Kolkata and Sundarbans - the biggest mangroove forest in the world

November 9, 2018

After Bangladesh and before heading to my next destination I decided to make a 5-day stop in the West Bengal part of India and more precisely in the city of Kolkata. I decided to take a flight to Kolkata from Dhaka since I was applying for an E-Visa and it also made sense price-wise.

Kolkata

Kolkata is known for its fancy colonial architecture from the East India Company times. Since I had not done any research about Kolkata beforehand all of my first impressions were genuine. Kolkata is located in the eastern part of India and is relatively close to Bangladesh. The city is the third biggest in India by population numbers and is also just in the footsteps of Mumbai and Delhi by successful economic standards. While having a first walk around the centre I was positively surprised by the green scenery all around. It also seemed to be pretty peaceful, clean and developed. Visiting Kolkata was my first step into India. As many people might have, I as well had some prejudices about India as being dirty, crowded and super busy. Kolkata really changed my mind about that quickly though. I can’t speak about other regions in the country of course since I have not been there (yet). Once again, the statement that never judges a place before you have been there yourself became true. I spent two full days walking around the city centre. So what did I discover and saw?

St. Paul's Cathedral

With its Gothic architecture, the cathedral really stands out from its surroundings. Apparently, it is the first overseas cathedral built by the British Emprise. It is also an interesting place to visit since by the religious belonging of the citizens of India you really do not expect to see a church or a cathedral in India. St. Paul’s Cathedral also seemed to be a nice and chilly refuge from the hot city for the people in the daytime.

Victoria Memorial

This large marble building was built in memory of Queen Victoria who was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the 19th century. Nowadays, the building hosts a museum which was unfortunately closed on the day I was planning to visit it. Nevertheless, it was possible to visit the huge garden which surrounds the Memorial. The garden is really well maintained and is really popular among locals and tourists. It also seemed to be a quiet getaway for young couples who were sitting there and enjoying each other’s company. The entrance fee to the garden is 10 rupees (0.12 €) and the regular entrance fees for the museum are 30 rupees (0.36 €) for an Indian national and 500 rupees (6 €) for a foreigner.

Howrah Bridge

This impressive bridge has become a famous landmark and a symbol for Kolkata and West Bengal. Being one of the biggest in the world of its type (cantilever), it is a busy bridge which connects two cities – Kolkata and Howrah. It is possible to combine two points of interest into one visit since the bridge runs over a colourful flower market.

There are plenty more sights possible to visit in Kolkata. The Birla Planetarium seemed to be really popular among locals and just having a walk in the city to admire the colonial architecture makes some days in Kolkata enjoyable. Kolkata is situated really close to the biggest mangrove forest in the world – the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest. The forest is divided between India and Bangladesh and I decided to make a visit there from the Indian side.

A 2-day visit to Sundarbans

I booked a 2-day overnight tour to visit the Mangroves and see the wildlife. If I recall correctly then I managed to book a tour for approx. 50-60 USD and it included everything necessary – transportation, meals, accommodation, a boat ride and a guide. To reach the Backpackers Eco Village, where we were going to spend the night, it required taking a private minivan, a boat, a tuk-tuk and another boat. The whole journey took about 5 hours from Kolkata. I can really recommend booking the tour with this company. They have a sustainable approach to visiting the Sundarbans. You stay in mud huts which are made of locally produced construction materials and between the local villages on the island which do not have any other tourist activity. It is also possible to volunteer in the Backpackers Eco Village. During my stay, there were 2 volunteers from Germany present as well. Visit their web page for more information about what they offer – http://www.tourdesundarbans.com/

After some lunch in the resort and a walk around the village, we were taken to a small dense part of the Mangrove forest just a quick boat ride away. Since it is a coastal forest, the tides really affect the water levels. It is was interesting to observe how it is really possible to see the water going down by the bare eye. Mud crabs of every size started to climb out of the mud and on the tree trunks all around us. We headed back to the village around sunset time where it was time for a bit of local experience. Namely, some local musicians came and started improvising on instruments I had never seen before. The music and sounds there were making were really specific and apparently typical for this region. It was almost a psychedelic experience to sit in the candlelight and listen to the vibes. The day ended up by a delicious dinner prepared by local women.

The next day we woke up early in the daylight to capture most of the day. We head out on a big riverboat to a river safari through the mangrove forest. After registration in the Sundarbans Office and picking up our guide, we embarked on a 10-hour journey. The Sundarbans are famous for their population of Bengali tigers. There are not many tigers left in the world in the wild and Sundarbans have one of the most numerous populations of animals. The possibility of seeing a tiger in the wild made us obviously excited. Besides, the Bengali tigers, the Sundarbans are home to many other types of animals as well – salt-water crocodiles, macaques, spotted deer and different birds (like kingfishers). We were not lucky enough to notice a tiger in the wild but saw many other animals still. Based on my experience, this type of safari (river safari on the boat), felt safer and better for the animals around us than participating in a regular jeep safari. We were the ones in the “cage” on the boat, instead of the animals like you see in the zoos. Also, in the jeep safaris, the drivers tend to disturb the lives of the animals still, whereas, on the boat on the river, it is really not possible to do that.