How To Reach Jaldapara National Park

Located in the Alipurduar District of North Bengal, at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas and on the banks of Torsa River is the very popular Jaldapara National Park. It is a huge sprawling grassland with patches of riverine forests. Boasting of rich flora and fauna and home to the largest population of Indian one-horned rhino, Jaldapara is a fascinating tourist destination in West Bengal and a paradise for wild life and bird lovers. It experiences a high number of footfalls every year. Jaldapara National Park is fairly accessible from different parts of the state and country; and here's how you can easily reach it.

Nestled in the lap of nature and surrounded by the wild, Jaldapara predictably does not have an airport of its own. To travel by air, tourists have to disembark at Bagdogra Airport located in Siliguri. The airport is located 145 km from the national park. Bagdogra is a prominent airport in this part of the country and the only second airport in West Bengal. Bagdogra gives air accessibility to the towns and cities of North Bengal. The airport is well connected with major parts of the country like Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, etc. Public and private carriers operate regular flights to and from Bagdogra. From the airport, tourists can get cabs or buses to reach Jaldapara.

The most important railhead to Jaldapara is New Jalpaiguri Railway Station or NJP. This is the most prominent railway junction in North-east India and certainly in North Bengal. It has major express trains passing through it or originating from it. These trains connect different parts of the country. Kanchenjungha Express, Guwahati Express, Sealdah NJP Special, Guwahati Howrah Special, Udaipur NJP Express, Dibrugarh Chandigarh Special are some of the many trains that help connect NJP to the rest of the country. Jaldapara does have a station located just 7 km away in Madarihat but most trains do not stop here. There are stations in Birpara and Hasimara both 20 km from the park and all mail and express trains make a stop here. From here tourists have to depend on local transport or jeeps arranged by resorts to reach their destination.

Jaldapara is well accessible by road thanks to the presence of National Highway. The latter helps to connect Jaldapara with Siliguri and the distance can be covered merely in 3 hours. The entry point for the sanctuary is Madarihat which lies on NH 31. It is 140 km from Siliguri, 50 km from Alipurduar and 80 km from Cooch Behar. Buses operate regular services between different parts of the neighboring areas and Jaldapara. North Bengal State Transport Corporation buses, mini buses, and Bhutan Government buses are abundantly available connecting Siliguri with Alipurduar via Madarihat giving access to Jaldapara National Park.

For moving around the park and sightseeing, tourists have to depend upon jeeps and elephants. Deep in the wilderness, there are no other modes of transportation available. Jeep safaris and elephant safaris are very popular and take tourists inside the forest for a tour of the national park. For traveling to neighboring areas, buses and jeep are available for rent. Other than these, you will not find much to commute around.