Discover Sundarban National Park
A Thoughtful Introduction
The Sundarbans is one of the most extraordinary natural landscapes on earth and a place unlike any other wildlife destination in India. Located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, the Indian Sundarbans forms the western portion of the world's largest mangrove delta, which extends across the border into Bangladesh. The entire Sundarbans delta is formed by the confluence of the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers as they meet the Bay of Bengal, creating a vast, labyrinthine network of tidal waterways, mudflats, and forested islands that cover thousands of square kilometers. The Indian portion of the Sundarbans has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to the Sundarbans National Park and Tiger Reserve, which covers about 1,330 square kilometers of core zone.
The Sundarbans is the only place in the world where Bengal tigers live in a mangrove habitat and swim between islands in the tidal estuaries. These tigers are known to be particularly elusive and are rarely seen in the open as in other tiger reserves, which makes visiting the Sundarbans a different and more atmospheric kind of wildlife experience. You travel through this landscape entirely by boat, navigating the brown tidal channels between islands of dense mangrove forest, scanning the muddy banks for wildlife. Along with tigers, the Sundarbans is home to saltwater crocodiles, Irrawaddy dolphins, Gangetic dolphins, olive ridley sea turtles, fishing cats, spotted deer, wild boar, and an extraordinary variety of birds including the kingfisher, osprey, sea eagle, and many more. The Sundarbans also has one of the highest densities of estuarine crocodiles in India.
This Sundarbans National Park travel guide covers the best time to visit, how boat safaris work, permit requirements, where to stay, and everything you need to plan a safe and memorable journey into this remarkable and wild landscape.