As I made my way back to the boat, I was shocked to see how vastly the scene had changed in an hour. The tide had come in, flooding the area, submerging trees up to their lower branches. The boat had drifted a bit, so they had to pole it in in order for me to board. After breakfast and a short stop at a visitor center, the boat motored down the river. Our guide explained that there were 102 islands (mostly forested) in the Sunderbans, with 54 of those inhabited. Some are kept exclusively for wildlife. Covering an area of 18,000 sq. km (6,950 ft), the Sunderbans (a portion in West Bengal and the rest in Bangladesh) is both a UNESCO World Heritage site and a Tiger Reserve. I didn’t expect to see any of the illusive Bengal tigers, but would simply enjoy the natural beauty of the mangroves.
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