Why this ride
The stops in between: Sundarbans South Sanctuary, The Sundarbans, Sundarbans National Park and back through The Sundarbans. It crosses from Bangladesh into India - carry ID and check the toll rules. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
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.
Read the complete Sundarbans East Sanctuary write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
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.
Read the complete Sundarbans South Sanctuary write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sundarbans South Sanctuary comes up about 188 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Sundarbans.
3. The Sundarbans
No road reaches this point. The forest is crossed only by water, and any visit here means leaving the motorcycle behind and taking a boat.
Read the complete The Sundarbans write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 318 km into the recorded legs you reach The Sundarbans. 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.
Read the complete Sundarbans National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sundarbans National Park, about halfway. Next is back through The Sundarbans.
5. back through The Sundarbans
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Sundarbans write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Sundarbans sits at 603 km, about halfway. Next is back through Sundarbans South Sanctuary.
6. back through Sundarbans South Sanctuary
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sundarbans South Sanctuary write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sundarbans South Sanctuary comes up about 717 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sundarbans East Sanctuary.
7. Sundarbans East Sanctuary
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sundarbans East Sanctuary write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
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 188 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sundarbans South Sanctuary to The Sundarbans
Sundarbans South Sanctuary → The Sundarbans is 131 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Sundarbans to Sundarbans National Park
The Sundarbans → Sundarbans National Park is 134 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sundarbans National Park to back through The Sundarbans
Sundarbans National Park → back through The Sundarbans is 134 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Sundarbans to back through Sundarbans South Sanctuary
back through The Sundarbans → back through Sundarbans South Sanctuary is 131 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 188 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.