Not far from Calcutta we find the largest mangrove forest in the world: The Sundarbans. One of the places on the planet where you can find the Bengal Tiger. So, as I promised you, I will speak today of this fantastic place that is in the Bay of Bengal separating India from Bangladesh.
A weekend trip from Kolkata to Sundarbans to see the Royal Bengal Tiger is perhaps just what you need to relax after a hectic week at work. I will tell you today of my trip to this fantastic place that is in the Bay of Bengal separating India from Bangladesh. A friend and I went to the Sundarbans to enjoy the landscapes and to see if we can win the lottery by seeing a tiger on the way.
For several areas in this national park, a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, there are camps where you can stay for the night and from which you go out to explore the mangrove forest. As in any self-respecting camp, there was no lack of bonfires, songs, food and a good beer. But, from there, the best begins.
But do not think it's so easy to see a Bengal Tiger. In the Sundarbans it is a lottery and it is very difficult. I'm not going to say it's like going to Loch Ness and seeing Nessie. It is also true that you know it in advance and the expectation is low. Do not be fooled. There are better places to see the Bengal Tiger.
The tiger is a bit like sharks in diving centers. There is always a picture well placed but it may have been 15 years since somebody has seen one.
The tiger in the Sunderbans is a little bit the same. There is indeed the largest concentration of tiger in the world, however, what is not said is that the area where the Tigers are in large numbers is prohibited to the public.
Day 1
What a nightmare to spend a night on a train! At dawn, the parade of people continues who get down, the coolie that begins to pick up luggage, and vendors shouting through the corridors. And there are still about 4 hours to get to Calcutta! I try to spend my time reading, an activity that has become an authentic escape valve.
After finally arriving in Calcutta, the driver surprises me by waiting for me. He recognizes me at once because I am the only pale face on the train. The traffic in Calcutta is horrible for a change. Luckily I'm not going to visit anything. I just cross the city to go to the Sundarbans National Park, in the Ganges delta.
Arriving at the Sunderbans is already an adventure in itself, because from Calcutta we take a bus that leaves us in a town that we do not even know the name of. Another bus that goes by there takes us to Sonakhali. During this time the landscape changes from gray to green.
At least in the last sections, there are fruit trees, cane plantations, rice, and palm trees on the sides of the road. From there we take a motorboat with capacity for few passengers, without cabins, but with a cover with tables and benches to cross the river and get to Gosaba.
They welcome me with a refreshing natural juice served inside a green coconut. During the trip through the mangroves, we get closer to another boat like mine that travels in the opposite direction.
The official guide of the boat leaves its former clients and comes to welcome me. He does not stop talking about himself and shows me pictures of tigers taken by himself. Let's see if I'm lucky, although, by the look of the photos, the Bengal Tigers must have disappeared some time ago. The cruise lasts about two hours, and the temperature is pleasant, although the sky is very overcast.
In Gosaba we take a cyclerickshaw to Pakhirala. Finally we take another boat to Sajnekhali, but when we get there the only accommodation is full so we have to return by boat to Pakhirala and sleep there.
On the way we crossed rice fields and adobe villages, where people live as a hundred years ago in total balance with nature, and some town that serves as a market for the sale of vegetables, chickens and fish to the surrounding villages.
Here almost no independent traveler arrives, and that is only 4 hours from Calcutta, which is full of westerners. We intuit that it is the power of the wonderful Lonely Planet, which states that visiting it on your own is difficult and you have to take very complicated transport connections, which discourages backpackers from approaching here. Now we try to go to those sites that is discouraged by the Lonely Planet guide and not go to those that are recommended.
In the guesthouse there is a group who have left their wives in Calcutta to come here to enjoy. They invite us to beer and to go with them the next day on the boat they have hired. We accept both invitations.
After lunch, I have an excursion scheduled upstream, to a wildlife observation tower. It is a very slow trip, in which I have time to take a nap. It seems to me that I will see little here, because everything is salt marshes, and the safaris are made from the boat. The only thing I see are fiddler crabs when we land to see the tower and several species of birds.
I return to the camp to give me a well-deserved shower after the night on the train, but as expected, there is no hot water. After dinner and a good beer, I go to sleep, exhausted. Tomorrow there are more safaris.
Day 2
With the first rays of the sun we wake up and after a chai we embark on the adventure with the people we met yesterday. Fear gives us to think how they are going to behave, because the previous night they were smoking and drinking till late at night.
The Ganges delta forms a labyrinth of mangroves and canals that flow into the Bay of Bengal making it the largest mangrove and river delta in the world and home to the largest population of Bengal tigers.
Of course we do not see the tigers but to get here is very worthwhile for the landscape formed by navigable channels, reaching almost to the open sea and being very close to Bangladesh. We are also rewarded by observing a crocodile and several species of birds including the colorful martin fisherman.
