Over View Sundarban
Sundarbans ecosystem is one of the largest mangrove forest globally. The delta is spread over India and Bangladesh with an area of approximately 10,000 sq kms and enjoys the status of being largest halophytic mangrove forest in the world. It is a delta of the two great Indian River – The Ganga and The Brahmaputra which converges on the Bengal basin. The forests are the natural habitat of the famous Royal Bengal Tigers. Sundarban Tiger Reserve was created in 1973 and constituted as a Reserve Forest in 1978. The current core area was established as a National Park in 1984. Recognizing the region and its unique biodiversity, the National Park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
The entire Sundarban area was declared a Biosphere Reserve four years later. Few of the wildlife species apart from the Royal Bengal Tigers spotted in Sundarbans include the fishing cat, spotted Deer, wild boar, gangetic dolphin, water monitor, estuarian crocodile, river terrapin, olive ridley turtle, ground turtle, hawks bill turtle, king crab, etc.
By Air: The nearest airport is the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport at Kolkata. From there one can take road journey and after that boat ride to reach Sundarbans.
By Train: Local trains to Canning are available from Sealdah South at regular intervals. Local shared vans are available from Canning to Godhkhali Jetty, the starting point of boat journey to the Sundarbans.
By Road: Sundarbans is well connected with Kolkata. Road transportation is also available from Kolkata for Namkhana, Sonakhali, Raidighi, Canning, and Najat, which are all near the Sundarbans and have access to the riverine waterways. India Beacons arranges vehicles as part of their package tours to pick and drop tourists from Kolkata to Godhkhali Jetty, the starting point of the boat journey to the Sundarbans.