Buxa was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1983 and won the national park status in 1992. Located on the Assam-Bhutan border Buxa has an area of 745 square kilometers, the largest forest in North Bengal and the tiger population has the second highest in West Bengal after Sunderbans. The park is owned by the maximum elephant, Indian bison, leopard, many species of deer and many smaller mammals, birds and many reptiles. Buxa is rich in biodiversity and has a large collection of rare orchids and medicinal plants. Since the inaccessible terrain, part of the hills between Buxa Sinchula are still untapped. Buxa is one of the oldest settlements in North Bengal. It is 24 km away from Alipurduar and 180 km from Siliguri, good and motorable roads and railways. Several hiking trails originate in Buxa.