Kochikhali Sea Beach Bagerhat

Kochikhali Sea Beach, known as a paradise of natural beauty, located on the eastern side of the Katka River in the Sundarbans, is a wonderful place to visit. Along with beaches, there are wildlife sanctuaries and tourist centers. This beach in the Sharankhola range of Sundarbans is said to be terrifyingly beautiful! Because in order to reach the beach, one has to cross about 3 kilometers of wild path inside the Sundarbans and the Katka River, the estuary of the Bay of Bengal. Footprints of deer herds, wild boars and tigers are often seen on this route.

The entrance road to Kachikhali Sanctuary is an ideal place for adventure lovers. We have to get down from the boat and cross the bamboo fence deep into the forest. At the very edge of the forest is the desirable Kachikhali beach. The forest trees are decorated with colorful flowers and fruits of different types of trees like pashur, sundari, keora, bine and amur trees and the trees are home to different species of birds. And in the north-west side of the forest, various wild animals like Chitra deer, Maya deer, monkeys, forest roosters, python snakes roam. Sometimes the famous Royal Bengal Tiger is also seen in this forest.

Apart from this, aquatic animals like crocodiles, shushuks and dolphins can be seen in the estuary of Katka river. The salty water of the Kachikhali beach merges with the Katka River. The wild beauty of Kachikhali beach with its mangrove forests, ferns and 40 feet high watch tower, dazzling greenery and spectacular sunset views enthralls the tourists.

Daily travel fee per person for domestic tourists in the sanctuary area – Tk 150, for students – Tk 30, travel fee for foreign tourists – Tk 1500. Outside the sanctuary, the travel fee for domestic tourists is Tk 70, students – Tk 20, travel fee for foreigners – Tk 1000 and travel fee for researchers – Tk 40. Travel fee for domestic tourists in Karamjal is Tk 20 per person, Tk 300 for foreigners.

One time fee for helicopter/sea plane is 30 thousand taka, renewal fee is 10 thousand taka. 15,000 taka for launch above 100 feet, 4,000 taka for renewal fee. For launching from 50 feet to 100 feet, a one-time payment of Tk 10,000 is required and the renewal fee is Tk 3,000. For boats below 50 feet, 7,500 taka and renewal fee is 2,500 taka. Normal trawlers can stay in Sundarbans for a fee of 3000 taka, their renewal fee is 1500 taka. The fee for speedboat is 5 thousand rupees, renewal is 2 thousand rupees. Jalliboats which are known as tourist boats have a one-time fee of 2000 taka and a renewal fee of 1000 taka.

Apart from the travel fee of the forest department, other expenses include guide fee of Rs 500 per day, security guard fee of Rs 300, launch crew fee of Rs 70, telecommunication fee of Rs 200. Domestic tourists have to pay a fee of Tk 200 and foreign tourists have to pay a fee of Tk 300 for the video camera.

Pilgrims during Ras Purnima in Sundarbans have to pay a fee of Tk 50 per person for 3 days, registered trawler fee Tk 200, unregistered trawler fee Tk 800 and trawler fee Tk 200 for daily stay.

Tourists visiting Sundarbans have a special interest in Kachikhali beach. And launch is the main vehicle to go to Kachikhali. Kochikhali beach is located directly east of Katka beach. So it is most convenient to go to Kochikhali beach.

A solo or small group of 5-6 people is more expensive to visit Kochikhali Beach. In this case, you can take packages from various tour agencies operating in Sundarbans. Notable among the tour management companies are Travel, Evergreen Travel Bangladesh, Travel Diary, Sundarban Tour Bangladesh, Tour.com.bd etc.

If you want to explore the Sundarbans on your own without the help of a tour operator, you can take Meghna Paribahan (01717-388553), Tourist Paribahan (01711-131078), Sakura Paribahan (01711-010450) or Sohag Paribahan (01718-679302) from Dhaka's Gabtali or Syedabad bus terminal. Come to Bagerhat by bus. If you want you can come to Khulna by train from Kamalapur. Launches to Sundarbans are available from Khulna to Rupsa or Bagerhat's Mongla port. Apart from this, you can rent various boats to Sundarbans from Morelganj, Sarankhola in Bagerhat.

Most tourists spend the night in Cuttack-Kachikhali. Many people choose tourist vessels or boats for overnight stays. In the Sundarbans sanctuary, accommodation is available at Neelkamal Forest Division Rest House at Hiran Point, Kachikhali Forest Division Rest House at Tiger Point and Katkaya Forest Division Rest House, Mongla Tourism Corporation Hotel and Animal Port. In that case, booking should be done by contacting the forest department in advance. Apart from this, Shyamnagar in Satkhira has a few standard residential hotels and rest houses.

Tour operators include meals and drinks in the package so there is no need to worry about this. However, you can arrange to eat at the rest house of the forest department on the basis of prior communication.

Feature Image: Century Tours & Travels