The group is great with us. They offer us lunch of rice with chicken and afternoon coffee. It is extremely hot, I start to get sunburn. I hide under my umbrella. Even with the speed of the boat no air breeze comes to refresh us. After two hours we moor on one of the mangrove shores. We sink in the forest. We meet thousands of crabs that run away every time we set foot on the ground. We go past three houses. I find it amazing that people can live here because of the conditions and the extremely remote place we are in.
We finally arrive at the tower, go up and discover the landscape. It is nothing particularly exceptional, except for a view of the forest. The tower is not high enough to be really interesting and considering the way to go we decide that it's not worth for tourists here. We finally find ourselves on the side of the houses that we crossed.
We then take the boat back to the crocodile project. This is a place where crocodiles are allowed to grow in good conditions. So we arrive at the scene but face a first problem: the water has slightly withdrawn and the level is not high enough to allow our boat to reach the pontoon. Finally throwing a rope on this side, surrounding it with a pillar and then using the strength of all the men on the boat we manage to hoist it close enough to another boat so that we can pass, borrowing one on the shore.
There are different enclosures depending on their age with the final destination of large canals where they can swim freely. Those who are there are really huge! I forgot to mention that at that time the sweltering heat was replaced by rain. In this country the umbrella is definitely an indispensable object ...
After going around, we sit around a tea before we decide to go to our boat. A new problem arises. The water is always at low tide. It is impossible to roll back the boat since it has no reverse. It will be necessary to wait until it is completely immersed to be able to leave. Night falls and I joke that at this rate we will spend the night with crocodiles.
Finally after a long wait, we leave, at night on our small boat. I lie down by leaning my head on my bag. In fact it's a simple boat, protected by my umbrella and I try to rest a little.
The excursion on the boat lasts all day and we arrive at Pakhirala at night.
Day 3
Shortly before the alarm goes off, a knock at the door wakes me up and startles me. The breakfast has been served on the terrace of the bungalow. I'm going to spend a few hours hunting for Bengal tigers, among the marshes. After a short while of sailing, I was served another breakfast on board. At least I have seen a pretty decent sunrise.
I see almost nothing of fauna, but only birds and some tiger marks in the mud of the borders. We stretch the neck by all the corners that we find. We go up, down, jump, and there was no luck. There was no nearby bush that did not wag to see if I found it in front and the only thing I got was to take a branch in my face. Yes, we saw crocodiles and other reptiles, macaques, all kinds of birds and chitals and speckled deer among others.
It is also raining. At mid-morning, we stop and go ashore, to another of the multiple observation towers of the reserve. In it I only see a bright green snake coiled on the roof of the cabin at the entrance and from a distance a deer and a giant lizard. I want to make a special emphasis on birds since there were species as the Kramer parrot, the plover, the snipe, the crow, and the bastard sandpiper.
Around the camp, I go to the dining room, which today is full of people. After lunch, I go for a walk to the nearest town, less than a couple of kilometers away, to see a local market. I see that they use solar energy to get electricity since apart from the generators, there is no way to get it since the power line does not reach here. I see some men harvest the honey.
I return happily to the camp because at least I have been able to walk a stretch, after so much surfing. In the evening I have tea and cookies, in the dark and sheltered by bonfires. They offer a representation of local dances and songs in the center of the camp.
I continue without hot water in the room. So I go out and ask for hot water heated at the reception so I can take a shower after all the day in the rain. When the time comes to go to dinner, I see a lot of variety on the menu. In the end, the hunger takes over me and I have fried rice and chili chicken.
Day 4
At dawn, I was woken up by the roosters that run through the camp, and when I open the door I find a cup of tea and cookies for breakfast. I still do not have hot water and the last shower here will be again with cold water. Today is a splendid day. I say goodbye to the staff of the place and embark on the last cruise, which will take me back to the boarding point.
During the voyage, I do not see tigers, but I do see traces that leave the water and go into the trees. The guide tells me that, contrary to what I believed, Tigers not only like water but can swim great distances! Halfway through, shortly after 10, they bring me what is supposed to be lunch.
When I docked at the jetty, a driver different from that of the other day awaits me. The road makes it impossible to concentrate on anything on the road. Time passes and I get nervous because I have to take a flight to Assam, a state far away from tourist routes, but in the end, we follow the route.
I arrive at the airport on time. I pass security controls, and I enjoy another free show. The queues are terrible, and the boarding doors change constantly. Mine changed more than 4 times in an hour. In the end, an elderly man with a turban loses his nerves and refuses to change the door again.
He engages in a heated discussion with the ground crew, who starts shouting even more than the passenger, becoming a cockfight, much to everyone's surprise. I'm afraid they came to blows, although I could not see it because I had to embark on my flight, what a pity, once it's punctual!
The flight from Kolkata to Guwahati is short. I pick up luggage and ask for a taxi and after showing him the address of the hotel, which obviously was unknown, we started the route. The driver has to ask his radio station for directions, and after a while, he arrives in a neighborhood. I arrive when the sun can no longer be seen, and I quickly get into the reception to check in and go to the room to shower before dinner. After the shower, I went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
