Gorumara National park is located in the Dooars region of Jalpaiguri district. Situated on the bank of Murti River the National Park has a large variety of flora and fauna. The grassland of Gorumara is famous for the Asiatic one-horned rhino. The watchtower beside the Forest Rest House gives a panoramic view of the entire park and the Murti Valley. The tower is the best place to observe wild animals especially rhino, elephant, bison, and deer, as they regularly come to the salt reservoir just below the tower. In the year 1949, Gorumara Forest was declared as a wildlife sanctuary when it was a small forest. Later, in the year 1994, it was declared as a National Park, comprising of 80 km of diverse forest.
Activities
Gorumara being the most popular tourist destination of Dooars, there is no dearth of tourist activity here. The most popular tourist activity is the forest safari. These are organized during early morning and late afternoon on Jeeps which are specifically marked for this purpose. There are several safari routes inside the forest that will take you to some of the core areas of Gorumara National Park. The park itself remains closed from mid-June to mid-September, but there are other activities which make it worth your while to spend a few laid-back days with family and friends in the midst of nature.
Day activity includes a visit to nearby picturesque tourist destinations including Samsing area, Jhalong, Bindu, Jaldhaka area etc.
In the evening cultural programs including tribal dances and folk music performances are organized at a number of places around the forest which can be enjoyed by all.
Together Gorumara has enough activities to keep you engaged for several days.
Reaching Gorumara
Gorumara is well connected with motorable roads from Siliguri (80 km) and Jalpaiguri (45 km). Bagdogra, the nearest airport is less than 2 hours drive and so is NJP, the major railhead. Malbazar rail station about 20 km has a stoppage of a few trains.
Accommodation
Lataguri is a Tourist Strip adjacent to Gorumara National park and many hospitable private resorts have come up in the adjacent Lataguri town to meet the ever-growing demand of the tourists. Tourists may visit Gorumara in the day time while staying at Lataguri.
The Murti area also has a number of tourist accommodations including Murti Tourist Center, WBTDC Murti tourist lodge and others. There are a large number of private tourist resorts on the bank of Murti River with a frontal view of Tondu forests.
You can make your base in Murti to explore the less tourist-trodden wonders of Dooars and lower Kalimpong hills like Chapramari Wild Life Sanctuary, Jaldhaka, Jhalong, Bindu, Paren, Caron, Diana, Jaldapara and even Bhutan
