Lataguri
Lataguri is a small town located in the Jalpaiguri district of Indian state of West Bengal. The village is located outside the Gorumara National Park on National Highway No. 31. Permits for entering Gorumara and Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary are given form Lataguri. Located on the outskirts of a National Park itself, Lataguri is the perfect place to set free the wild child in you. From wildlife, in its most pristine and uncultivated form, to open fields, the sun and your camera, if this place doesn’t appease your senses, then very few things in this world can.
This small village affords you the splendor of Gorumara and Champramari National Park and also allows access to the famed Buxa Tiger Reserve which is a mere 2 hours away. This place is imprinted with beauty and charm.
Places to visit in Lataguri:
- Gorumara National Park– Situated on the banks of rivers Murti and Raidak in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, the Gorumara National Park is a site that you cannot miss to afford on your next trip. Spread over an area of 80 sq.km. it sits prettily at the foothills of Great Himalayan mountains and has a large variety of flora and fauna. The place is especially famous for its Asiatic one-horned rhino, and also houses many other mammals, reptiles, insects and birds, including the majestic Asian elephants, the royal Bengal tigers and the Great Indian Hornbill. Gorumara National Park has come up as an emerging popular tourist destination in the last decade or so. Today, the area in the vicinity of the forest has the largest concentration of tourist accommodation in Dooars, which bears testimony to the increase in travel that the national park has witnessed. It was also declared as the best-protected area in India by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2009.
- Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary: Located at a distance of about 20 km from the Gorumara National Park, this Wildlife Sanctuary is another spectacle of nature’s magnificence. With Kanchanjungha and other Himalayan peaks painted across its backdrop, tourists can see a wide diversity of animals like elephants, gaur, leopards in their natural habitat.Do not visit the Sanctuary in the rainy season as it stays closed to visitors from June to September. Overnight accommodations are also available in the Rest House.
- MURTI RIVER: 9km away from the main township of Jalpaiguri, Murti river is near Murti. In the middle of thick forest, one can often spot wild animals like Elephants, Rhinos, Deer etcetera who come down to the river bank to satisfy their thirst.
- JAYANTI MAHAKAL CAVES: Located along the banks of the Jayanti River, forming a natural border with beautiful Sinchula hills coloring the backdrop, this place is a picturesque location at the Buxa Tiger Reserve.
Previously a small village, it is now another beautiful spot in Buxa. The 15 km trek from Buxaduar to Jayanti that passes through the dense forest of the Buxa Tiger Reserve is especially popular. The ancient ruins of a cave are especially popular in the region.