Sundarbans

Sundarbans: The Territory of Tigers

Home to around 400 Royal Bengal Tigers, Sundarbans in West Bengal is an enormous network of interconnecting waterways and world's largest mangrove and delta swamp. It is formed by merging of three rivers - Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna. Declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sunderbans cover approximately 10,000 sq. km of which 60 percent is in Bangladesh and the remaining in India. History of the place can be traced back to 200-300 AD. During the Mughal period, the Mughal kings leased the forests of Sunderbans to the nearby regions. Many of the buildings which were built by the Mughals later fell to hands of Portuguese pirates, salt smugglers and dacoits in the 17th century. Hence, travel to Sunderbans and explore the beauty of varied cultures.

Sundarbans Tiger Reserve is the largest estuarine sanctuary and has some of the most interesting wildlife in India. The sanctuary is home to spotted deers, wild pigs, kingfishers, monkeys, herons, white bellied eagles and a big population of Bengal Tigers. These tigers are unusually small - sometimes only half the size of those found in central India but they have a fearsome image for being man-eaters. The ecological balance of this forest is extremely delicate and largely influenced by the tidal waves. The summers are very sultry here so the ideal time to explore Sundarbans would be during October to February.