
Sundarbans
National Park in India is one of the world's largest deltas and the mangrove
forest formed by the confluence of three rivers- the Ganga, the Brahmaputra
and the Meghna- covering an area of 2,585 sq km wildlife sanctuary, which extends
into Bangladesh too. The Sundarbans Wildlife Sanctuary, the world's largest
estuarine sanctuary is really worth a visit. With a series of densely forested
islands and saline water channels, Sundarbans is home to 270 Royal Bengal Tigers
along with the spotted deers, wild pigs, monkeys, herons, kingfishers and white-bellied
eagles.
The Sundarbans is formed by an alluvial archipelago of 54 islands, made by
the waters of Ganges, Brahmaputra and the Bay of Bengal. The Sundarban National
Park got its name from the Sundari trees found here in abundance. Sundarbans'
also shares its boundaries with the Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary.
The most unique feature of the Sundarbans is the tigers in the park apt at
swimming and are strictly amphibious! The Park is also famous for its conservation
of the Ridley Sea Turtles. The other wild animals found in the Sundarbans
National Park are estuarine terrapins, Olive Ridley turtles, estuarine crocodiles,
Ganges dolphins, water monitors and a wide variety of birds, fish and crustaceans.
One of the major tourist attractions is the Sajnekhali Visitors' Centre, which
has a crocodile enclosure, a shark pond, a turtle hatchery, and a Mangrove
Interpretation Centre.
Season :
The best time to visit Sunderbans is during winters between September and
March.
Access
:
The Sunderbans are not easily accessible. To get to the Sunderbans national
park in India the nearest airport is Calcutta, the nearest railway station
is Canning, and the nearest town is Gosaba. From the park headquarters at
Canning take the country motor launch (5 hours) to Sajnekhali.
There are regular bus services from Kolkata (Calcutta) to this place. But the
main areas of the sanctuary can only be accessed by riverine waterways. The
best and the safest way to visit Sunderbans is on conducted tours. One can also
avail the services of the private vessels from Canning, Gosaba or Basanti.
General Information
Entry Permits : The foreign tourists willing to observe the tigers and
implement the Tiger Projects and visit the Sajnekhali, have to obtain the special
permits for entry into the Sundarbans National Park. The tourists should contact
the Secretary, West Bengal Forest Department, Writer's Blidge, Kolkata - 700001,
on request. To obtain the entry permit for other areas of the Sundarban; the
tourists must visit the Field Director, Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, PO Canning,
District 24 Parganas, West Bengal. A boat cruise through Sunderbans outside
the sanctuary requires no entry permit.
Click
Here For Reservation/Booking
SUUGGESTED RESORTS
Sundar
Chital Tourist Lodge
Sunder Chital Tourist Lodge, situated near to the mangrove wild hub land
of Sundarbans at Sajnekhali, is the beautiful government run tourist lodge
of Sundar Chital. For reservations contact - West Bengal Tourist Development
Corporation. |
SUGGESTED TOURS
Jungles
of North East
Duration: 12 nights/ 13 days
Places to Visit: Delhi - Guwahati - Nameri - Kaziranga - Dibrugarh - Tinsukia
- Khonsa - Miao - Dibrugarh - Delhi or Mumbai
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