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Sunderbans - The Land of 274 Royals!
Where the land meets the sea at the southern tip of West Bengal lies the Indian Sunderbans, a stretch of impenetrable mangrove forest of great size and bio-diversity. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Sunderbans is a vast area covering 4264 square kms in India alone, with a larger portion in Bangladesh. The Sunderbans are a part of the world's largest delta formed by the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.
In a landscape dominated by great tidal creeks and waterways, the only way to access and enjoy the area is on motorized boats, which come in various sizes and shapes. Sunderbans is the home of man-eating tigers, estuarine crocodiles, sharks and snakes. Man fights for survival in great numbers by living off nature's bounty by accepting and fighting against these odds. The visitor has no choice but to stay within limits and out of trouble. This means that there is very little conventional bird or game watching, more observations from water. But the dark and foreboding attractiveness of the mangroves also hides some of the most sought after birds and animals in the world and a chance encounter with a Swamp Partridge, a Brown-winged Kingfisher, a Grey Headed Lapwing, a Pallas's Fish Eagle, a Lesser Adjutant or maybe a Mangrove Whistler is always a possibility ~ as is the unforgettable sight of the most secretive great cat in the world.
Tiger sighting is difficult not just because of the terrain but also because the density is not evident from the limited view one gets from a boat. The fringes of Sunderbans play host to many local endemics and the visitor is well advised to spend time on land outside the core area before venturing into the heart of the National Park. Once inside the Park, the only access to land is at the various Watchtowers you can visit. Remember that the watchtowers are inside wire cages and do not allow you to stroll in tiger-land.
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