The Sundarbans is not only the biggest mangrove forrest in the world (by far), but also one of the most intense and off the beaten track places that you can visit pretty much on the planet.
This is not some pretty jungle. It is a swamp that kills people. It is a forest that floods every day. And it is alive in the worst and best ways possible.
What the Sundarbans?
The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest on earth. That means trees that live in saltwater with roots that come out of the ground like knives. It stretches from Bangladesh into India and everything about it is hostile. The tides rise and fall so fast that you can lose your boat while eating lunch. One minute you’re walking on dry ground the next you’re waist deep in water full of snakes.
The animals here are not for tourists. Saltwater crocodiles longer than your boat. Wild boars that look like tanks. Giant lizards. And the Bengal tiger that has killed hundreds of people. Not in legend not in books. For real. This is the only place on earth where tigers actively hunt humans and people still go in anyway.
What You See
Most of the Sundarbans you don’t actually see. You hear it. You smell it. You feel it breathing behind the trees. You cruise in a wooden boat through narrow canals where the trees try to close in on you. The water is brown. The banks are black. Crabs climb the trees. Birds scream and vanish. You see paw prints in the mud and claw marks on tree trunks. That’s the tiger. It is though bloody hard to see Tigers, although you certainly try!
Sometimes a deer shows up, although they are far from everywhere. There are though a whole heap of monkeys when you go through, which is pretty damned cool.
What It Feels Like
It feels like the end of the world. Hot air that doesn’t move. Wet skin that never dries. Insects that bite through clothes. It is always damp. Your clothes rot after two days. Your gear rusts. You get rashes on your feet. Everything stinks.
But there is a silence here that is heavier than noise. You stare out at the green and the black and the brown and realise that this place does not care about you. It was here before you and it will be here after you. That silence is not peaceful. It is the sound of things waiting.
The People Who Live Here
They don’t talk much. They live in wooden huts balanced on stilts at the edge of the forest. They fish and they collect honey and they go into the mangroves knowing they might not come back. They believe in forest spirits because they have to. They sleep with one eye open. Many have scary tiger stories, many involving death that they are more than happy to share.
They do not smile for your camera. They are not here for your story. They are here because they have nowhere else to go.
Why You Come
You don’t come to the Sundarbans for photos. You don’t come for peace or to tick a UNESCO box. You come to see something that still bites back. You come to see what it is really like to be out in some of the most beautiful, but indeed isolated and non-touristy places that you can visit.
And there are some truly great eco-resorts here that not only do great work, but are very cool places to stay out. You also get to see and take part in the simple life here, both good and bad. For example there are darker elements such as slave like brothels on the side of the road, but also warm welcoming people, superb hospitality and even great street food.
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