Chilapata Forest Tourist Places List
Site Name: Chilapata Forest.
Site Type: Forest
Resorts.
Location: The Chilapata Forest is a dense forest near
Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary in Dooars, Jalpaiguri District.
Nearest Railway
Station: Chilapata
Forest.
Nearest
Airport: Kolkata.
How to Reach: Kolkata > Siliguri > Jalpaiguri
> Chilapata Forest.
The Chilapata Forest is a dense forest
near Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary in Dooars, Jalpaiguri District. It is about
20 km from Alipurduar, and just a few minutes away from Hasimara town. Until
recently, the area was
known for dacoity (banditry), but it is now safe for tourists.
The
forest forms an elephant corridor between Jaldapara and the Buxa Tiger Reserve,
and is rich in wildlife. New species continue to be found. The forest used to
be home to large Rhinoceros populations. In hunting expeditions in 1892-1904,
in and around Chilapata Forest, the Maharajah of Cooch Behar recorded killing
one rhino, injury of one, and sighting of over 14. Rhinos now extremely rare.
Leopards are still common.
It
is hoped that eco-tourism will provide a new source of income for the
indigenous Rabha people, who now depend on the forest mainly for firewood.
The
West Bengal Forest Development Corporation (WBFDC) runs an eco-tourism resort
at Kodalbasti, providing basic accommodation.
Nalraja
Garh
One
of the main attractions is the ruined "Nalraja Garh", or fort of the
Nal kings, built in the Gupta period in the fifth century C.E., the Golden Age
of India. Although poorly maintained, the site has considerable archaeological
interest. Other activities include Tonga rides through Mathura tea garden,
boating on the Bania river and angling on the confluence of the Kalchini, Bania
and Buri Basra
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