Take a bus from Esplanade (Kolkata) & get down at Chaulkhola or Baishali which will take about 4 hrs. The beach of Tajpur is the main attraction of the place. You may gaze the sea and enjoy the gentle breeze or take leisurely walks on the beach or go for a picnic in the fir tree plantations. You will find casuarina trees and also may see the red crabs on the beach.

Most of the hotel will serve Bengali food and Chinese cuisine @ Rs 250/300 for the entire day ( Bed Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Veg Snacks & Dinner ) For special food need to inform them in advance. Vegetarians, have to inform the hotel in advance so that they can keep the stock beforehand. Though winter is the best time to visit Tajpur, but monsoon can also offer something extra. Don’t forgot to take some mosquito repellent lotions. And as the place is yet to be facilitated with electricity and most of the hotels runs on Generator, take necessary equipments too.

Along with this the teams will collect data on supply of prey-base like Deer’s, Wild Boar’s, Monkey’s etc which drives the habitats of the Tigers. Needless to mention that Sunderbans has been the most difficult terrain for Tigers in terms of surviving and supply of prey-base. Some technical study’s are also scheduled to be made during this census as to how much favourable the conditions are for the Tiger’s in Sunderbans area. The point to be noted in between is that Sunderbans is the only area, where Tigers live despite limited or no supply of sweet water.

Unlike other forests, in Sunderbans, the core area of Tigers remains submerged in water for a considerable period of time during a day, so collection of needed resources will be difficult job. Moreso, it is quite difficult to cover every area of the Sunderban’s due to geographical conditions, other dangers like Crocs, Kamats, Gharials in the water.

Around 80 teams have been built consisting of 350 forest workers and other NGO’s

How to Reach – Bakkhali can be reached by train and roadways transportation only as the nearest airport is about 134 kms away.

By Air – The nearest airport to Bakkhali is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport at Dumdum near Kolkata which is approximately about 134 kms away from Bakkhali.

By Train – Bakkhali can be reached by train from Sealdah south section to the nearest rail station Namkhana which is about 109 kms from Kolkata. From Namkhana you have to cross Hatania-Doania river by ferry service to reach Bakkhali which is 25 kms from Namkhana. It takes about 1.30 hours to reach Bakkhali from Namkhana by road. The trains from Sealdah via Lakshmikantapur and Kakdwip to Namkhana starts at 4.40am, 7.30am, 10.30 am and takes about 3 hours to reache Namkhana. From Namkhana railway station you can reach Namkhana ferry ghat by Van Rickshaw to cross Hatania-Doania river by ferry service. The ferry service is available from 7am to 11pm except from 12 noon till 1:45pm (lunch hour). After crossing the river you can reach by bus or trekker which will take about 1.30 hours to reach Bakkhali from Namkhana by road.

By Road – Several buses of WBSTC ply from Kolkata Dharmatala Bus terminus near Shahid Minar from 7.00 am morning to evening at regular intervals. WBSTC Buses also ply from Garia and Howrah. SBSTC buses also ply from Belgoria depot. All the buses take approx. 4 to 4.30 hours to reach Bakkhali. The route of the bus is Dharmatala- Alipore-Chiriakhana-Taratala-Diamond Harbour-Kakdwip-Namkahana-Bakkhali. The 130 km stretch from Kona expressway and Bakkhali has been marked as National Highway (NH) 117 with links to the Mumbai and Delhi sections of the golden quadrangle project linking the four metros of India.

Several local buses also go upto Namkhana and others from Namkhana to Bakkhali.

Season – Bakkhali can be visited throughout the year but the best season is July to March.

Altitude : Sea level
Temperature : Summer 33 (Max) & 19 (Min) Degrees Celsius
Winter 16 (Max) & 7 (Min) Degrees Celsius

Best time to Go : July – March
Monsoon : May-June
Summer : April-May
Winter : December – January
Clothes Cottons all year round except during December- January when light-woolens are required.

