Sundarbans, literally means beautiful forest, is a combined forest in Bangladesh and India and a haven for photographers and travelers, and is the biggest mangrove forest in the world and is a treasure island of biodiversity. The Sundarbans has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The part of the forest within Indian Territory is called Sundarbans National Park and is in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The Sundarbans cover an area of 38,500 sq km, of which about one-third is covered in water/marsh areas. Since 1966 the Sundarbans have been a wildlife sanctuary, and it is estimated that there are now 400 Royal Bengal tigers and about 30,000 spotted deer in the area.
