Sundarban

Sundarban is the name of a natural wonder. It is the largest mangrove forest or saline forest in the world. The Sundarbans has a total area of ​​about 10,000 square kilometers, which lies jointly between Bangladesh and India. The area of ​​the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans is 6,017 square kilometers. The Sundarbans of Bangladesh consists of Khulna , Satkhira , Bagerhat , Patuakhali and Barguna districts. In 1997, UNESCO recognized the Sundarbans as a World Heritage Site.

Rich in biodiversity, the Sundarbans is an understatement if it is called a museum of flora and fauna. The Sundarbans covers an area of ​​1,874 square kilometers consisting of riverbeds and wetlands. The Sundarbans are known to be home to numerous species of animals, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, a variety of birds, chitra deer, crocodiles and snakes. There are about 350 species of plants, 120 species of fish, 270 species of birds, 42 species of mammals, 35 reptiles and 8 amphibians. This forest is named Sundarban after the beautiful tree.

November to February is the best time to visit Sundarbans. Rivers and seas are calm during this time, so all the sights of Sundarbans can be visited. Nearest from Khulna and Mongla, Karamjal and Herbaria can be visited in one day at any time of the year. But to get a taste of the original Sundarbans, you have to go to the remote places.

Sundarbans is a huge area. Travel permission is granted to certain areas of the Sundarbans from the Forest Department. Sundarbans can be visited through Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and Barguna. However, most tourists travel through Mongla in Khulna and Bagerhat. Notable places to visit from Khulna and Mongla include Karamjal, Herbaria, Kachikhali, Katka, Jamtala, Hiron Point and Dublar Char.

Karamjal: Nearest to Mongla is Karamjal . It is basically a deer and crocodile breeding center of the forest department. There is a wooden pool trail through the forest, deer, crocodiles, monkeys and various species of trees. If there is no opportunity to see animals and birds in the depths of the Sundarbans, then the taste of milk will be mixed with black water.

Harbaria: Harbaria is one of the tourist places of Sundarbans. The distance from Mongla is about 20 km. The main attraction here is the wooden trail through the forest. It takes around 30 minutes to complete the trail. There is a lotus pond and watch tower. The entire Harbaria can be seen from the watch tower. A walk through the wooden bridge inside the forest will awaken one's sense of adventure and excitement.

Katka: Bay of Bengal south of Katka Forest Station. And the beautiful sanctuary is near the sea . One of the best things about Cuttack is that you can see herds of wild deer. There is also a wooden trail inside the forest. A herd of deer can be seen after a 15-minute walk along the trail through the Keora forest.

Cuttack Beach: A short walk along the tail of Cuttack Point leads to Cuttack Sea Beach. Bay of Bengal can be seen here. Cuttack Sea Beach is very clean and beautiful. Here, artworks of red crabs are painted across the beach.

Jamtola Beach: Jamtola is near Cuttack. There is an observation tower here, from this tower you can catch a glimpse of some of the beauty of the Sundarbans. And if your luck is good, you can see deer or tiger from here. Jamtala sea beach can be seen by walking about 3 km from Jamtala Ghat.

Mandarbaria Beach: A part of Mandarbaria Beach is considered to be still unexplored. Sunrise and sunset can be seen from here. If you want to go to Mandarbari, you have to go to Sundarbans through Satkhira.

Hiron Point: Deer, monkeys, guisaps and crocodiles can be seen while walking along the beautiful wooden streets of Hiron Point. Bengal tigers are sometimes seen here too.

Dublar Char: Dublar Char is a small char in the Sundarbans area . The river flowing through the Dubla Char flows into the Bay of Bengal. Famous for Hindu holy baths, Rasmela and Shutki. From October to February - during these five months, around 10,000 prisoners have made temporary settlements there. Fishing goes along with drying.

You can't go alone or in a group of 2-3 people to go deep in the Sundarbans. If you want to travel inside the Sundarbans, you must pay a fixed fee from the forest office and travel with a security guard. And to visit all the places there is no alternative except launch and ship (Sundarban Ship).

Going with a tour operator is the easiest and most cost-effective way to travel to the Sundarbans due to security, permits, costs and complicated procedures. The package includes all expenses including accommodation, 3 meals, 2 light snacks, forest department permission, security guard and guide from boarding the ship to the end of the tour.

The cost of Sundarban tour package depends on the quality of the ship and food, what to see and how long the tour is. It will cost 6000-14000 rupees per person to travel in a good quality sheep. And if you want to travel in a luxury tourist vessel (AC Luxury Cruise Ship), it will cost from 15,000 to 25,000 rupees per person. Packages are usually 2 nights 3 days or 3 nights 4 days.

If you are like 30-40 people together, you can hire a launch or ship yourself. In this case, the cost will depend on the type of service you want to get.

If you want to go to Sundarbans, you can go through Khulna or you can go from Mongla. These two routes are the most popular. And the sheep leaving from Khulna enters the Sundarbans through Mongla.

You can go directly from Dhaka to Khulna by bus or train. Non-AC bus fare from Gulistan, Syedabad and Gabtali to Khulna is Tk 650-700 and AC bus fare is Tk 700-1400. The Sundarban Express train leaves from Dhaka in the morning. And the Chitra Express left in the evening. Fares range from Tk 625 to Tk 2168 according to seat class.

There is a direct semi-chair coach bus from Dhaka to Mongla. It will cost Tk 450-500 to go to Mongla by Comfort Line, Digant, Rajdhani, Arman Paribahan non AC bus.

If you want to take a good bus to Mongla, you have to take a bus to Khulna. In this case, before Khulna, you have to go down to the place called Katakhali Mor. From there you can go to Mongla which is 26 km away by bus, Mahindra, CNG or bike. Or you can go to Khulna and from there you can go to Mongla.

It takes about 5 hours to go from Dhaka to Khulna or Mongla via Padma Bridge by bus.

When traveling with a tour agency, all fees are usually included in the packages, so there is no need to pay separate fees. However, if you go on a one-day trip or manage yourself, then you have to pay the entrance fee for each place.

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. In Karamjal, the travel fee for domestic tourists is 46 taka per person, for foreigners 575 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.

If you want to visit Sundarbans in a day at low cost then you can visit Mongla to Karamjal or Herbaria distribution center. If you leave early in the morning from Mongla, it is possible to visit both places in one day.

Boats can be hired for the whole day from Mongla ferry wharf. Just visiting Karamjal will cost 1000 to 1500 taka. To go to Karamjal and Herbaria two places will cost from 3500 to 5000 taka. A good quality trawler should be fixed if you want to go to herbaria. And in the case of rent, you must bargain.

Karamjal entrance ticket price is 46 rupees per person. And Herbaria entry ticket price is 172 taka. Besides, if you want to visit Herbaria, you have to take permission and guide from the office there. Lunch should be taken from Mongla.

In budget tour plan, if a few people group together from Dhaka, the estimated cost will be Tk 2500-3000 per person. If you visit Karamjal only, the cost will be less.

If you go around by ship or launch, there is accommodation there. Apart from this, if you are traveling privately, there are arrangements to stay at Kachikhali at Tiger Point, Neelkamal at Hiran Point and Katkay forest division rest houses in Sundarbans.

Tourism Corporation has hotels to stay in Mongla. Pasur Port has some average quality hotels for tourist accommodation.

Hotel Royal, Castle Salam, Hotel Tiger Garden, Hotel West Inn, Hotel City Inn, Hotel Millennium etc. are notable among the residential hotels in Khulna city.

If you want to stay in Satkhira city, you will find some standard hotels here. NGO Sushilan has a rest house and dormitory at Munshiganj in Shyamnagar.