Chilapata, Buxa Fort and Jayanti in 4 nights

Day by day

The timetable

1. Day1

   Siliguri to Chilapata forest

   ≈ 145 km · 3.5–4 hHasimara or MadarihatLunch, dinnerChilapata Forest guide

   We leave Siliguri early and drive east over the Coronation Bridge, through the Malbazar and Chalsa tea gardens, and past Birpara to Hasimara. Train travellers can instead ride from NJP to Hasimara in 3–4 hours. After lunch at the lodge, take the afternoon jeep safari into Chilapata, a dense forest corridor between Jaldapara and Buxa used by elephants. The track passes the brick ruins of Nalraja Garh, an old fort whose builders are uncertain; local tradition links it to the Gupta period. A jeep for up to six costs about ₹2,500–3,500, indicative 2026. Dinner and an early night.

2. Day2

   Walk up to Buxa Fort and Lepchakha

   ≈ 70 km · 2 h, then a 2–4 h walkSantalabari or LepchakhaBreakfast, lunch, dinnerBuxa Tiger Reserve and Buxa Fort guide

   Drive through Alipurduar district to Rajabhatkhawa, where you pay the forest entry, then up to the road end at Santalabari. From here a stony path climbs through forest to Buxa Fort, about an hour on foot. Little of the fort stands, but the walls, the gate and a small memorial to the detainees of the 1930s are there. Your guide tells the fort's story, from the Bhutanese garrison to the 1865 Treaty of Sinchula and the Tibetan monks of 1959. Fit walkers continue about 1–1.5 hours to Lepchakha, a Drukpa village on the ridge with a chorten. Porters carry bags for ₹300–600, indicative 2026.

3. Day3

   Down the hill to Jayanti

   ≈ 35 km · 1.5 h by carJayantiBreakfast, lunch, dinnerJayanti guide

   Watch sunrise from Lepchakha or the fort, then walk back down to Santalabari. A forest trail of about 13 km links Buxa Duar with Jayanti, but it needs a guide, forest permission and dry weather; most groups go by car via Rajabhatkhawa instead, about 1.5 hours. Jayanti sits on a wide riverbed of white stones, dry for much of winter, with forested hills rising into Bhutan behind. In the afternoon walk the riverbed with your host. Look for elephant tracks and listen for barking deer. Stay off the riverbed after dark.

4. Day4

   Mahakal cave and the riverbed

   JayantiBreakfast, lunch, dinnerJayanti guide

   A full day on foot. With a local guide, cross the riverbed and climb to the Mahakal cave, a natural limestone cave with stalactites revered as a shrine to Shiva. The walk takes 3–5 hours return depending on the route and river level, with a steep final section and a small stream crossing. A guide costs about ₹800–1,500 per group, indicative 2026. In the afternoon rest, read, or walk the forest edge with binoculars: hornbills, minivets and kingfishers are regular. After dinner your host may light a fire in the yard; Jayanti nights are quiet apart from the insects.

5. Day5

   Jayanti to Alipurduar or Siliguri

   ≈ 30 km · 1 h to Alipurduar; ≈ 185 km · 5 h to SiliguriBreakfastSiliguri (NJP and Bagdogra) guide

   After breakfast we drive out through the reserve. Train travellers get off at Alipurduar Junction, about an hour away, for trains to NJP, Kolkata and beyond. Everyone else drives back west through Hasimara and the tea gardens to Siliguri, about 5 hours, or carries on to Phuentsholing, about 1.5–2 hours from Jayanti. For a flight from Bagdogra, choose one leaving after 4 pm, or stay a night in Siliguri. Shops at Rajabhatkhawa sell snacks and water for the road.