Travel to West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India along the Bay of Bengal. It is bordered by states of Odisha in south, Jharkhand and Bihar in West and Sikkim in North.
This state is blessed with rich diversity of flora and fauna. Home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, the Sundarbans is the greatest habitat of tigers. This mangrove forest is home to many other endanger species of wild life. Rich in culture and history and vibrant people this state has many attractions to offer for travellers.
West Bengal comprises of fifteen wildlife sanctuaries and five national parks—Sundarbans National Park, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Gorumara National Park, Neora Valley National Park, and Singalila National Park. The bio-diversity of this state is enormous.
The captivating beauty of this state combined with helpful people makes this state an ideal place for travellers.
Sunderban
Sunderbans National Park is a tiger and biosphere reserve located in the Sunderbans delta in the south-eastern part of the state of West Bengal. This park has the most unique ecosystem covering an area of about 1300 square kilometres. This park is the largest mangrove forest in the world created by the delta of two of the biggest rivers in India Ganga and Brahmaputra that converges in the Bay of Bengal. This forest is the home to the famous Royal Bengal Tiger.
Sunderbans is the place of immense natural beauty with its unique mangrove habitat large and large variety of flora and fauna. Home to various colourful birds species that cannot be found elsewhere. People of Sundarban depends upon their livelihoods in this forest and have a friendly and mesmerising culture. Criss-crossed by water pathways travelling by boats takes a traveller closer to nature.
This National Park is also a UNESCO world heritage site, this forests is teeming with wild life. Apart from the mighty Tiger this place is home to Macaques, Indian Grey Mongoose, Leopard Cats, Ridley Sea Turtle, Wild Boar, Jungle Cat, Fox, Flying Fox, Fishing Cats, Chital, Pangolin, crocodiles and of course different species of snakes. The only means of travelling the park is to by boat, down the various lanes formed by the many flowing rivers.
By Air: The nearest airport to Sundarban National Park is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport at Kolkata. This airport is located at a distance of 110 kilometres from Sundarbans. Hired taxis are available to Basanti or Gosaba from there tourists can take a motor boat to reach Sundarban.
By Rail:The best way for travellers to reach Sundarban National Park is to reach Sealdah station which is well connected to rest of India. One can then take a local train to Canning. It takes around one and half hours to reach Canning. From Canning vans are available to Jetty and one can hire a motor boat to reach Sundarban.
By Road: Sundarban National Park is well connected by Road. Roads inmost part are smooth with some patches of bumpy ride. It is about 110 kilometres from Kolkata and one can get upto Sonakhali, Namkhana or Canning.
Banani Resort: This resort is located at the banks of the river Gomdi. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city. This resort has about 20 rooms, with all the amenities and attentive staff. Combined with good food and natural surrounding this resort operate Sundarban tour packages.
Sunderban Mangrove Retreat: This resort is located besides Datta river and is an ideal Eco-tourism spot. The resort, which is about 2 hrs. boat-ride from Gadkhali jetty. They have a beautiful landscape garden. Rooms are good with basic amenities. Staff is nice and co-operative. They operate Sundarban tour packages. Food nice nice and homely. Travellers should carry good mosquito repellents.
Sundarban Residency: This hotel is located in the lap of nature where one can hear enchanting voice of different birds, many animals in their natural habitat. Rooms are nice and clean with basic amenities. Staff is responsive and food is good they serve mainly Indian dishes. They operate Sundarban tour packages. Travellers should carry good mosquito repellents.
Sundarban National Park does not have a definitive boundary and shares porous border with Bangladesh.
The best time to visit this park is between October and March. Winter season has better chance of animals sighting as they come out from the dense forest and bask in the sun on the river banks. Travellers should avoid summer season from May to September due to monsoons and sudden torrential rails that swells the adjoining rivers. This region is also prone to cyclones and thunder storms. So tourists should look for weather updates prior to visiting Sundarban National Park.
As Sundarban National Park is mainly a mangrove forests with lot of wetlands, hence travelling by foot or jeeps is not possible. So the best way to enjoy this National Park is on boats. Many local tour operators as well as hotels operate sightseeing tours in their boats. They offer all the foods in the boats itself for tourists.
Visitors must carry a Passport Size photo and Any Identity proof details like Passport, Driving License, PAN Card, Aadhar Card or Voter Id card. Visitor are required to carry the same ID proof in original.
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