Medla Watchtower

Medla Watchtower is a wildlife observation tower located inside Gorumara National Park near Dhupjhora in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal. Situated in grassland near the Murti River, it is one of the park's main watchtowers for viewing Indian rhinoceros, elephants, bison and deer. Visitors reach it by forest safari jeep or elephant ride and watch wildlife from the elevated platform, often combined with a bullock cart ride and tribal dance performance.

Visitors can expect an elevated wooden watchtower overlooking open grassland and forest inside Gorumara National Park. From the platform, visitors can observe wildlife such as rhinoceros, elephants, gaur and deer grazing in the grassland and birds around the area. Access is only by authorized forest safari jeep or elephant safari from Dhupjhora with a forest guide. The visit typically includes a bullock cart ride through the forest fringe and a short traditional tribal dance performance near the watchtower complex.

Gorumara was notified as a Reserve Forest in 1895, declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1949 and notified as a National Park in 1992. Medla Watchtower was established by the West Bengal Forest Department as one of the core wildlife observation points within the park to monitor and view the Indian rhinoceros and other fauna in the grassland habitat.

The area around Medla Watchtower highlights local forest village culture, with bullock cart rides and traditional dance performances by local tribal communities organized for visitors as part of the eco-tourism experience.