This natural beauty is located 20 km away from my resident. About two years back, I always used to visit the place with my friends and family, every time I became more and more fond of it. Unfortunately, now a days I'm living far away in city , so no cheerings anymore with the park.
As I promised in my last article Visit West Bengal , I'm going to write about one of the best places in North Bengal.
Before I start, I like to thank every steemian friends for your supports.
The Gorumara National Park is located in North Bengal, India. On the foothills of Himalayas, This's a medium-sized park with forests, grasslands and its wild animals, originally the main forest as small as 7 square km but by corporating neighbouring lands it has grown about 80 square km. Jaldhaka is the major river of the park , Murti and Raidak are also flowing into the forest and grasslands. Gorumara is very close to Jaldapara National Park and Chapramari Wildlife Reserve.
SIGNIFICANT YEARS
■ Since 1895, under the British Rule it was a reserve forest.
■ In 1949, on account of its breeding population of Indian rhinoceros the park was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary.
■ On 31 January, 1994, it was declared an Indian National Park.
■ In 2009, The park was declared as the best among the protected areas for the year in India by Ministry of Environment and Forests.
The climate of the park is varies with the months , it covers almost six of the six seasons. Rainfall mainly occurs between May to October and average annual rainfall is about 382 cm . The temperature ranges 24 to 27°C from March to April, 27 to 37°C from May to October and 10 to 21°C from November to February.
Tropical and subtropical grasslands
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
FLORARS
Teak
Shirish or Albizia Saman Lebbeck
Bombax or Silk cotton tree or Shimul
Bamboo groves
FAUNAS
The Gorumara National Park always been one of the best inhabitants for Faunas . It has recorded 7 species of turtles, 22 species of reptiles, 27 species of fishes , 50 species of mammals and 194 species of birds and other micro and macro Faunas.
Indian Rhinoceros
Gaur
Asian Elephant
Sloth Bear
Chital
Samber Deer
Hog Deer
Barking Deer
Wild Boar
Pygmy Hog
Giant Squirrel
Hispid Hare
Scarlet Minivet
Sunbird
Flycatcher
Spangled Drongo
Indian Hornbill
Woodpecker
Pheasant
Peafowl
Brahminy Duck
Leopard
Indian Python
King Cobra
BASIC GUIDE TO TRAVEL
In the section, I'll give a brief basic guide about approach, lodging and enjoyments, I wish this will help you.
APPROACH
Air India
■ Foreign to Indra Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi or Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai.
■ Next to Baghdogra Airport, Siliguri or New Jalpaiguri Railway Station, Siliguri.
■ Siliguri to Lataguri or Ramsai, best if you hire a car.
○Politically the park is located in the Malbazar subdivision of Jalpaiguri district in the state of West Bengal, India.
○ The coordinates are 26.7° N and 88.8° E .
LODGING
Ramsai Smart Village
Here's an old wooden rustic cottage, the forest banglow has a watchtower overlooking the salt reservoir. One can stay in newly constructed resorts by State Forest Department in Kalipur village at the fringe of Gorumara. Accommodations are also available in River Wood Forest Retreats, a 4 star resort overlooking the Gorumara National Park and Murti River at Dhupjhora . If you don't like government intimacy, there're many other private resorts at Lataguri and Ramsai.
ACTIVITIES
at Budhuram Forest Village
Of course, every person would like to enjoy the wildlife when they visit it. That's why the park has some powerful binoculars with night vision facilities , using these one can see the wildlifes from numerous well-located places.
Rhino Observation Point : in the front of Gorumara Forest Banglow
Chandrachur Watch Tower : near the Murti Forest Banglow , also known as Old Khunia Watch Tower
Jatraprasad Watch Tower : name after a legendary elephant
Chukchuk Bird-watching Point : specially for birds lovers
There're no ranger-led or elephant-back forays or four wheel drive vehicle into the jungle, though there's a two-line road runs through it and hiking is permitted on metalled road , but slightly unsafe for the population of elephants, gaurs and rhinoceros. The park is closed for tourists in the Monsoon season from 16th June to 15th September and November to March is the best time to visit. One can also visit the adjoining forest villages to know the lifestyle and culture of the villagers. Every evening, a live show of the ethnic tribal dance can be seen in Budhuram Forest Village. Also visit Lataguri Nature Interpretation Centre for interpretive exhibit of the local natural history.
Finally, thank you so much 😊. I hope you liked it , see you in the next post.