Tourism Office at Kolkata : 3/2 BBD Bagh (East), Kolkata -700 001, Phone +91-33 485917/5168/8271/8272

Places to Stay in Bakkhali : There are a several hotels, tourist rest houses, lodges and resorts with comfortable accommodation in Bakkhali from mid range hotels to budgets hotels. One can also stay in Frasergunj hotels. Click here to get holiday home details at Bakkhali

Local Watchables – At Bakkhali the only mode of transportation to visit the local tourist spots is by Rickshaw Van. You can visit the places of interest by hiring a Rickshaw Van from Bakkhali. Bakkhali is a good place to relax, stroll on the beach and enjoy the local cuisine. There are a few places to visit in and around Bakkhali. Frasergunj is a 7 km long beautiful and sliver sand beach from Bakkhali. The walk over the beach from Bakkhali to Frasergunj is a out-of-the-world experience.
Jambu Dwip – You can visit Jambu Dwip from Frasergunj fishing harbour by motor boats locally called Bhutbhuti. Jambu Dwip is a small virgin forested island out in the sea. The tour to Jambu dwip is very thrilling and takes two hours ride up & down by local Bhutbhuti. This 8kms long & 2 kms wide island is made of mangrove forests like Hetal, garan, sundari, geon and consists of wild animals like chital, sambar, wildboar which are rare to site.
Henry’s island – Henry Island is a 10 minutes drive from Bakkhali. You can also visit this place by Van rickshaw who will describe you the brief history about this place if you want to listen from them. Henry Island is a lush green area covered with 50 big ponds locally called “Dighis” where Fisheries Department of West Bengal which has set up a pisciculture project here. At Henry Island Fisheries Department of West Bengal has three rest houses namely – Hetal, Garan, and Sundari where the tourists can stay in peaceful greeny atmosphere. You may contact State Fisheries Development Corporation, Bikash Bhavan, Kolkata, Phone: +91-33- 23376470 to book rooms here. Entry Fee at Henry Island is Rs 5 . The department has planted trees like gora, kankru and palm apart from naturally growing sundari and hetal.Henry Island is named after a European who surveyed land in the area in the late 19th Century and the island was only an extension of the Sunderbans. There is a watch tour in Henry island from where the entire Sunderban area can be watched.
You can visit the Benfish harbour and Frasergunj Beach on the way to Henry’s Island . One can also visit the Crocodile Park and Mangrove forest just beside the Bakkhali Bus stop.Entry fee Rs 2/-. The trip in Van Rickshaw takes you through the local village life which is very interesting to watch.
There is a Bishhalakshmi temple at the end of the Bakkhali beach which is also a good spot to visit.

Nearest Places –
Namkhana – 25 kms.
Diamond Harbour – 82 kms.

Nearest Tourist Destinations –
Frasergunj - This peaceful sea beach is situated at a stretch of 70 kms from the north of Bakkhali. Sir Andrew Fraser, Lieutenant Governor of Bengal in the early twentieth century have discovered this place. He tried his best to popularise it and in recognition of his efforts a part of the town is named Frasergunj. There is a remains of Sir Andrew Fraser’s house near the beach, which according to the locals was the one in which Fraser used to stay. According to the local legend Sir Andrew Fraser accidentally landed to this place after a shipwreck and local woman named Narayani helped him to survive. Frasergunj was earlier known as Narayanitala.
The beach in Frasergunj is very straight with low tides and is ideal for week-end tours. Fishing is the primary occupation of the local people as the salty water of the sea destroys the fertility of the land. There is a fishing harbour at Frasergunj and a wing of the state government named Benfish is operating in the area. The windmills in Frasergunj generate power for the locality. The wind mills are visible from many places all around. Some of the hotels use solar heaters for heating water. The rickshaw van is the only form of local transport. Buses and trekkers are the other means of transportation for the local people. The fising nets are spread on the Frasergunj beach to dry them after fishing which makes it colorful. Early at dawn the fishermen used to go to the deep sea for fishing in small boats with motors. During the sunrise the image of the early sun on the sea water and beach with boats all around look beautiful and picturesque. The smell of dried fish makes the environment a little bit uneasy as it is one of the primary occupation the local people.
Bhagabatpur – Crocodile project.
Sagar Island – Famous for Gangasagar mela.
Sunderbans National Park – Largest mangrove forest in the world with the site of Great Royal Bengal Tiger and crocodiles, gharials etc.