The area that comprises the Sunderban National Park is the largest estuarine mangrove forest in the world. It got its name from one of the mangrove plants known as Sundari (Heritiera Minor). It is located at the south-eastern tip of the 24 Paraganas district in the state of West Bengal. The Sunderban cover an area of 9,630 sq. km. of which 2,585 sq. km. is demarcated as the main tiger reserve and 1,330 sq. km. makes up the national park, where an estimated 270 tigers reside. Almost 70 per cent of the total area of the park is submerged under water. Due to its beauty and richness of wildlife, it was declared a world natural heritage site by UNESCO in 1974 and a national park in 1984. A majority of the park is at sea level and the higher grounds range in altitude from a mere 6 metres to 9 metres.
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Getting there
Although the last leg of the journey can only be done by road and then by boat, the park is only 166 km from Kolkata, one of the best-connected cities in the country. There is a train service from Kolkata to Canning (48 km), from where launch services are available to Sajnekhali.
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