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Sunderban National
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Sunderbans, the
domains of Royal Bengal. formerly Sunderbunds, vast tract of forest
and saltwater swamp forming the lower part of the Ganges Delta,
extending about 160 miles (260 km) along the Bay of Bengal from the
Hooghly River Estuary to the Meghna River Estuary in Bangladesh. The
Sunderbans are a part of the world's largest delta formed by the
rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna. The whole tract reaches inland
for 60-80 miles (100-130 km).
Sunderban covers an area of 4262 sq. kms in India. The Sunderban
Tiger Project was started in 1974 and has an area of 2585 sq. kms.
The core area is 1330 sq. kms and is a national forest and UNESCO
world heritage site. |
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Area: 2608 sq. km. |
Altitude : Sea Level |
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +5.3 |
Rain Fall: 1920 mm |
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Temp (summer): 42-37°C |
Temp (winter): 9.2-29°C |
STD/ISD : Yes |
Internet: Yes |
Plug   |
230-240V 50HZ |
Open: Round the year |
STD Code: 03218 |
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The Sundarbans Tiger
Reserve, created in 1973, was the part of the then 24-Pargans
Division. Subsequently the area comprising of the present tiger
reserve was constituted as Reserve Forest in 1978. The total area of
the Sunderbans is 9630 sq. km. out of which 4264 sq. km. bears
mangrove forest. The area of the Reserve is 2585 sq. km. covering
land area of 1600 sq. km. and water body over 985 sq. km. Within
this area 1330.12 sq. km. is designated as core area, which was
subsequently declared as Sundarban National Park in 1984. An area of
124.40 sq. km. within the core area is preserved as primitive zone
to act as gene pool. Sunderbans is the largest wild tiger reserve in
the world. Total number of Tiger is around 270 on 1997 census. |
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Wild Animals:
Tiger, Barking Deer, Fishing Cats, Macaques, Wild Boar, Common Grey
Mongoose, Fox, Jungle Cat, Flying Fox, Pangolin, Chital, etc. |
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Birds: Open
Billed Storks, White Ibis, Water Hens, Coots, Pheasant Tailed
Jacanas, Pariah Kites, Brahminy Kites, Marsh Harriers, Swamp
Partridges, Red Jungle Fowls, Spotted Doves, Common Mynahs, Jungle
Crows, Jungle Babblers, Cotton Teals, Herring Gulls, Caspian Terns,
Gray Herons, Brahminy Ducks, Spotted Billed Pelicans, Large Egrets,
Night Herons, Common Snipes, Wood Sandpipers, Green Pigeons, Rose
Ringed Parakeets, Paradise Flycatchers, Cormorants, Fishing Eagles,
White Bellied Sea Eagles, Seaguls, Common Kingfishers, Peregrine
falcons, Woodpeckers, Whimprels, Black-Tailed Godwits, Little
Stints, Eastern Knots, Curlews, Golden Plovers, Pintails, White Eyed
Pochards and Whistling Teals. |
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Fish & Reptiles:
Some of the fish and amphibians found in the parks are Saw Fish,
Butter Fish, Electric Rays, Silver Carp, Star Fish, Common Carp,
Crabs, Prawn, Shrimps, Gangetic dolphins, Skipping Frogs, Common
Toads and Tree Frogs. The number of reptiles is excellent here that
are found within its complex. Some of the most commonly seen are -
Olive Ridley Turtles, Sea Snakes, Dog Faced Water Snakes, Green
Turtles, Estuarine Crocodiles, Chameleons, King Cobras, Salvator
Lizards, Hard Shelled Batgun Terrapins, Russels Vipers, Mouse Ghekos,
Monitor Lizards, Curviers, Hawks Bill Turtles, Pythons, Common
Kraits, Chequered Killbacks and rat Snakes. |
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Spots to visit |
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Sajnekhali: Sajnekhali
has a bird sanctuary. There are watchtowers at Sajnekhali, Sudhanyakhali, Netidhopani, Haldi and a number of other places. |
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Gosaba: Sir David
Hamilton’s settlement. |
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Tiger Reserve: Project
Tiger was implemented in 1973 and later the Sunderban Tiger Reserve
was demarcated over 2,585-sq. km. The core area of 1,330 sq. km has
been declared a National park and has been chosen as a world
heritage site. The reserve has a tiger population of 287(1984
census). The only mangrove species. |
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Bhagbatpur Crocodile
Project: This is a crocodile breeding farm. This place is accessible
through Namkhana. Bhagabatput is a hatchery of the largest estuarine
crocodile in the world. |
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Netidhopani: The ruins
of a 400-year-old temple and legends lend mystery to the atmosphere. |
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Haliday Island: Last
retreat of the Barking Deer. |
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Kanak: Nesting place
of Olive Ridley Turtles. |
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Piyali: It is 72 kms
from Calcutta and is a gateway to the Sunderban. It is being
developed as a tourist complex. A thrilling cruise through the
largest estuarine delta in the world and the biggest colony of the
`Royal Bengal Tigers' - the Sunderbans. `Here the Tiger is always
watching you'. |
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How to Go there? |
Sunderban is only
accessible by waterways. Nearest rail station is Port Canning. The
other route is through Basanti which is connected by bus service to
Kolkata. One can also come via Port Canning and Gosaba or from
Sonakhali to Sajnekhali.
For Bhagabatpur, Namkhana is an access point. By Air: Dum Dum
(166kms), is the nearest airport at Calcutta.
Sunderbans is accessible only by revering waterways. From Calcutta
there are suburban train to Canning (64 km) and buses to Namkhana
(105 km), Raidighi (76 km), Sonakhali (100 km) and Najat (92 km)
from where Motor launch services are available for Sunderbans.
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Waterways
The approximate time taken between various points is :
From Namkhana - Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project (2.5 hours) Sagar
Island (2.5 hours) Jambudwip (3.5 hours)
From Sajnekhali - Sudhanyakhali (40 minutes) Buridabri (Tiger
Project Area) (5 hours) Netidhopan (3.5 hours) Holiday Island (3
hours)
From Sonakhali - Gosaba (1 hour) From Raidighi - Kalas (5 hours). |
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