Home to one of the largest concentrations of tigers on the planet, this 2585-sq-km reserve is a network of channels and semisubmerged mangroves that is part of the world’s largest river delta. Royal Bengal tigers (estimated to number about 300) lurk in the impenetrable depths of the mangrove forests, and also swim the delta’s innumerable channels.
Although they do sometimes kill villagers working in the Sunderbans, tigers are typically shy, and sightings are a very rare exception. Nevertheless, cruising the broad waterways through the world’s biggest mangrove forest and watching wildlife, whether it be a spotted deer, 2m-long water monitor or luminescent kingfisher, is a world away from Kolkata’s chaos.
