Once we cross the bridge between Sonakhali and Basanti. Over the river Matla, we reach Godkhali Jetty by Road . From here the wonderful journey on the river starts. We board a Motor Boat and cruise on river Bidyadhari , after touching Gosaba Island to pick up some essentials we start our journey again and reach the vast Durgadwani river , from there we can have a first glimpse of Sundarban National Park. We go through Mangrove forests on the right and the village on the left side. As we slowly cross and come near the forest we notice it is fenced by nylon nets by the Forest department to prevent the wild animals from coming outside to the villages, especially the Royal Bengal Tigers. We sail through leaving Pakhiralaya on the left and Sajnekhali on the right on Dutta River towards the Jamespur Island for night stay at Sundarban Tiger Roar Resort on the bank of Dutta River. We had a comfortable night stay, a cultural programme by a local tribe was organized by our Tour Operator before we had our dinner at the resort.
Next day we start our journey to Panchmukhani , convergence of five rivers. We start early from Sundarban Tiger Roar Resort and for Panchmukhani. Cruising through Phirkhali, and GajeeKhali we reach Dobanki and to Panchmukhani where five rivers Padma , Meghna, Bhairab, Madhumati and Hugli merge and flow in the same direction into the bay of Bengal. After smooth sailing till Panchmukhani we confront the waves due to the convergence of five rivers and pass through with the wind and waves to the narrow river with mangrove forest on both sides. During our adventurous journey by boat we spotted monitor Lizards, Wild Boars, Monkeys , Deers and the Crocodiles. Unfortunately we could not see a Royal Bengal Tiger although our Forest Guide showed us the fresh Pug marks on the river bed at some places where it has crossed the River. Back to the Resort after a day long safari to unwind, listening to folk songs by local artists was quite entertaining. The Resort arranged a campfire where we spent some time before dinner.
Next day we had something very interesting, a Village walk, our Guide took us to the village market and to some houses to know a bit about their lifestyles and livelihood. We return to Godhkhali by afternoon back to Kolkata with beautiful memories.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Question: Which rivers are parts of Sundarbans delta?
Answer: The Sundarbans mangrove forest, a world heritage site, is one of the largest single chunks of mangrove forests in the world .This heritage site lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.
Question: How many rivers are there in Sundarban?
Answer: A list of rivers of the Sundarbans geographic region and ecoregion, located in Bangladesh and in West Bengal state of Eastern India. The Bangladesh portion has 177 rivers flowing through it to the Bay of Bengal.
Question: What is the speciality of Panchmukhani at Sundarbans?
Answer: Panchmukhani is the convergence of five rivers. Here five rivers Padma , Meghna, Bhairab, Madhumati and Hugli merge and flow in the same direction into the bay of Bengal.
