Mangrove Forest Tour

The Sundarbans are the largest littoral mangrove belt in the world, stretching 80km (50 mi) into the Bangladeshi hinterland from the coast. The forests aren't just mangrove swamps though; they include some of the last remaining stands of the mighty jungles which once covered the Gangetic plain.

The Sundarbans cover an area of 38,500 sq km, of which about one-third is covered in water. Since 1966 the Sundarbans have been a wildlife sanctuary, and it is estimated that there are now 400 Royal Bengal tigers and about 30,000 spotted deer in the area. Sundarbans is home to many different species of birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and fishes. Over 120 species of fish and over 260 species of birds have been recorded in the Sundarbans. The Gangetic River Dolphin (Platanista Gangeticus) is common in the rivers.

No less than 50 species of reptiles and eight species of amphibians are known to occur. The Sundarbans now support the only population of the Estuarine or Salt-Water Crocodile (Crocodylus parasus) in Bangladesh, and that population is estimated at less than two hundred individuals. After sightseeing back to the hotel.

The Package Cost Include:

1. Food-Breakfast, Lunch.
2. Cruise inside the Forest with an exclusive tourist boat.
3. Small country boat to make trips inside small canals/creeks.
4. Mineral water for drinking during the trip.
5. Forest fees, permission & armed forest guard from the forest department
6. An accompanied Guide during the trip.

More About Sunderbans:

The Sundarbans were originally measured (about 200 years ago) to be about 16,700 sq km. Now it has dwindled to about 1/3 of the original size. Because of the partition of India, Bangladesh received about 2/3 of the forest; the rest is on the Indian side. It is now estimated to be about 6,000 sq km, of which about 1,700 sq km is occupied by waterbodies.

The Bangla word ban means forest, and the name Sundarban was coined either from the forests of the Sundari tree ie Sundari-ban, or from the forests of the Samudra (sea) ie, Samudra-ban, or from its association with the primitive tribe Chandra-band which was corrupted into Sundarban. The generally accepted explanation, however, is its derivation from the Sundari tree, the most common tree in these forests.

The vegetation is large mangrove type and encompasses a variety of plants including trees, shrubs, grasses, epiphytes, and lianas. Being mostly evergreen, they possess more or less similar physiological and structural adaptations. Most trees have pneumatophores for aerial respiration.

The ecological diversity of the Sundarbans supports a large variety of birds. Among the total number of species recorded, most are residents. Over 50 species are known to be migratory and are mostly represented by the waterfowls.