Till two decades back, Lataguri used to be a small village on the Highway passing through Dooars. It was famous for its sawmills. Today Lataguri is the hub of tourism activity in Dooars. Its proximity to Gorumara National Park has converted this once sleepy village into a centre for tourism with a large number of resorts and hotels spread all around the burgeoning town.
Orientation
During the 1980’s North Bengal was the hub of timber merchants. But during the 1990s with increasing concern about the environment, the business of timber got severely affected. Lataguri, till now dependent on timber, lost a major part of its economy as the sawmills closed down one after the other. Meanwhile, thanks to the vision of the local forest officer and a few people from the tourism industry, tourism was initiated in the forests of Gorumara during the late 1990s. Tourism became very successful in the forest areas of Gorumara and Today Gorumara and Lataguri is the biggest attraction for tourists in Dooars.
Why Visit
Gorumara National Park with its forest and wildlife is the primary attraction of visitors to Lataguri. Gorumara is not a very large forest, the area of the National Park is just 80 square km. There is a further smaller low-lying area where many wildlife such as Rhinos, Indian Bison, Deer, etc are concentrated. Hence the chances of wildlife sightings are very high in Gorumara compared to other forests. This has made Gorumara a prime attraction among tourists. Although there are plenty of tourist accommodations all around Gorumara National park, for most visitors, Lataguri is the most preferred destination due to its unique location. The forest range office, ticket counter, and nature interpretation centre all are located at Lataguri and it is also a marketplace where tourists can get any nicknack that they may be looking for. The forest safari booking is mostly done from Lataguri and the Safari jeeps are also mostly based here and start their safari tours from here. Hence Gorumara National Park and Lataguri have almost become synonymous with most tourists.
After the development of a large number of resorts, there has been a surge of visitors such as corporate, etc. who go to Lataguri for other activities as well apart from forest visits. For people from the nearby town of Siliguri, Lataguri has become a weekend destination.
Tourist Activity
Forest safari in the specially modified jeep is the primary attraction. There is a Jeep safari throughout the year except between June 15th and September 15th when the forest remains closed to tourists. Jeep safaris are arranged either in the morning or in the evening. There are multiple jeep safaris available taking tourists to different parts of the forests.
Apart from forest visits, the other popular activity is to visit the Himalayan foothills from here. Two such popular places are Samsing and Jhalong-Bindu-Jaldhaka. Together this tour can become a full-day activity for tourists staying here.
Location
Lataguri is located in Western Dooars. The small town is about a 1.5-hour drive from New Jalpaiguri and a 2-hour drive from Bagdogra airport. The two main roads that pass through Dooars are National Highway 17 passing through Chalsa in northern Dooars and National Highway 27 passing through Mainaguri in the Southern part of Dooars. The two towns of Chalsa and Maynaguri are about 40 km apart and are connected by another National Highway 717. Midway between Chalsa and Maynaguri, on NH 717, the Lataguri town is located.
Getting There
If you are travelling through New Jalpaiguri rail station or Bagdogra airport, the fastest route to reach Lataguri is via the Gajaldoba tourism hub. The distance to Lataguri from NJP through this route is about 55 km (1.5 hours) and from Bagdogra, the distance is 70 km (2 hours). Alternatively, you can also travel either via NH 17 or NH 27 which will take slightly longer. Lataguri has its rail station on a pocket rail route that connects to New Jalpaiguri station. But the trains are infrequent and take quite a long. For tourists coming from Southern Bengal, Malbazar is the most convenient rail station as it is just 30 km from Lataguri and takes about 40 minutes of travel time.
Accommodation
There are more than a hundred resorts and hotels all around Gorumara with the largest concentration on or around the Highway in Lataguri. There are accommodations to suit all budgets and tastes. Our travel experts are regularly in touch with these accommodations and can provide you with the best accommodation to suit your requirement. You may get in touch with our travel consultants by filling out the form below.
Transportation
We have one of the largest fleets of vehicles in Dooars. Our vehicles include small vehicles like Swift Dzire, Large vehicles like Sumo, and Luxury vehicles like Innova. All our vehicles have the permit to ply in Dooars and our drivers know the Gorumara – Lataguri area very well. You may get in touch with our travel experts for the booking service of our vehicle.
