Why this ride
The stops in between: The Sundarbans, Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary, Sundarbans South Sanctuary and back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary. It crosses from India into Bangladesh - carry ID and check the toll rules.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sundarbans National Park and Sundarbans South Sanctuary
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 183 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 09
- 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 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 is where the day begins. Next is The Sundarbans.
2. 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
The Sundarbans comes up about 40 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.
Read the complete Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary. Next is Sundarbans South Sanctuary.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary.
5. back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sundarbans West Wildlife 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 West Wildlife Sanctuary sits at 122 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Sundarbans.
6. 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 comes up about 144 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sundarbans National Park.
7. Sundarbans National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Sundarbans National Park to The Sundarbans
Sundarbans National Park → The Sundarbans is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Sundarbans to Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary
The Sundarbans → Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary to Sundarbans South Sanctuary
Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary → Sundarbans South Sanctuary is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sundarbans South Sanctuary to back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary
Sundarbans South Sanctuary → back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary to back through The Sundarbans
back through Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary → back through The Sundarbans is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Sundarbans to Sundarbans National Park
back through The Sundarbans → Sundarbans National Park is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.