Sunderbans Adventure with Tigers and Rhinos
12 days / November - April
Pricing: Pricing is based on group size and seasonality, please check with us to secure the best pricing.
Highlights:
• Catch a glimpse of the rare Great Indian Rhinoceros in its only natural habitat, the Kaziranga National Park. Get an intimate look at this magnificent and vanishing creature from the back of an elephant.
• Stalk the elusive and majestic Bengal tiger at the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve via riverboat cruise.
• Immerse yourself in a thriving and ancient culture with visits to small villages, encounters with local people, and performances of traditional dances and songs.
Start Map
Day 1: KOLKATA
We will greet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel after you clear customs and immigration. Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and located on the east bank of the River Hooghly. Kolkata served as the capital of India during the British Raj until 1911. Once the center of culture in India, Kolkata has witnessed intense political violence and economic stagnation in the years since 1954.
Day 02: KOLKATA
We will spend the morning learning about the fascinating history of Kolkata with a Heritage Walk of Dalhousie Square. Highlights include the imposing Writer’s Building, the newly renovated Town Hall, St. John’s Churchyard, and the historic Metcalfe Hall. In the afternoon, we will pay a visit to The Victoria Memorial Hall and Garden, the Marble Palace, and Mother Teresa’s Tomb.
Day 03: KOLKATA TO SUNDERBANS TIGER RESERVE
In the morning, we will pick you up for the trip to Sonakhali jetty, traveling through some truly beautiful countryside with a stopover at a local tea shop. You will arrive at Sonakhali in the midmorning and board your motorized boat for a two hour cruise through the rivers Hogol, Gomor, Durgaduani, and Gumdi. You will also have the option of stopping at Gosaba to visit the house of Sir Daniel Hamilton, a Scottish banker who introduced the concept of the Cooperative System in India. After arriving at Bali Island, we will check into camp and enjoy a hot lunch followed by a birding and game cruise to Sudhanyakhali Watch Tower. On the way, we will look for the elusive tiger, as well as monkeys, dolphins, otters, and other wildlife. You will return to camp and enjoy a presentation by a poacher-turned-camp guide, followed by dinner.
Day 04: SUNDERBANS TIGER RESERVE
We will spend the full day cruising and touring this extraordinary wildlife reserve. If the weather permits, we will visit the Netidhopani Watch Tower and indulge in some fishing and crabbing. After returning to camp, we will attend a performance at the local rural theatre (Bonobibi Yatra). The performance relates stories of the Tiger Lord, of forest God and Goddesses, of fishermen, and of honey collectors, with lots of local songs and dances.
Day 05: SUNDERBANS TIGER RESERVE
After breakfast, we will take a guided walk through the village to meet some of the locals. Through these personal encounters, you will have the chance to learn more about the Indian lifestyle, crafts, cuisines, and farming methods. We will wrap up the tour with a guided adventure cruise.
Day 06: SUNDERBANS TIGER RESERVE
After breakfast, your birding and game cruise will take you to the Burir Daburi Watch Tower.
Day 07: SUNDERBANS-KOLKATA
After breakfast, we will return to Kolkata and check into our hotel.
Day 08: KOLKATA- GUWAHATI - KAZIRANGA
In the morning, we will catch a flight to Guwahati and then drive to the Kaziranga National Park, the only natural habitat of the Great Indian Rhinoceros. The park, which covers about 430 sq kilometers, is bordered on the north by the Brahmaputra River and on the south by the Karbi Anglong Hills. It boasts the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceros as well as elephants, tigers, and a small population of hoolock gibbons. You may also encounter capped langurs, bristly hares, hog badgers, otters, leopards, wild boars, sambars, swamp deer, and water buffalo. The bird population includes the rare greater adjutant stork, Bengal Florican, black-necked stork, lesser adjutant stork, Pallas’s fish eagle, swamp partridge, grey peacock-pheasant, great pied hornbill, green imperial pigeon, and babblers, as well as thousands of migratory birds which flock to the various water areas of the park from as far away as Siberia.
Day 09 to 11: KAZIRANGA
We will spend three days exploring the Kaziranga National Park, with morning and afternoon game drive in Jeeps and on elephants! In addition, we will visit the local tea garden and some nearby villages.
Day 12: KAZIRANGA - GUWAHATI - KOLKATA
After breakfast, we will catch our flight back to Kolkata to meet your return flight home.
• The Sunderbans Jungle Camp strives to respect and protect the Sunderbans’ fragile mangrove ecosystem. For example, most of the camp workers are former tiger poachers. Thanks to the camp, they have a different job now, helping preserve the tigers instead of killing them.
• The Jungle Camp also supports a number of social development programs, including a medical camp, book and garment banks, and an evening school. In addition, the camp has initiated a number of monitoring studies that address issues like climate change, lesser cats, and migratory water fowls.
• The camp partners with a variety of environmental conservation programs including the Bali Nature and Wildlife Conservation Society, West Bengal Forest Department, and WWF India West Bengal Office.
• Wildlife Protection Society of India and the Bali Eco-Development Committee are cooperation partners of the Jungle Camp.