Sunderbans - wild life

dimitri

Hi,

My friend and I are planning to visite Sunderbans on April 14 for 3 days. We are wild life enthusiasts and we dont care about the luxuries of star cruises etc. Why we are coming to Sunderbans is only because of the diverse wild life there.

We are not much interested in packaged tours, because they concentrate more on tourist comfort than wildlife.

Can someone suggest a possible itinerary for us. We would like to go to the interior of the forest. If special permission is needed where can we get it.

So bottom line is comfort -dont care but wildlife is top most priority.

We will be very greatful if anyone can help

sukanya

Hi,

If you are really plaaning a trip on your own this is the route. I've taken this route, It's fine till the weather is ok. once it's cyclonic then you'll be in soup. But still i won't discourage you. It's much cheaper and better if you travel on your own. atleast you can see the local culture and people, lot of birds , crocodiles and if your luck permits then a bunch of deer too. BUT whether on your own or with a package tour, you won't be able to see the royal bengal tiger. i can bet. I went there thrice, never got a luck they just don't like to be clicked. and if you ask the local people they will tell you that you are still breathing bcoz you haven't seen it. in the villages you could see people with enough marks on their body to make you believe that they have seen it.

here is the route :
esplanade to sonakhali by bus. at sonakhali after getting down from the bus take a cycle van that will take you to ferry ghat. from there take a boat to gosaba island. you'll get a regular one. there you may stay in local hotels or cross the river in a boat again to stay at Sajnekhali bunglow. however the condition of that bunglow is not good. and it's better to get the advance booking from WB tourism dept office at esplanade. to visit the nearby rivers you will get local boats from gosaba island.

mobilerug

I want to book the package tour of 2 days 1 night from WB Tourism with night stay at Sajnekhali. Any comments on the nature of the trip. We actually do not want to try sunderbans on our own.

Suggestion will help us since you have been to that place.

babuchand

the trail depicted by Sukanya is the right one but one should better stay in sajnekhali bunglow.... the manager has good contacts to arrange boats for morning roaming into rivers. the Rooms at sonakhali bunglow are nice. the dormitory is in a bit awkward condition.(when I went there in Jan2004). but the most adventurous would be what we did. booked a steemer vessel and stayd on the river... it was a full moon and nobody left the upper deck inspite of cold wind flowing through.

some of my pics at IM photo gallery
http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...00/ppuser/5854

under any benchmark the 3days 2 nights tour arranged by WB tourism is a very good one. their boats are large, stronger and good in condition.

__________________
Njoy

babu
visit : http://www.webmania.co.za/travelmania/babu/index.shtml

"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget."

jyotirmoy

Long time back we had travelled to the interiors of Sunderbans. Sukanya has given the route we had taken but we had the luck to go to a settlement of wood cutters & honey collectors. We were taken there by the boatmen of the boat that we had hired. In the evening when one of us expressed his desire to see a tiger the villagers were extremely agitated. They declared that they would not like to even discuss about tigers, the word tiger was a taboo to them. Later on we learnt that on each trip in to the forest to cut wood or collect honey they lost atleast one man & those who survived came back mangled. We did meet one person with marks of grave injuries as did sukanya.

Mnay travellers now do the way suggested by babuchand.

caster

I did a 2 day trip with my friends in 93. We took a train to Canning from Sealdah and boarded a boat for a 2 day trip. All the requirements for the trip for 18-20 people was loaded at Canning and the boat left at 12.30 pm after the tide came in . Good trip and lots of wildlife but no tiger seen(Crocs, Wild boar, deer and lots of crabs and snakes)

sukanya

yea jyoti. that's it. We also found villagers extremely agitated at our desire to see the tigers. they didn't like the discussions at all. i've been there along with wb tourism. three days two nights trip. definitely a nice trip but an expensive one. definitely a secured one but, but you won't get the feel for sure. seemed to be a foreigner on my own land. no, not done at all.

holiday

i am looking forward to a trip in the mid march to sunderban along with my husband. i am not interested in West Bengal tourism operated or any kind of conducted tour kindly advice me how to reach Sajnekhali.

biswassb

Anyone: Will there be any WBTourism trip to Sunderban in June/July 2006? Thanks.

clawhammer

Hi
What wildlife can we come across in Sunderbans in 1st week of May in a span of 2/3 days?
Babuchand/anyone:From where do we book the steamer if we wish to spend the night on it?What about the condition of the "local boats" used for roaming the rivers in the morning?
We(me and 3 friends) would definitely like to stay away from conducted tours.
Is it difficult to get bookings at the sajnekhali bunglow and arrange for boats?
thanks

roopanin

Dear dmitri,
On my recent trip to Corbett in uttaranchal, I met two Bengali families both of whom had visited Sunderbans. THey said that the most imp. thing to avoid is the Phat phat boats that make alot of noise as u go deep into the woods.
ANother imp thing is to try and get a booking in the FRH itself as the forest guides of FRHs are much more knowledgeable than local trip agents.
I wud also like to share with u the adv of get set go methodology. Me, a 40 yish Mom left with my son of 14 for Corbett without a valid booking even.We had only sent one fax to the main officer.One local agent who had promised to get it confirmed for me went out of his way to help. I am a punjabi by the way.I got booking for just a day though I wanted three days. Anyways I was lucky to be rewarded with two more days at Corbett.Another thing is that these guys out there appreciate the distance the traveller has traversed to see their wildlife. SO dont worry there will be many like you,who wud be on a shoe string budget and they wud be more welcome if not as much by the shondherbons.Just try to land your fax to the Director Sunderbans Division and then you can follow up your case as we did.
Bye

loreans

Hello Dmitri
As u req. proper whereabouts for Sunderbans then I shall tell u that my frind's father is a Forest officer. So better u enq. for the reserv. of FRH - Forest Rest House whicih are reserved from forest camps/ofices. U can also get the ph. of the DFO- Divisonal Forest Officer or A.C.F - Assitant Conservator of Forests who will make ur trip easier by providing u reservations & will also let u know the whereabouts of that place. More over never try to get indulge with local bodies as they are hardly of any help to the visitors.
As these stories are told by my friend's father daily about the Jim Corbett Park & Dudhwa Park also.
Thanks
Lns

brownboy66