped was the Hollong Bunglow. The guide told us that you can actually see a one horned rhino there and they come every evening to eat salt which the rangers provide to them (strange isn’t ??). So we waited patiently, and guess what that moment finally came where we saw a one horned rhino….

From there we went to a watch tower to capture the glimpses of wild bison

We saw few glimpses of captive elephants

Once the trip was about to get over there was a complimentary tribal dance to add to the trip, and we enjoyed it very much with a cup of tea accompanying with it 🙂

Okay now the climax, while returning suddenly we stopped in the middle of the road, there was another jeep in front of us filled with a group of youngsters like us, but the mistake they did was they were shouting at gthe top of their voices and were clicking pictures with mobile flash light turned on.

Tip : Do not ever light something in the middle of the forest.

The group stopped their jeep in the middle and were clicking selfies with a herd of elephants passing by. All of a sudden we noticed that the herd started running towards us. As they came closer we started to panic. We got so scared that for a fraction of second thought some mishap is about to happen. Our driver made way and started driving as fast as possible and when we went to a far distance he informed us that we are safe and not to worry. 

The scene of an angry male elephant running towards us with a loud trumphet is something to get scared of. Not only that an elephant can grow as large as about 13 feet (4 meters) tall and weigh as much as about 6 tons, but they can run 25 to 30 miles an hour (40 to 48 kilometers an hour) and can crush whatever comes in their way.

What a scary encounter it was, luckily our guide was there with us and we knew we were safe. That was an encounter we will never forget in our entire life. 

Luckily we survived and we came back to our resort. We ordered Desi Chicken and Chapati for dinner, and trust me the dishes were perfectly made.

Total Cost for 3 days including food was :Rs 7400 (for 3 people)

Before we en,d we noticed something which we wanted to share with all of you !!

Scary right ?? A coffin lying under the river bed in the midst of the jungle. Well did not have much time to investigate on it as it was getting darker.

Lets try to conclude it :

You cannot miss this jeep safari, its wonderful, we could not get all the pictures but you will definitely get to see a lot of animals. Do not trust all the reviews you read on the internet.

Tips : 

a) Try the jeep safari in Jaldapara rather than Gorumara or Buxa as there you will get to see less animals.

b) Try to book the West Bengal Govt lodge, they are one of the best in the country. You don’t have to put alarm on your mobile to get up in the morning, the scream of peacocks from the jungle will help you to do so. 

If you want to set off for these jeep safari, you cannot do so at your own will. This is because there are several restrictions that are imposed on visitors by the government. This is done mainly for the protection of the wild animals. So, the best way to tour these wildlife hubs is by booking jungle safari tours and travel packages.

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