Mouchuki Forest & Gorumara
The area of Dooars, where the forests of the plain land has touched the hills has a singular way of life - one side of which is filled with tea gardens and bungalows dating to the colonials days, tribal population, stretches of forests, poisonous snakes and carnivores and the other side of modernity where mobile networks, roads, tourism have made inroads. The Dooars might have gained popularity, but the touch points, where the hills have touched the plains is one yet to be explored. It was on such a trail that we came of know of the villages of Todey,Tangta and Paren. It was a recent conversation with a friend when I came to know of the Mouchuki Forest Bungalow which lay a few miles to the East of these places and on the contours of the Neora Valley National Park. The hills, of course, extend further into the forest - a hilly, forested region, contagious to the hills of Sikkim, Kalimpong and Bhutan. The location appealed owing to the remote, rugged terrain and a view where you feel that you are perched on a 3000 feet high nest and look into a sea of green - the Dooars. You might not get a view of the snow capped Himalayas, but the view of the sunrise and sunset from this high point is certainly alluring. It was with those thoughts that we went on a exploration of the place.
Here is a map of the general area - that shows the route from Bagdogra/Siliguri to Mouchuki. And since we travelled from Dabri Tea Lounge, so, a map from the further East is also provided below.
Dabri Tea Lounge
We started the day with lunch at the Dabri Tea Lounge - a recent favourite owning to their quality food, fast service and its setting amidst a tea garden . From Dabri we took the NH317 to the Tusker Tea County.
The road passes through the forested stretches of Buxa-Jaldapara and then connects to Birpara - Chalsa before turning left for the Gorumara National park. Traffic was heavy till Birpara but reduced considerably thereafter.
Acres of mustard fields stretch for miles during winter. The final 3 kms to the resort is through a narrow road and passes by local villages and bazaars.
Drive to Mouchuki Forest Bungalow
Permit: To reach Mouchuki, one needs to have permit from the Samsing Forest Beat Officer. The permit is free of charge and in order to get it you need to carry the original aadhar card (the officer was kind enough to arrange a photo copy too, so, thanks to him!). The original copy of the permit was kept by the beat officer and he asked us to take a photo of it, because of the taxi syndicate, who will stop you at the start of the forest trail in case you are not carrying the permit. I was privy to this information because a friend had visited this place a few months back.
Now coming to the route - after crossing the beat officer's bungalow, take the road which climbs past the Samsing Forest Rest House. This is a particularly forested stretch and one can hear the sounds of birds, insects as you drive through this section..my recommendation is to let the windows down and enjoy the forest sounds and you drive along ..it doesn't receive much sun and one can see that its damp.. there is a break in the forest as one reaches the Suntalekhola taxi stand. A typical hill bustee with home stays, restaurants and the taxi stand which we had been already warned about.
The track is rough, initially a gradually increasing slope and passes through the settlement after which tall trees appear on either side. The sound of tyres crushing the gravels beneath caught the ears in the absence of any other noise apart from birds and insects. We rolled down the windows a little to let in the cold mointain air. There were patches where the sunrays had filtered through the forests and created patches of light.
As we continued to climb, we met a group walking to the villages deeper in the hills. Maps dont work here and neither does mobile networks and the only way to know if you are on the right track is by trusting your instinct or hollering to the passing folks and if there is no one, just plough along the road..Some minutes upfill, we saw a beautiful bungalow in the distance. We thought that to be the forest bungalow and went ahead - and here we met 2 children, who told us that the bungalo was further up..Reversing was painful and we resumed our uphill drive.
At a point we crossed another barricade. here we asked a village folk returning with firewood, and he indicated that bungalow was the one which we had crossed previously. The bungalow was of course the objective of the tide, but the ride was what we wanted to enjoy and explore and thats what we did. Nevertheless we walked over to the end of the road and the view knocked us over...the forest of Dooars had settled below, a film of clouds had settled at a distance, the sun was still shining but it felt that the cold winds will win over.
we stood here. the winter sun was mild and cast a yellowish glow ....there was a complete silence...there have been instances of tiger sightings in the upper reaches of the Neora Valley National park and this silence, with barely anyone around, I thought we had come to a really off the beaten track place in Dooars...during descent, we had company in the form of a Jeep...but as said, the short trail, even though rought, did not require 4WD at any point.
Safari at Gorumara National Park
Dabri Tea Lounge
We started the day with lunch at the Dabri Tea Lounge - a recent favourite owning to their quality food, fast service and its setting amidst a tea garden . From Dabri we took the NH317 to the Tusker Tea County.
The road passes through the forested stretches of Buxa-Jaldapara and then connects to Birpara - Chalsa before turning left for the Gorumara National park. Traffic was heavy till Birpara but reduced considerably thereafter.
Acres of mustard fields stretch for miles during winter. The final 3 kms to the resort is through a narrow road and passes by local villages and bazaars.
Drive to Mouchuki Forest Bungalow
Permit: To reach Mouchuki, one needs to have permit from the Samsing Forest Beat Officer. The permit is free of charge and in order to get it you need to carry the original aadhar card (the officer was kind enough to arrange a photo copy too, so, thanks to him!). The original copy of the permit was kept by the beat officer and he asked us to take a photo of it, because of the taxi syndicate, who will stop you at the start of the forest trail in case you are not carrying the permit. I was privy to this information because a friend had visited this place a few months back.
Now coming to the route - after crossing the beat officer's bungalow, take the road which climbs past the Samsing Forest Rest House. This is a particularly forested stretch and one can hear the sounds of birds, insects as you drive through this section..my recommendation is to let the windows down and enjoy the forest sounds and you drive along ..it doesn't receive much sun and one can see that its damp.. there is a break in the forest as one reaches the Suntalekhola taxi stand. A typical hill bustee with home stays, restaurants and the taxi stand which we had been already warned about.
The track is rough, initially a gradually increasing slope and passes through the settlement after which tall trees appear on either side. The sound of tyres crushing the gravels beneath caught the ears in the absence of any other noise apart from birds and insects. We rolled down the windows a little to let in the cold mointain air. There were patches where the sunrays had filtered through the forests and created patches of light.
As we continued to climb, we met a group walking to the villages deeper in the hills. Maps dont work here and neither does mobile networks and the only way to know if you are on the right track is by trusting your instinct or hollering to the passing folks and if there is no one, just plough along the road..Some minutes upfill, we saw a beautiful bungalow in the distance. We thought that to be the forest bungalow and went ahead - and here we met 2 children, who told us that the bungalo was further up..Reversing was painful and we resumed our uphill drive.
At a point we crossed another barricade. here we asked a village folk returning with firewood, and he indicated that bungalow was the one which we had crossed previously. The bungalow was of course the objective of the tide, but the ride was what we wanted to enjoy and explore and thats what we did. Nevertheless we walked over to the end of the road and the view knocked us over...the forest of Dooars had settled below, a film of clouds had settled at a distance, the sun was still shining but it felt that the cold winds will win over.
we stood here. the winter sun was mild and cast a yellowish glow ....there was a complete silence...there have been instances of tiger sightings in the upper reaches of the Neora Valley National park and this silence, with barely anyone around, I thought we had come to a really off the beaten track place in Dooars...during descent, we had company in the form of a Jeep...but as said, the short trail, even though rought, did not require 4WD at any point.
Safari at Gorumara National Park
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