Dooars / Duars, the name is derived from the word Door in English or Dwar in local languages. Dooars is the gateway to Bhutan and the northeastern states of India. Dooars is broadly the alluvial plains in the foothills of the Himalaya practically about 30 kilometers wide and stretches over about 350 kilometers from the Teesta River in West Bengal to the Dhanshiri River in Assam. Dooars consist of parts of West Bengal & Assam. It is made of the districts of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Kalimpong, Darjeeling & Coochbehar of West Bengal and the districts of Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Goalpara and Bongaigaon in the state of Assam.
The area is famous for its natural beauty and the greenery due to great forest cover and a large number of tea gardens in the area. Dooars is the home to many National Parks and Sanctuary namely the Jaldapara National Park, Buxa National Park, Gorumara National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Reserve, Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and part of Neora Valley National Park in the Bengal part. On the Assam side Manas National Park, Pobitora National Park, Kaziranga are also broadly part of Dooars / Duars. In the north is the east Himalayas as a natural backdrop and a vast texture of dense forests teeming with wildlife, unending tea gardens, bubbling rivers, interspersed with sleepy or busy settlements is what Dooars is all about. It is known for the wildlife sanctuaries & National Park where one can spot herds of deer, one-horned rhinos, elephants, herds of bison, etc. It’s also an ornithologist's delight.
The Dooars region has become a very popular tourist destination for tourists from Bengal who travel here as a weekend destination. If you as a tour operator or travel agent, want to operate in Dooars, you may like to combine Dooars with either Bhutan or Sikkim or both places.
For tourists visiting Bhutan by road, the first-night stay is mostly in Phuentsholing town. The town itself does not have a lot of attractions to offer to the tourists, however, the tourist needs to spend the night there to get their tourist permit the next morning. You may suggest your guests the alternative of staying in Dooars forests of either Jaldapara, Chilapata or Buxa. The Bhutan border is just an hours drive from these forests. Your guests can enjoy the serenity of the Dooars forests, undertake early morning forest safari and yet reach the border check-post well in time for registration requirement for entering Bhutan.
The second option is to combine Dooars with Sikkim – Darjeeling tour. At the beginning or end of the tour, you may keep a couple of nights stay in Dooars especially in Gorumara area which is quite close to NJP and Bagdogra from where guests arrive or depart in the region.
The changed itinerary will not only give your guests a good experience but also create a differentiated product for you as the Dooars is not majorly promoted by many major tour operators in spite of its obvious attractions.
As a travel agent, you must remember that Safari and visiting watchtowers in forests is a regular activity but it remains closed every year from 15th June till 15th September when the forests, Parks & Sanctuaries are closed for animal breeding. A tour during this time would not be very interesting if your guests are interested in wildlife sighting. However during these months, due to heavy rain, the forests are at their greenest best and this might be the best time for a nature lover to visit Dooars.
Places of interest are many but the most popular places include Gorumara National Park, Jaldapara National Park, Chilapata, Jayanti, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Gorubathan, Murti, Bindu, Jaldhaka, Jhalong, Buxa fort, Rocky Island, Rasikbil, Neora Valley National Park, Rajabhatkhawa, Mongpong, South Khairbari Tiger Rescue Centre, Bindu, Chapramari Wildlife Park, Samsing, Suntalekhola, Santalabari etc.
People of Dooars are a unique community; colorful and vibrant. There are more than 50 different tribes who live here. Original inhabitants include the Rajbansis, Mech, Rava and the Drukpa people. Toto, Tamang, Murmi, Limbu, Lepcha, Kathamb, Oraons, Mundas, Kharia, Mahali, Lohara, migrant labors and tribals from Southern Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand works with tea estate or are involved in agriculture. Nepali, Bhutanese, Bengali, Marwari, Bihari also live here. Festivals are colorful and have a unique identity.
The temperature ranges from 18°C to 32°C but the climate is soothing throughout the year. April & May is the warmest. Monsoon is quite heavy and starts towards the end of May and extends up to September. Spring and Autumn is the best time to visit. Monsoon stay is also quite interesting as the area is one of the wettest in the country and is full of greenery and incessant rain during monsoon months.
Bagdogra Airport (IXB) is the nearest airport linked to the Dooars by road and is approximately 02 - 04 hours drive from Bagdogra Airport (IXB) or New Jalpaiguri Station (NJP). The nearest railway station is New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and is situated 10 kilometers away from Siliguri and is linked to the Dooars by road and is 02 - 04 hours drive. Railway stations like Chalsa, Alipurduar, Mal Junction, Hashimara, Cooch Behar and Rajabhatkhawa are the other railway station in the region. Jaldapara is linked by National Highway Number 31 with Siliguri, Chapramari is 80 kilometers, Buxa is 200 kilometers, Bindu and Jhalong is 105 kilometers from Siliguri and can be reached by car within 2 – 4 hours. Jaldapara / Hollong / Gorumara National Park / Buxa Tiger Reserve are all very close to the National Highway number 31. There are two approach roads one is National Highway number 31 and the other is via Jalpaiguri.
The major river crossing the area includes Brahmaputra and Manas in Assam and Jaldhaka, Murti, Torsha, Sankosh, Dyna, Karatowa, Raidak, etc. in Bengal. Packages for Dooars can be easily combined with parts of Kalimpong like Jhandi, Fagu, Lava Lolegaon, Rishop, Todey, Bhutan and parts of Assam also. Many a river Crisscross the area dividing the Tea Estate and the forests making it the hotspot of the wildlife. Nature lover and tourist of all ages and class can enjoy staying at Dooars. It is ideal for leisure holidaymakers, for family, honeymoon, School & College excursion and for the nature lover. Wildlife sanctuaries and national park safari / Elephant ride / Visiting Watch Tower are some of the favorite past times of the tourist in this region. Other adventure includes birding, angling, hiking, trekking, etc. Guests can also visit religious site, historical places which are mostly in ruins, interesting tribal villages, wildlife rehabilitation center, etc. One of the tribes which are gradually coming back from extinction due to the government initiatives is Toto Para and is worth visiting near Jaldapara. Short treks, Safari or just religious tour or historical tours are arranged by us. Packages start at a minimum of 02-night stay to 07 nights or more. Preferable is 05 – 06 Night stay in Dooars and can be 08 Nights to 12 nights if Bhutan is included. Being a leading operator and a destination management Company we organize corporate group activities, school excursion other than the normal FIT & MICE. Specialized tour like Birding and Tea Tourism are also looked after by us. Adventure activities like Trekking, Camping, etc are taken care of by our team.
The journey started more than a decade ago when a financial consultant, a social activist and a biology researcher came together to start a business in tourism that none of them knew about. But travel is something they loved and enjoyed, and so they decided to change the paradigms in their own way. And they remarked “travel is more than a profession, it’s a passion”. Read More [+]
