General Travel Information

A Journey Through The Rolling Hill Slopes, Mesmerizing Lush Green Tea Gardens Separated By Meandering Silvery Mountain Streams, High Sal Forests, Quite Ethnic Villages, Vast Meadows With A Blue Outline Of The Great Himalayan Ranges In The Horizon, Endless Sky…. It Is Dooars For You!

Dooars Is One Of The Very Few Places Left In The Country Where Nature Is So Lavish Of Her Green Facilities. The Unending Stretch Of Virgin Forests Is Cress-Crossed By The River Teesta And Her Innumerable Tributaries. The Dooars Or Duars (In Bengali & Nepali) Are The Floodplains And Foothills Of The Eastern Himalayas In North-East India Around Bhutan. Duar Means Door In Nepali And Bengali Languages, And The Region Forms The Gateway To Bhutan From India. The Western Dooars Is Known As The Bengal Dooars And The Eastern Dooars As The Assam Dooars. The Dooars Valley (Also Called Duars) Stretching From The River Teesta On The West To The River Sankosh On The East Covers An Area Of Roughly 130 Km By 40 Km. The Dooars Forms Major Part Of The Jalpaiguri District. The Dooars Act As Doorways To Bhutan; Thus, The Export-Import Industry Also Flourishes In The Area. The Towns Of Jaigaon, Siliguri And Phuentsholing Are Important Hubs Of The Export-Import Industry.

Facts & Figures

Area	8,800 Kms
Altitude	90 to 1,750 m
Temperature Summer	28°C To 37°C
Temperature Winter	14°C - 20°C Avg
Annual Rainfall	3500 Mm Avg
Best Seasons To Visit	Mid Sept to May ** Forest Closed During Moonsoon
Language Spoken	Hindi, Bengali And English
Nearest Railway Station	New Mall Bazar 12 Kms NJP Rly Stn 85 Kms
Nearest Airport	Bagdogra Airport 90 Kms
Clothing Required	In Summer Light Cotton In Winter Light Woolens Umbrella & Raincoat Are Useful All Time

Important Roads	Distance
Siliguri-Bagphool	80 Kms
Darjeeling	90 Kms
Kalimpong	80 Kms
Bhutan Phuentsholing	95 Kms

Political & Physical Geography

The Dooars Region Politically Constitutes The Plains Of The Darjeeling District, The Whole Of Jalpaiguri District And The Upper Region Of Cooch Behar District In West Bengal And The Districts Of Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Goalpara And Bongaigaon In The State Of Assam.

Physical Geography

The Altitude Of Dooars Area Ranges From 90 M To 1750 M. There Are Innumerable Streams And Rivers Flowing Through These Fertile Plains From The Mountains Of Bhutan. In Assam The Major Rivers Are Brahmaputra And Manas, And In Northern West Bengal The Major River Is The Teesta Besides Many Others Like The Jaldhaka, Murti, Torsha, Sankosh, Dyna, Karatowa, Raidak, Kaljani Among Others.

History

The Dooars Belonged To The Kamata Kingdom Under The Koch Dynasty; And Taking Advantage Of The Weakness Of The Koch Kingdom In Subsequent Times, Bhutan Took Possession Of The Dooars. This Region Was Controlled By The Kingdom Of Bhutan When The British Annexed It In 1865 After The Bhutan War Under The Command Of Captain Hedayat Ali. The Area Was Divided Into Two Parts: The Eastern Part Was Merged With Goalpara District In Assam And The Western Part Was Turned Into A New District Named Western Dooars. Again In The Year 1869, The Name Was Changed To Jalpaiguri District. After The End Of The British Rule In India In 1947, The Dooars Acceded Into The Dominion Of India And It Merged With The Union Of India Shortly Afterwards In 1949.

People

The Native People Of This Region Generally Have Mongoloid Features. They Are Composed Of Numerous Tribes, Including The Bodo In Assam, And The Rabha, The Mech, The Toto, The Koch Rajbongshi, The Tamang / Murmi, Thelimbu, The Lepcha In Bengal. Most Of The People Found Here Are Nepali Community.

Apart From The Tribal Population, A Large Bengali Population (Mostly Displaced From The Then East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh) By The Partition Of Bengal) Also Populate The Dooars And Their Culture Emerged With Local People.

The Dooars Are Famous For The Tea Gardens Which Were Planted By The British. For Working In The Gardens, They Imported Labour From Nepal And The Chota Nagpur And Santhal Parganas. The Oraons, Mundas, Kharia, Mahali,Lohara And Chik Baraik Are The Tribal’s From These Areas. The Tribal Of Chotanagpur Origin Are Employed In Tea Gardens.

Economy

The Economy Of Dooars Is Based On Three "T"S – Tea, Tourism And Timber. The Main Industry Of The Dooars Region Is The Tea Industry. Thousands Of People Are Engaged In The Tea Estates And Factories. Several People Are Also Engaged In The Cultivation Of Bettlenuts Which Also Contributes To The Economy. Cultivation Of Other Crops Is Done Mainly For Local Consumption.

The Area Is Dotted By Several National Parks And Wildlife Sanctuaries Which Attract A Lot Of Tourists From All Over India And Abroad, Making It An Important Contributor To The Economy And Also Employer Of A Number Of People.

The Timber Industry, Both Legally And Illegally, Flourishes In This Region. A Number Of Saw Mills, Plywood Industries And Other Allied Business Also Act As An Important Contributor To The Economy.

As The Region Is Near The International Borders Of Bhutan, Nepal And Bangladesh, The Border Security Force , The Central Reserve Police Force, Indian Army And Indian Air Force Maintain A Large Presence In The Area. This Leads To A Large Population Of Semi-Permanent Residents Who Bring Money Into The Local Economy.

Fauna

The Banks Of These Rivers Are Favorite Spot For The Fauna Of The Region And One Can Easily Spot Animals During The Early Hours Of The Day Or Late In The Evening. It Is Always Advisable To Visit These Places Either During Sunset Or During Sunrise. Bison, Deer’s, Elephants Visit In Herd. Leopards Are Also Found Here. Other Animals Which Can Be Spotted Are Rhinoceros, Gaur, Asian Elephant, Sloth Bear, Chital, Bengal Tigers, Indian Wild Dogs, Indian Wolf, Pygmy Hog, Giant Squirrels, Hispid Hare, Sambar Deer, Barking Deer, Hog Deer, Wild Boar, Etc. The Beauty Of The Region Lies Not Only In Its Tea Gardens That Dot The Entire Area But Also The Virgin Forests Crisscrossed

Forest & Animals

The Beauty Of The Region Lies Not Only In Its Tea Gardens But Also In The Dense Jungles That Make Up The Countryside. Many Wildlife Sanctuaries And National Park Like Manas National Park In Assam, Jaldapara National Park, Buxa National Park, Gorumara National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Reserve And The Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary In West Bengal Are Located In This Region.

A Number Of Rare Endangered Species Of Animals Like Tiger, Rhinoceros And Elephant Make Their Habitat In The Forests Of The Dooars. Other Animals Includes Different Types Of Deer, Bison, Birds And Reptiles. A Railway Line Runs Through The Tea Gardens And The Various Protected Areas And A Number Of Elephants Have Been Killed In Collisions With Trains.