An
Introduction to Sunderban N.P.
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The
area that makes up the Sunderban National Park is the largest estuarine
mangrove forest in the world. It got it's name from one of the mangrove
plants known as Sundari (Heritiera Minor). It is located at the South
Eastern tip of the 24 Paraganas district in the state of West Bengal.
The Sunderbans cover an area of 9630 square kilometers out of which 2585
square kilometers are demarcated as the main tiger reserve, 1330 square
kilometers of it making up the National Park, where there are an estimated
270 tigers. Almost 70 percent of the 9630 square kilometers of the park
is submerged under water. Due to it's beauty and richness of wildlife,
it was declared a world natural heritage site by UNESCO in 1974. It was
declared a national park in 1984. A majority of the park is at sea level
and the higher grounds range in altitude from a mere 6 - 9 meters.
The delta is criss-crossed by numerous tributaries of the mighty rivers Ganga and Bhramaputra. The area is divided into four zones.
1) the core zone (national park)
2) afforestation zone
3) agri-operation zone
4) restoration zone
The park is surrounded by a buffer zone of 885 square kilometers. This also mainly consists of mangrove forests. The core area of the park has it's own natural boundaries with the river Matla on it's West, the river Haribhanga on it's East, with Netidhopani and Gosba in the North.
The park authorities face a major problem regarding maintenance of equipment and infrastructure due to the high percentage of salt in the water. It is due to this reason mainly that a lot of the accommodation facilities are found to be in a condition not really up to the mark.
The best time to visit the park is between December and February, although the park is open for longer from September to March. This is the period when the maximum migratory birds are also present here.
The nearest town to the park is Gosaba (50km)
The nearest Railway Station to the park is located at Canning (105km)
The nearest Airport to the park is located at Dum Dum (Calcutta){166km}
Foreign visitors require special permission due to it's location near the country's border. This can easily be acquired from:
The Secretary,
Dept of Forest and Tourism,
Govt. of West Bengal, Writers' Building,
Calcutta - 700 001.
Phone: 091(code for India) - 033 (code for Calcutta) - 221 5999
The delta is criss-crossed by numerous tributaries of the mighty rivers Ganga and Bhramaputra. The area is divided into four zones.
1) the core zone (national park)
2) afforestation zone
3) agri-operation zone
4) restoration zone
The park is surrounded by a buffer zone of 885 square kilometers. This also mainly consists of mangrove forests. The core area of the park has it's own natural boundaries with the river Matla on it's West, the river Haribhanga on it's East, with Netidhopani and Gosba in the North.
The park authorities face a major problem regarding maintenance of equipment and infrastructure due to the high percentage of salt in the water. It is due to this reason mainly that a lot of the accommodation facilities are found to be in a condition not really up to the mark.
The best time to visit the park is between December and February, although the park is open for longer from September to March. This is the period when the maximum migratory birds are also present here.
The nearest town to the park is Gosaba (50km)
The nearest Railway Station to the park is located at Canning (105km)
The nearest Airport to the park is located at Dum Dum (Calcutta){166km}
Foreign visitors require special permission due to it's location near the country's border. This can easily be acquired from:
The Secretary,
Dept of Forest and Tourism,
Govt. of West Bengal, Writers' Building,
Calcutta - 700 001.
Phone: 091(code for India) - 033 (code for Calcutta) - 221 5999