Day-1

After reaching the resort at the end of a 5.5 hr journey (from Kolkata), we freshened up, had our lunch and retired to the room for a short siesta (we were to leave for the first day sightseeing at 4 p.m).

Our first stop was the Sajnekhali Tiger Reserve. This place has a Watch Tower (not more than 20 persons can climb it at a time, though no one was there to maintain the rule strictly), Bonobibi Temple, Museum and Sea Turtle Pond.

Bonobibi is a famous goddess in Sunderban who is regarded as the savior of the villagers who had to go deep into the forest to earn their livelihood. Local people believe that if “Dakshin Roy” (tiger) attacks them, the goddess would save them. Originally, the Muslims offered prayers to the goddess (the word “bibi” in Bonobibi suggests a Muslim influence). Slowly, the Hindus and Christians also developed their faith in the savior-goddess and thus Bonobibi became synonymous with Sunderban. For many Hindus, she is also known as Bonodebi.

My climb at the Watch Tower wasn’t too fruitful as apart from seeing the vast stretch of the forest, I didn’t see anything (I mean no wild-life sighting. The notice board at this place had a writing scribbled: Last tiger sighted on 15/3/08). Even the Sea Turtle Pond disappointed me as I got to see nothing. It would have been any other pond if not for the signboard.

The Museum was an interesting place. But before this, I should tell about another interesting thing: the map of India and Bangladesh with islands marked in yellow, green and white fitted with small replicas of the watch towers. I got a good view of the map from the stairs leading to the museum and if the picture comes out as I had visualized it, I would surely post it later.

Now, a few words about the museum: it had a variety of interesting specimen of fauna on display. A few amongst the noteworthy specimen were the tongue, lung, kidney and spleen of Tiger, foetus of Deer, eggs of Olive Ridley, foetus of Leopard Cat, Indian Dog Shark and a huge Irawaddy Dolphin. Many species of snakes, prawns, ducks, crabs and fishes were also on display at this museum. Apart from these exhibits, there were many informative laminated charts about the flora and fauna of the place that were hanging on the walls. A few laminated placards also told about the statistics of Sunderban. I would share a few interesting things with you:

1) 85% people of Sunderban are dependent on agriculture on reclaimed land, which bears mostly single crop of paddy. Some other occupations of these people consist of fishing, pisciculture, honey collection and firewood collection.
2) 50% of the agricultural laborers are landless. 44% of the total population belongs to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
3) Sundarban Tiger Reserve was created in 1973 to protect the Royal Bengal Tiger and conserve faunal and floral associates in mangrove forests. The statistics of the region is as follows:
Area: 2585 sq. km
Core Area: 1330 sq. km
Buffer Zone: 1255 sq. km

4) According to the 2004 census, there are 274 Bengal tigers in the region, 249 in STR (133 female, 83 male and 33 cubs) and 25 in 24 Parganas South Forest Division.

Our next stop was the Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary. Once famous for its rich avian population, the sanctuary now doesn’t have much to boast about. Our guide told that after the cyclone of ’88, the natural habitat of the birds was destroyed so badly that most changed their course to go to the Buffer Zone of Bangladesh. So, we had no luck at this place either.

We viewed the sunset from the boat, enjoyed the scenic beauty and came back to the resort. In the evening, some local artists performed before us giving us a taste of the culture of Sunderban’s people. We enjoyed the performances while munching the snacks. It got over at 8 p.m. After having dinner at 9 p.m, we retired to bed after a hectic first day.

Sunderban Visit (Fact File)

1) From Kolkata, it takes about 5-6 hrs to reach Sundarban.

2) How to reach: Sundarban can be reached only by waterways. From Kolkata, suburban trains can take you to Canning (64 kms) from where launch services are available for Sundarban. Otherwise, you can avail of buses to reach Raidighi (76 kms), Najat (92 kms), Sonakhali (100 kms) and Namkhana (105 kms) from where motorboats will take you to Sunderban.

3) Where to stay: Best to stay at Sajnekhali Tourist Lodge (run by WBTDC, Booking at 3/2, B.B.D Bag (East), Ph: 2248-5917/5168/8271, 2210-3201/3199). However, if you don’t like restrictions (you’ve to be back at the lodge by 6 p.m and can’t leave your room and roam in the area as it’s not allowed), try staying at the private resorts (would definitely be a costlier option, with tariffs varying between Rs. 3000 to 5000 per head for 3D/2N), the Tiger Camp and Tiger View Point being two of the renowned ones.

4) When to visit: Winter Season (from December to February); our guide told that the best time for tiger sighting is the month of February.

5) Permits & Access: For conservation reasons, there are some restrictions for the visitors. Joining WBTDC group tours or package tours of private operators would save you a lot of trouble though the best option is to go on your own, hire a guide and boat and then enjoy the flora and fauna at morning and afternoon (when it’s low-tide time) and spend the rest at watch towers (the best being Sudhanyakhali, where most of the tigers are sighted).
For permits, foreigners can contact:
The Joint Secretary (Forest),
Govt. of West Bengal, 4th Floor, G-Block,
Writers' Building,
Calcutta- 700 001.
Tel: 225-5601 Ext: 411/754.

For visiting the tiger reserve, permission is given by:
Field Director,
Sunderban Tiger Reserve,
Port Canning.

Entry Permits can be obtained from Bagna, Canning and Sonakhali for STR (Sundarban Tiger Reserve) and at Namkhana, Canning and Raidighi for Western region of Sunderban Forest.

6) Places to visit: The Sajnekhali Tiger Reserve, Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary, Sudhanyakhali, Dobanki, Netidhopani (a temple that’s 400 yeas old), Bhagabatpur (crocodiles), Kanak (Olive Ridley Turtles), Holiday Island (Barking Deer). [We could visit just the first four in this list]


(We booked ourselves for the 3D/2N package of Tiger View Point, with pick-up and drop facility from Science City. The total cost: Rs. 3400 per head. Our tour began on 21 March.)