Talk:Sundarbans National Park Voyage Tips and guide

• Kolkata birds [1] - an interesting site with section on bird life in Sundarbans

Contents

What's going on here? I can't save this page. Trying to fix the sp: accross to across, but I get an error about there being a blocked external link when I try to save. (WT-en) OldPine 20:31, 11 June 2007 (EDT)

There were two numbers that are on our Project:Local spam blacklist. No edit can be made that either preserves or adds any terms from the blacklist. I removed them and made the spelling change. Hope that helps! --(WT-en) Peterfitzgerald ^Talk 21:13, 11 June 2007 (EDT)

I have cut the following Kolkata based tour agents from the article, as per policy here: Tours. If someone can make an argument as to why these should be retained, then please do so.--(WT-en) Burmesedays 13:08, 9 July 2011 (EDT)

• Sunderban Tiger Camp, 9, Mitter House, 71, Ganesh Chandra Avenue, Second Floor, Kolkata. [2]. ☎ +91 32 935749, +91 93 3109 2632, +91 98 3117 0453, Fax:+91 33 22252 6078, ([email protected])

• India Beacons Sojourn, ,1 Indra Roy Road (Opposite Indira Cinema), Room No. 8 (1st Floor), Kolkata. ☎ +91 99 0329 5920, ☎-Fax +91 33 2627 0886, ([email protected]), [3]

• Sundarban Tiger Safari, BG174 Salt Lake City, Kolkata. [4]. ☎ +917278016913, +918981084711, ([mailto: [email protected] [email protected]])

• Eastern Sunderban Tours 190 A Harish Mukherjee Rd, Kolkata. ☎+91 92 3065 3695

• Sundarban Hotel & Cruise Enlally C.I.T.Rd Kolkata-14 ☎ +91 33 163 5497, +91 33 491 1437.

• Help Tourism, 67A, Kali Temple Rd, Sadananda Kuthi 1st Floor, Kalighat, Kolkata. ☎-Fax;+91 33 2485 4584, ([email protected]); [5]. (Working Days M-F 10AM-4PM; Sunday & National Holidays closed)

• Sundaban Tours [6]

• Sundarbans is replete with biodiversity. Geographical, Geological, Botanical as well as Zoological tours which require special knowledge of the area and guide are are often undertaken in the Sundarbans National Park to understand the flora and fauna of the area. These tours are arranged by :

• India Beacons Sojourn, 1 Indra Roy Road, Room No. 8, (1st Floor), Kolkata - 700025. Phone : +91 33 26270886, +91 9903295920, Email : [email protected] website : [www.indiabeacons.com][7]

Hi, Wiki policy states that :

Tours can be listed on Wikivoyage as long as they constitute a value-added activity. If a traveler could fulfill the substance of the tour on their own, the tour should not be listed.

Well,in your opinion, can everyone organise a Geological tour or a Zoology or Biology tour or a botany tour or a birding tour on their own. Are these activities not "Value added activity". So, if I visit Indonesia, will I get the services of a Zoologist, botanist, Geologist, etc just by asking anyone there.? It may be so, but my dear friend, don't compare the situation in Indonesia with the situation in India or for the matter Sunderban.

So why are you deleting tour companies which are providing value adding activities.They are a source of information for people visiting those places.

And one more thing?? You may be an expert of Indonesia, but have you ever visited Sundarbans to understand the ground reality. Do you know that the Companies that are still listed except Sunder Chital Tourist Lodge, under "Lodging" only provide package tours and not accomodation only, ie on European Plan (EP) basis?

In Sundarbans, you need to be part of a package tour to visit it and cannot simply go there and book a room and cool your heels.All decent hotels do not give "Only" rooms . They combine their stay along with food, the rent of the launch services the costs of guides, etc. So why are you deleting the names of all the companies that are providing this service without understanding the technicalities of the place. Do you want people to visit the place on the basis of your information and find themselves in trouble upon reaching there wherein they would be told they cannot be allotted rooms?

My suggestion to you "Burmesedays" is to please understand and acquire a clear understanding of the ground reality of a place, before deleting the listings. Chourasia —The preceding comment was added by (WT-en) 59.93.241.70 (talk • contribs)

I recall coming across Help Tourism in this article a while back. (See this edit [8]). Content was headed "A Community Tourism initiative of Help Tourism". Their URL now seems to be a dead link. http://www.sunderbantigercamp.com/ look like they might be the real deal and they are listed as a provider in the article.
http://www.trips2world.net/ look like they may be a booking agency as do http://www.indiabeacons.com/ and http://www.sundarbans.net and Eastern Sunderban Tours (no URL listed). Good move taking the listings out as they are of dubious value to the traveller and potentially misleading. The only of any apparent current worth was double listed in any case. IP 59.93.241.70 (Chourasia) makes some strong points above, however as he states; "decent hotels do not give "Only" rooms . They combine their stay along with food, the rent of the launch services the costs of guides, etc.", a visitor can potentially make their own arrangements by booking independently at a hotel or elsewhere. WT policies on the listing of tour guides and booking agencies in general is quite firm and it appear the only clear exception to this currently listed in the article is Sunderban Tiger Camp. Support the removal as per the earlier edit by Burmesedays and in accordance with Tour listings (section 4). -- (WT-en) felix 14:28, 9 July 2011 (EDT)

Dear Friends, let me give you a clearer picture. To visit the Sunderbans, one starts from Kolkata and reaches Godhkhali, a distance covered in about 3.5 - 4 hs. That is the last point where one can go by a vehicle. Thereafter one has to take a motor boat and to reach the outskirts of the Sundarban Reserve Forest. Mostly, all lodges and hotels are situated at Pakhiralaya on Satjelia island,, but the ones as mentioned in Stay options are located quite a distance from Pakhiralaya on three different island. So does one keep on moving in the boat from one island to island to another in search of accomodation, which is again not provided by the two other listed providers other than the Govt accomodation that is Chital? Besides why don't you'll understand that even these two providers provide package tours and not rooms exclusively, which means one has to avail their package tours to enjoy the benefit of staying at their camps.

