Sundarbans · Middle & Lower Gangetic Plain
How to reach
By air
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata (CCU) — The only airport serving the region; 100–130 km by road from the various jetties.
By rail
- Canning (CG) — The terminus of the Sealdah South line and the standard approach — about 45 km from Kolkata, then road to Godkhali jetty for the reserve.
- Lakshmikantapur (LKPR) — For Raidighi, Jharkhali and the south-western approaches.
- Namkhana (NMKA) — For Bakkhali, Frasergunj and the Bhagabatpur crocodile project.
- Kakdwip (KKDP) — For Sagar Island via the Lot 8 jetty and the Kachuberia crossing.
- Hasnabad (HNB) — For the northern islands, Hingalganj and the Raimangal side.
By road
Basanti Highway (SH 3) from Kolkata to Canning, Basanti and Godkhali — the main arteryDiamond Harbour Road and NH 12 south towards Kakdwip and NamkhanaJharkhali by road from Canning, the only significant forest-edge point reachable without a boatHasnabad and Hingalganj by road from Barasat for the northern block
By water
Godkhali to Gosaba, Bali and Sajnekhali — the standard launch route into the reserveLot 8 (Kakdwip) to Kachuberia for Sagar IslandNamkhana to Bakkhali across the Hatania–Doania channelInnumerable vans-and-ferry combinations between islands; almost every journey involves at least one crossing
Getting around
Beyond the railheads it is a boat, a cycle van or a toto, and often all three in sequence. Nothing on the islands runs to a clock; it runs to the tide, and a launch that cannot cross a bar at low water will wait for it. Entry to the tiger reserve requires a permit and, for foreign visitors, additional clearance; permits and a registered guide are arranged at Sajnekhali or through the operator before departure. Mobile coverage is patchy in the creeks and absent in the core.
How to reach Sundarbans by air, rail, road and water, and how to get around once there. (6)