No expensive: North-East wildlife Jaldapara is the best..

Jaldapara is in the foothills of eastern Himalayas.The river Torsha flows through this rain forest sanctuary which is mostly covered with tall grasses, the sanctuary encompasses a luxuriant vegetation and a rich variety of wildife. The Malangi River also flows nearby from east to west. Riding elephants and jeep safari is the only way to move inside this forest. Elephant safari is preferred by the people staying at Jaldapara (in Holong Forest Guest House or Tourist Lodge) overnight. The jeep safari is available in the morning and in afternoon.

The forest is mainly savannah covered with tall elephant grasses. The main attraction of the sanctuary is Asiatic one-horned rhinoceros. The sanctuary holds the highest rhino population in India after Kaziranga National Park in Assam. The other animals found are tigers, elephants, deers, sambhar, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, wild pig and bisons. Jaldapara is a paradise for bird watchers. It is one of the very few places in India, where the Bengal florican is sighted. The other birds to be found here are the crested eagle, Pallas's fishing eagle and shikra, besides jungle fowl, peafowl, patridges, and lesser pied hornbill. Python, monitor lizards, krates, cobras, geckos and about 8 species of fresh water turtles have also found sanctuary here.

See:

On an elephant ride you can see so many animals, like rhino, various types of deer, elephants, bisons, peacocks, etc.

See the view from Hollong Rest House (govt.)

Sleep

·         1 Hotel Royal Green, NH 31C, Kharibari Forest, Madarihat, ☎ +91-9933160106. edit

·         Jaldapara Jungle Camp, Madarihat (Near Reliance Petrol Pump), ☎ +91-353-2433683-2535896, +91-97330-00440. Jaladapara Jungle Camp have 02 Attic Cottages, 02 Wooden Cottages, 02 Cottages and 01 Triple Bedded Cottage with attach toilets & baths. ₹1,000 - 2,000. edit

·         Chilapata Jungle Camp (near Chilapata Wildlife Sanctuary), ☎ +91-353-2433683-2535896, e-mail: info@helptourism.com. Run by Help Tourism. Cottages ₹1000-1500. edit

Tourist lodges

·         Hollong Tourist Lodge. It is maintained by WBTDC. There are only 7 rooms available for tourists. Booking has to be done 120 days in advance. The lodge is 7-8 km deep inside the forest from the entry gate on the high way at Madarihat. All rooms are double bedded at ₹2,500 per day. If you want to have food, the package is ₹400 per head per day which includes breakfast with tea or coffee, evening snacks with tea or coffee and dinner. Lunch is an optional ₹150 per meal. edit

·         2 Jaldapara Tourist Lodge, PO Madarihat, Dist. Jalpaiguri PIN 735 220, ☎ +91 3563 262230 (Telefax), +91 3563 262606. It much bigger than Hollong Tourist Lodge and has dormitories too. Direct booking at Tourist Lodge. ₹1,000 (non AC double bed), ₹300 (dormitory - 5 bedded), ₹650 (double-bedded Tourist Hut).. edit

·         Malangi Nature Resort (West Bengal Forest Development Corporation), Baradabari, ☎ +91 3581 2886308. On the other side of the sanctuary. edit

·         Booking can be done for all:

·         From Kolkata - West Bengal Tourism, 3/2 B.B.D. Bag (E), Kolkata-700029. Telephone +91 33 2225 4723, +91 33 2210 3199, e-mail: dtwbtour@vsnl.net,

·         From Siliguri - West Bengal Tourism, M-4 Building, Hill Cart Road, Siliguri, Telephone +91 353 2511974, +91 353 2516306.

Priority to enter Jaldapara Sanctuary is first given to those booked into the tourist lodges only if there are less people booked in the lodges, can people not staying at the lodges get a safari. There is only a limited number of safaris each day (May 2008).

Fees & Permits:

A permit is required for visit to the sanctuary. (As of 2007-08) Entry fees to visit the park (Hollong) : ₹25/- per head for Indian Nationals. ₹50/- per light vehicle. ₹200/- per heavy vehicle. ₹5/- per still camera. ₹250/- per video camera.

A thrilling elephant safari is organized in the early morning from Hollong to offer the exquisite beauty of the vast grassland of Jaldapara. The elephant ride is the best possible way to explore the sanctuary with the rare sight of Indian rhinos and Asiatic elephants. The jeep safari inside the sanctuary is another main attraction. Jeeps can be hired from Madarihat for day visits.

Elephant ride charge (as of 2007-08): per adult: ₹120 (maximum 4 persons allowed on each elephant).