Let's take a hypothecal situation. You start from Kolkata by transport arranged by yourself .... fine no problem, you can arrange it yourself. You reach Gothkhali and start hunting for providers who would provide you the launches on hire. That itself is a difficult proposition on Public holidays and weekends during the winter. And even if you find one you are unsure of accomodation in other lodges which are not as decent as these two. So where do you land ??? You are indirectly forced to accept packages offered by ONLY these two providers.So what mistake have other provider's done??? Why should not one go with an arranged trip from Kolkata and be relieved with the tension of putting up in any hotel.

Another vital and important aspect is getting permissions from the Forest Department to visit the Sunderbans national Park. There is a restriction on the daily number of launches given permission to enter the creeks and rivers. So one may reach the forest office to find they are not allowed to go that day??? Is it JUSTIFIED ??? Would any of my friend want such an unsavory situation on a trip, say with your small kids and family??? Is it not indirectly putting tourists in even odd situation?

When tour organisers have prior knowledge of the number of persons doing the trip through them they get the prior permission of the Forest department. That ultimately benefits the tourists.They are assured of the visit to the Forest that day only.

So I think, the listings of tour operators other than the three should be allowed.Besides, I am not asking why any one or two particular provider should be listed, I feel all of them should be listed as they provide packages at different rates to suit everyones budget. Besides package tours of the other two providers are not within the reach of everyone to afford.So by providing listing to these two you are depriving people to look for other options.

If you want, you can put a clause that only Members of Tourism Service providers or Travel agents Association should only be listed.

I think I have been able to provide some points for my friends to ponder and reconsider listing the other providers as well. Chourasia —The preceding comment was added by (WT-en) 59.93.241.70 (talk • contribs)

There may be a reasonable case for allowing the inclusion of tour agents for Sundarbans. Given all the problems we have had at Wikivoyage with deceitful Indian tour agents/touts, it would be preferable if any such tour agents were added by real world users rather than the owner of the business.--(WT-en) Burmesedays 05:54, 11 July 2011 (EDT)

Dear friends, Here is a piece of news published in the "Telegraph" newspaper in Kolkata as well as on "traveltechie" which clearly points to the absence and the difficulties of good accommodation even the state run lodge (Sundarbans Chital as listed in stay" : Weblink : http://www.traveltechie.com/news/West-Bengal-Tourism-Minister-wants-safaris-into-the-Sunderbans-core-area/2117

Saturday 09-Jul-2011 West Bengal Tourism Minister wants safaris into the Sunderbans core area

Also to set up more Tourist facilities at Dooars

  By  Traveltechie Bureau | Mumbai

Better accommodation, river cruise, sea sports and safaris into the Sunderbans core area — state tourism minister Rachhpal Singh promised these and more while inaugurating an event last week.

as per a report in the Telegraph, blaming the previous Left Govt., the minister pointed out that lodges owned by the Tourism Department didn’t have basic amenities and over the years, the department had not undertaken any scheme to highlight Bengal’s tourism potential.

“The tourism department only runs these lodges, and those too are in a ramshackle condition. You need to pull strings or run from pillar to post to get accommodation in these lodges. We just found out that liquor licences meant for the tourism department have been rented out to private parties. No wonder that places like Dooars, Darjeeling and the Sunderbans don’t have any facilities,” the minister said. “Why should only ministers have access to the core jungle area of the Sunderbans? What will the others go to see… the grass?”

To shore up the state’s tourism prospects, it’s back to the districts. “All the districts have so much to offer; this has been completely ignored. We are now trying to look at possibilities for development — be it Jairambati, Kalna, Hooghly or the Plassey site. We are already working on a small Ganga project at Chandernagore. We are developing the place and starting a cruise. We are also planning to introduce sea sports in Digha,” said Singh. The department is working on a website that will help travellers with information apart from letting them buy tickets and make reservations online.

The state forest and tourism departments have decided to add more tourist facilities and improve the existing once in the Dooars before the Pujas. The departments have also asked private investors to develop places outside the forest areas in the region to attract visitors.

````Sandeep Chourasia

Please restore the original portions. 59.93.207.21 13:31, 20 July 2011 (EDT)chourasia

The facilities in Sundarbans are not that travel friendly and persons visiting those places have to face a lot of problems. Check out the article copied above. this article also states the problem as :

“The tourism department only runs these lodges, and those too are in a ramshackle condition. You need to pull strings or run from pillar to post to get accommodation in these lodges.

The tourism department lodge is the "Sunder Chital Tourist Lodge," as mentioned under stay. So you can clearly understand the need for travel agents to coordinate the travel, the motor boats, the boat safaries, as well as the accomodation. So the intervention of travel agents in this area is A NECESSITY and not just a mere piece of advertisement.

I think we should come to a consensus and allow travel agents listing in Sundarbans at least. —The preceding comment was added by (WT-en) NamasteIndia (talk • contribs)

The number of bluelinked destinations in Southeast Bengal is very high (25) and I want to reduce it at least below 20. Previously, I had split the region into subregions, which quickly turns out to be inefficient and has to be reverted. So I want to resort to other methods to reduce the number of destinations. Since Bakkhali and Sagar Island are often consider parts of the Sundarbans, I propose to merge them to Sundarbans National Park and rename the park itself to Sundarbans (West Bengal). Sbb1413 (he) (talk • contribs) 09:19, 2 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

Support per nom. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 07:49, 3 October 2022 (UTC)Reply