Gorumara National Park Planning and Visitor Guide Collection for Jalpaiguri District

Terai grassland sanctuary protecting one of India's last remaining Indian rhinoceros populations

Gorumara National Park

Gorumara National Park represents one of the most important conservation landscapes in the Indian subcontinent, protecting a vital remnant of the once-extensive Terai grasslands that stretched along the Himalayan foothills from Bhutan to Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Dooars region of West Bengal, the park encompasses a diverse mix of habitats ranging from dense sal forests to open grasslands and riverine wetlands that have evolved over millennia in the flood plains of the Murti and Raidak rivers. The park's position at the confluence of the Ganges and Brahmaputra watersheds gives it ecological significance beyond its relatively modest area, serving as a corridor for wildlife movement between India and Bhutan. Originally established as a small 7 square kilometer reserve, Gorumara has grown through the incorporation of neighboring lands to its current extent of approximately 80 square kilometers, reflecting a conservation model that has successfully integrated local communities into protection efforts. The park today operates as a showcase of community-based conservation, with more than 10,000 resident forest villagers deriving livelihoods from ecotourism and forest department employment, creating a stakeholder base invested in the park's long-term protection.