Sundarban Tiger Camp

Village Dayapur, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal

-Soumitra Biswas

As we were planning a long awaited vacation in Kolkata in December 2012, we wanted to include a tour of Sundarban especially for our son & daughter (young adults). Trip Advisor came handy for the research and we zeroed in on Sundarban Tiger Camp, the resort owned by Waxpol group of Kolkata. The property website, sundarbantigercamp.com was quite informative too and after a small conversation with Arnab from their Kolkata office, I booked a 2-night/3-day trip online. We opted for a hut as it would accommodate four of us and thankfully no air-conditioning would be necessary in December.

Our trip started from Priya cinema on Rashbehari Avenue next to Deshapriya Park, Kolkata with slight glitches as the AC bus would not accommodate 32 of us booked on that trip. Our tour guide, Amit Adhikari handled the situation efficiently and two large cars (Qualis & Innova) were pressed into the service with one car assigned to ourselves. We hit the road by 8.30 AM and with a tea break near Baruipur, we reached Godkhali, where the road ends by about 11.30 AM. We were smoothly transferred to the smart 'launch' (large double-decker boat with inboard engine) owned by the resort and we sailed out into the vast expanse of water.

After about two hours' launch ride we reached our resort at Dayapur village, the last human habitation at Sundarban. The hut, we were allotted to was quite spacious with a king sized double-bed and two wide single beds. It had a cozy portico with cane table & chairs in the front. The resort spread across the large tract of land with greenery all around…fruiting trees, well cared flowering plants, water bodies…hens, swans & Guinea fowls were in abundance…many birds chirping merrily enriched the environs!

While the breakfast on the next two days were served in the launch itself during our forays into the forest, lunches & dinners were served in the central dining area of the resort. The dining area was constructed tastefully as a large thatched canopy supported by the bamboos. The buffet spreads for lunches & dinners were too much to ask for in a place so remote. We had 'Bekti', crabs, chicken to our heart's content with menus changing everyday! Vegetarians, don't despair…there were enough items for them too. And for Bacchus' worshippers, Sundarban Tiger Camp boasts of a fully stocked bar with the brand of your choice to nirvana!

Over three days, we had long launch rides along the water channels into the forest…we visited Sajnekahli & Sudhanyakhali watch towers, had a canopy walk at Do Banki forest camp…came across many egrets, sandpipers, cormorants, kingfishers and other exotic species of birds, herds of deer, huge crocodiles and monitor lizards basking in the sun. But the greatest surprise awaited us on the last day of our trip…as the early morning fog started lifting and the visibility became clear, we spotted a fully grown male Royal Bengal tiger in his regal posture at the edge of the forest. The photographers amongst us had a field day training their zoom lenses and trying to capture a good view of the royalty! Sighting the tiger at Sundarban proved to be the 'jewel in the crown' of our trip. 

Sundarban Tiger Camp organized a tribal dance around the bonfire in the first evening, screened an informative wild life film on the second evening. The 'Bonbibi' (legendary Goddess of forests) Jatra (Bengal folk theatre), staged by the nearby villagers at the resort convention centre and enacted in a true professional style, was thoroughly enjoyable!

I will fail in my duty if I don't mention about our friendly and highly informative guide, Mr. Niranjan Raptan, who is an amazingly self-taught person having learnt lessons from the life! He was quite an authority on anything concerning Sundarban and responded to our endless queries with zeal. The behaviour & attitudes of all the staff and service hands at the resort were simply impeccable.

The bottom line : The price charged

per person for 2-N/3-D tour including the comfortable stay at hut, excellent food, to & fro transportation from Kolkata and long launch rides into the forest with services of an expert guide was quite a steal! This should be the only choice for discerning travellers for an exciting itinerary of Sundarban.