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| Tiger swimming at Sunderbans! |
The forest covers 10,000 sq kms of which about 6,000 sq kms are in
Bangladesh. The Indian part of Sundarbans is estimated to be about 4,110
sq kms of which about 1,700 sq kms is occupied by waterbodies in the forms
of river, canals and creeks of width varying from a few metres to several
kilometres.
Mangroves are salt tolerant trees, also called
Watch video -> "
Watch video -> "
The largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the
world, the Sundarbans lies in the vast delta on the Bay of Bengal formed
by the super confluence of the Ganges, Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna
rivers across southern Bangladesh. The seasonally flooded Sundarbans
freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove forests on the
coastal fringe.
Giri from
I had never been to Sunderbans before, I wonder why? Well, I had visited
“Bhitarkanika” last year and that was all Mangroves too, except, here in Sunderbans
there were tigers!
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| Local fishermen brave the tigers! |
Bengaluru to Kolkata by flight took about 2 hrs 30 mts. 13th
Night we spent in Kolkata. 14th morning drive from Kolkata to Gosaba was
106 kms, it took us about 3 hrs. By 10.30 am we boarded a boat at Gosaba!
We stayed in this boat until the 18th
of January and then drove straight back to the Kolkata Airport to be back
in Bengaluru by midnight!
Of the 4 nights we spent at Sunderbans, we slept in the boat for two
nights and we spent two nights at a nice resort on the waterfront. All
through the day we moved silently in the water enjoying the mangroves!
Overall, a wonderful trip! Cool breeze, plenty of oxygen, peace and quite,
crocodiles, kingfishers and a tiger!
"Click Here" for bird images I was able to make at "Shivamogga" later in January!
"Click Here" for bird images I was able to make during the Karnataka Bird Festival (Daroji) earlier in January!
Vijay Cavale
January, 2017
