Sunderbans

Sunderbans is the stretch of a mangrove forests located in the southern tip of West Bengal which touches the Arabian Sea. The site is declared as a forest reserve by UNESCO, and in the year 1989 Sundarbans area was declared as Biosphere Reserve. Initially a part of the reserve was known as Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary. The area of Sundarbans is about 4,110 square km out of which about 1,700 square km is occupied by rivers, canals and creeks.

The literal translation of the word in Bengalis is "beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest". Many believe that the word "Sunderban" is taken from “sundari” and “ban”, which means "the forests of sundari" -referring to the large mangrove trees. It is the largest Tiger Reserve and National Park in India. It is a place for birdwatchers as the thick forest here is home to the rarest varieties of birds such as Masked Fin Foot, Mangrove Pitta and the Mangrove Whistler.

The national park is famous for its tiger population and it is home to more than 250 tigers. The famous Royal Bengal tigers have now adapted to the highly saline water and are great swimmers. This adventurous wild land is full of animals such as chital deer and rhesus monkey. It also conserves the rare Ridley Sea Turtle. There is a great variety of marine animals and reptiles such as fishes, red fiddler crabs, hermit crabs, king cobra, rock python and water monitor.  

The trees here have a capacity to hold the high salinity, lack of soil erosion and daily inundation by high tides. The plants here have adapted to the changing ecosystem. The terrestrial and the aquatic life are maintained by the tidal forms and the mangrove vegetation in Sundarbans.  There are endangered mammals like Genetic Dolphins which live within mangrove creeks lying close to sea. Also the national reserve is a home for Trans-Himalayan migratory birds. Apart from the natural abundance of the place in terms of flora and fauna, it also features the ruins of a 400 year old temple at Netidhopani.

The best time to visit the national park is from October to March because the weather is pleasant and dry during this time. The monsoon season is not a good time to visit the place as the place becomes hot and humid and not ideal for exploring the place.