New Jalpaiguri, or NJP, is the main railway gateway to the Dooars region, and the NJP to Dooars distance varies considerably depending on which part of the region you’re headed to — anywhere from about an hour and a half to over three hours by road.
Lataguri, the base for Gorumara National Park, sits roughly 75 km from NJP, about a two-hour drive; Jaldapara National Park is farther at around 130 km, typically a three to three-and-a-half hour journey depending on traffic through Siliguri and the smaller towns along the way.
Road conditions through this stretch are generally good by North Bengal standards, though the route passes through several tea-garden towns and level crossings that can add unpredictable delays — building in some buffer time rather than planning a tight connection is worth doing, especially for a same-day onward safari.
Bagdogra Airport, about 15 km from NJP, is the nearest airport and a workable alternative for travellers connecting by flight rather than train; travel times to Dooars destinations from Bagdogra are essentially the same as from NJP given how close the two are to each other.
Most Dooars trips are best arranged with a pre-booked pickup from NJP or Bagdogra rather than sourcing local transport on arrival, since taxi availability at the station varies and pre-arranged transfers avoid the wait — this matters more for early-morning or late-evening train arrivals than for daytime ones.
Chandrawanshi Tour & Travels arranges NJP and Bagdogra pickups as part of every Dooars tour package, timed to your train or flight rather than a fixed schedule — see our Dooars pricing and plan for full details.