Gorumara National Park, located in Dooars, is the land of hearts desire. The call of wilderness intoxicates the area as travellers from far and wide arrive to explore the untamed jungle beauty the breath taking mountain ranges and water ripples. Located on the flood plains and Jaldhaka Rivers in West Bengal, the Gorumara National Park offers a large variety of flora and fauna.
For centuries, forest epitomized the edges of mortal domain. Ephemeral exotica have had journeyed to be the catalyst, forests thud remain to be the pole star symbol to the cycle of life, from the growth of spring flowering of summer to the decay of autumn and the barren emptiness of summer. Outwardly Gorumara seems to be calm and tranquil however the dense grass lands barricades the boundary of man`s authority; human beings inimitable unattainable attempts to tame the untameable. Seemingly emerging in euphoria; the Gorumara way through the woods defeats the sun blurring and softening visual enigmas into smoked uncertainty as it preoccupies itself with seasoned shading and dappling.
Flora Fauna of Gorumara National Park
Primarily illustrious for its population of one horned Asiatic Rhinoceros, grasslands give way to a wide cornucopia of flora fauna. In view of its great diversity of plants and animals it was accredited the title of National Park in 1994 comprising a total area of 80 sq. km. Besides the one horned rhinoceros, variety of mammal, reptiles, birds and insects which include Indian Rhinoceros, One horned rhinoceros, Gaur, Asian Elephant, Sloth bear, Chital, Bengal Tigers, Indian Wild Dogs, Indian Wolf, Pygmy Hog, Giant Squirrels, Hispid Hare and Sambar Deer, Barking deer, Hog deer and Wild boar, Scarlet Minivet, Sunbird, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Spangled Drongo, Great Indian Hornbill, Woodpeckers, Pheasants, Peafowls, Brahminy Duck, Indian Python, and King Cobra. Basically in winter the park is attractive for migrant birds. The park is 79.99 km in area.
The park falls in the Indomalaya eco-zone. The Gorumara National Park, Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands and lower Gangetic Plain fall into the category of moist deciduous forests. Main flora of the Gorumara National Park include Sal, Rain Tree (Shirish), Silk Cotton (Shimul) tree, various kind of Bamboo groves, Terai grassland vegetation and tropical trees. Orchids and ferns add to the glamour quotient of Gorumara. Vegetation is hardly in control here unregulated; the domain of mother earth; the feminine principle.
Climate of Gorumara National Park
The temperature of the forest land ranges from 10 to 21 °C (50 to 70 °F) from November to February, 24 to 27 °C (75 to 81 °F) from March to April and 27 to 37 °C (81 to 99 °F) from May to October. Rainfall mostly occurs between mid-May to mid-October and average annual rainfall is 382 cm (150 in).
Gorumara National Park as a tourist spot
The forest area has evolved as a tourist destination during the last decade. Recent years have manifested a substantial increase in tourist arrival as well as infrastructure. Today the area around the forest has the largest concentration of tourist accommodation in Dooars. The number of Jungle safari options has also increased over the years. As a spotted boundary, forests symbolise the frontier, thresholds, abyss of unknown. Explorations, sojourn amidst the forests are seen as initiations, tests and challenges to return are to be reborn, the contemplated ambiguity of the unconscious laid to rest. Forests are the fringe of darkness that lurks on the edge of civilisation, a space where we can project our deepest anxieties and fears. Dante may have commented in his Divine Comedy-"In life`s midway, I get lost in black forests", but Gorumara ensures the retreat, introspection as man stands before his ancestral abode-Nature to be one with her, in tune, in sync with.
