Sundarbans East Sanctuary and Sundarbans National Park · 905 km
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
905 km
Riding-time estimate
15 h 35
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
On the way it passes Sundarbans South Sanctuary, Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary, Sundarbans National Park and back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary. It crosses from Bangladesh into India - carry ID and check the toll rules. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Sundarbans East Sanctuary
The Sundarbans are what happens when the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna spread themselves out into the Bay of Bengal and the land simply gives up trying to be land. This is the largest mangrove forest in the world, shared between Bangladesh and India, and the part here lies in the south-west of Bangladesh, in the Khulna region, a maze of tidal channels, mud banks and islands that rise and fall with the tide. Nothing is solid for long, and there are no roads through the middle of it.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sundarbans East Sanctuary is where the day begins. Next is Sundarbans South Sanctuary.
2. Sundarbans South Sanctuary
Down at the very bottom of Bangladesh, where the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers break into countless channels before meeting the Bay of Bengal, lies the largest mangrove forest on Earth. The Sundarbans South Sanctuary is one of three protected wildlife sanctuaries in the Bangladeshi part of the forest, and the whole area is a World Heritage Site. This is a world of water and tide: creeks, rivers and islands thick with sundari trees, from which the forest may take its name, along with gewa, keora and golpata palms, all standing on breathing roots that poke up through the mud.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sundarbans South Sanctuary comes up about 189 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary.
3. Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary
The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world, a vast maze of tidal rivers, creeks and muddy islands where the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers meet the Bay of Bengal. The western sanctuary, in the south west of Bangladesh close to the Indian border, is one of the protected cores of this immense wetland, part of the World Heritage listing shared between Bangladesh and India. It is the home of the Bengal tiger, which has adapted to life in the mangroves, swimming between islands and hunting in the tidal forest, as well as spotted deer, saltwater crocodiles, river dolphins and a remarkable variety of birds.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 274 km into the recorded legs you reach Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary. Next is Sundarbans National Park.
4. Sundarbans National Park
Let's be straight about it from the start: nobody rides a motorcycle into the Sundarbans. The national park is a maze of tidal channels, mudbanks and mangrove islands at the bottom of the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta, and the last solid tarmac gives out at the jetties around Gosaba and the villages beyond Canning. The ride is about getting to the edge of the land, parking the bike in a village yard, and stepping onto a wooden boat for the part that matters.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sundarbans East Sanctuary closes the day.
Leg by leg
Sundarbans East Sanctuary to Sundarbans South Sanctuary
Sundarbans East Sanctuary → Sundarbans South Sanctuary is 189 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sundarbans South Sanctuary to Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary
Sundarbans South Sanctuary → Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary is 84 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary to Sundarbans National Park
Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary → Sundarbans National Park is 179 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sundarbans National Park to back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary
Sundarbans National Park → back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary is 179 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary to back through Sundarbans South Sanctuary
back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary → back through Sundarbans South Sanctuary is 84 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sundarbans South Sanctuary to Sundarbans East Sanctuary
back through Sundarbans South Sanctuary → Sundarbans East Sanctuary is 189 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.