• Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India
  • 26.8746° N, 88.8551° E
  • 06-17 °C Nov-Feb, 16-27 °C Mar-Apr and 12-29 °C May-Oct
  • mid-May to mid-Oct and average annual rainfall is 382 cm.
  • INR
  • Bengali, Hindi, Nepali

General Information About Chapramari

Chapramari is essentially an extension of Gorumara National Park - the two are actually divided by the Murti river. In fact, Chapramari is bounded on its west by Murti river and on its east side by Jaldhaka river. Although this is a relatively small forest (about 10 square kms in an area), it's one of the oldest in Dooars. In 1895 it was first recognized as a forest reserve due to its diversity in flora & fauna. Subsequently, in 1998 it became a wildlife sanctuary. The name Chapramari originated from a type of fish (known as 'Chopra') that are found in abundance here ('mari').

Once you reach Chalsa and move towards Nagrakata along the National Highway #17, the forests that you see after crossing Murti river on both sides of the road (for a stretch of about 7kms till Jaldhaka river) is Chapramari. Most tourists who visit Gorumara National Park, also visit Chapramari Watchtower. Access to Chapramari is easier if you are staying at Murti village area or at Lataguri.

Wildlife & Birds
Like in Gorumara, you can see a wide range of wildlife at Chapramari.... elephants, gaurs (i.e. Indian bison), leopards, different types of deer including spotted deer, chital, sambar and barking deer, wild boars etc are common sightings here. You can even see one-horned rhinos if you are lucky.

And there are many different kinds of birds at Chapramari... you can spot mynas, scarlet minivets, green magpie, Indian treepie, thrush, white-breasted kingfisher, adjutant stork etc. Around the water bodies and along the river banks you can often see egrets, darters, large & little cormorants etc. In a migratory category, you can see Brahmini ducks, teals etc. There are many flowering orchids that you can see in the forests at different times of the year.

Best time to visit
November to March is the best time to visit Chapramari forest... this is the winter time, weather is very pleasant and a possibility of animal sighting is high particularly early in the mornings and late afternoons. Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary remains closed between June 16 to September 15 because of the monsoon and this time being the animal breeding season.