A Sublime Experience

Odisha, with its beaches, temples, Buddhist sites and marvellous wildlife, harbours tremendous appeal for every kind of traveller. Cradled between the sun-kissed beaches of the Bay of Bengal and the dense forests of the Eastern Ghats, Odisha, the land of temples, is an experience that is at once sublime and aesthetically invigorating.

Nature 

Chilika Lake 
Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon with estuarine character, Chilika is a wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian subcontinent. It offers tourists a spectacular display of avian acrobatics by over 160 species in a myriad hues in the peak season between November and February.

The Chilika Wildlife Sanctuary, spread over 1,100 sq km, is one of the most important wetlands in the world, being home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals, and an extraordinary variety of resident and migratory birds. Its Nalabana Island, which covers 16 sq km of the lagoon area, teems with nesting birds that include flamingos, ospreys, golden plovers, sandpipers, white- bellied sea eagles, Brahminy kites, spotbilled pelicans, spoonbills, avocets, and ibises from Central Asia, Iran and Siberia. The sanctuary also envelopes in its verdant folds blackbuck, chital, golden jackals, hyenas and several other feline and canine species. While Chilika is an ecosystem with large fishery resources and boasts a wealth of marine life, including 225 or more species of fishes, crabs, prawns and limbless lizards, it is particularly famed for the Irrawady dolphins. Purshottam Das, a poet-saint of odisha and ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath, wrote a poem on Lord Krishna 400 years ago. The ode describes Krishna dancing with Maniki, a milkmaid who was vending curd on the shore of Chilika. Even today, one may see the Manikagauda village in the lagoon!

Bhitarkanika
Bhitarkanika is derived from two oriya words—’Bhitar’ meaning interior and ‘Kanika’ meaning that which is extraordinarily beautiful. Three rivers, Brahmin, Baitarani and Patasala, flow out to sea at Bhitarkanika, forming a tidal maze of muddy creeks and mangroves. Bhitarkanika, a hot-spot of biodiversity, covers 672 sq km of mangrove forests and wetland. It is home to the largest population of giant salt water crocodiles in India, earning the status of a crocodile sanctuary. Hundreds of massive estuarine crocodiles bask on mudflats. The sanctuary is also one of the largest rookeries for Olive Ridley sea turtles, and the second largest viable mangrove ecosystem in the country with over 70 varieties of mangroves that serve as a nesting ground for its large migratory avian population. 

It is deemed one of Asia’s most impressive wildlife sanctuaries with a crisscrossing network of brooks, rivers, estuaries, backwaters and mudflats, with the Bay of Bengal on the east. An ideal trekking, camping and picnic site, Bhitarkanika is accessed only by boat. Birdwatchers and photography buffs will have a field day, capturing eight species of brilliantly coloured kingfishers, in addition to other bird species.

Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary 

The first and only marine sanctuary of Odisha, it stretches from the Dhamra river mouth in the north to the Mahanadi river mouth in the south and forms part of the Bhitarkanika National Park. It comprises mudflats, mangroves and sea beaches, covering 1,408 sq km. Since time immemorial, the virgin sandy beaches of the sanctuary have served as a hatchery for the Olive Ridley sea turtles that migrate en masse from the Indian ocean during the winter. Tens of thousands of turtles congregate on the sands of Gahirmatha until the end of March. In view of its ecological importance and to protect the sea turtles, the government of Odisha declared Gahirmatha a turtle sanctuary in 1979.

Simlipal National Park

The Simlipal National Park, once a hunting preserve of the Mayurbhanj maharajas, is a wildlife haven at an altitude of 559.31 m, and one of India’s biggest tiger sanctuaries, extending over 2,750 sq km within a larger 4,374-sq-km biosphere reserve. Since 2009, it has been a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Simlipal, which is set on a wide expanse of sal forests, has innumerable medicinal and aromatic plants that serve as a source of income for its tribal population. It derives its name from the abundance of simul or red silk cotton trees that bloom here. It is an expansive blend of the Western Ghat, Eastern Ghat and sub-Himalayan floral species and boasts an astonishing 1,076 varieties of flowers and 96 species of orchids.

With variegated topography studded with perennial streams, rivers, waterfalls, gorges, valleys and peaks, Simlipal is home to a range of wild animals, fishes and birds. It is home to three of India’s biggest animal species—the tiger, Asian elephant and gaur. Simlipal is famed for Project Tiger, initiated in May 1973 and the Mugger Crocodile Scheme that began in 1979.
With its undulating hilly terrain, Simlipal offers all grades of trekking challenges to adventure-seekers.

Ushakothi Wildlife Sanctuary

The Badrama Wildlife Sanctuary, more popularly known by the town where it is located, Ushakothi, is between the Wardha and Penganga rivers. According to legend, sage Vashisht created the Wardha river which also goes by the name of River Vashisht. Ushakothi, declared a sanctuary in 1962, is filled with deciduous forests of casuarina, arjun, sal, acacia and neem trees.

Enjoy a jeep safari in the depths of its jungles and observe up close the panthers for which the sanctuary is famed, besides tigers, hyenas, wild boar and a host of other animals. If you are lucky, you could spot sloth bears who make their way to the water-bodies at night. Capture on your digital devices from atop one of the two 30-foot watch towers the beauty of the wilderness, the creatures of the jungle, and the racquet-tailed drongos and flying squirrels which are the prime attractions.

Satkosia Gorge and Wildlife Sanctuary

Satkosia, at the confluence of the Deccan peninsula and the Eastern Ghats, has an exclusive geomorphology as the Mahanadi plunges through the Eastern Ghats to form a 22-km gorge. The Satkosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary spans
1,330 sq km and was established in 1976. It was declared a tiger reserve in 2007, comprising the Satkosia Gorge and Baisipalli Sanctuaries, spread over Angul, Budh, Cuttack and Nayagarh districts of Odisha. The Mahanadi elephant reserve and the Gharial Breeding Project are significant aspects of the sanctuary. Covered with dry deciduous forests and moist peninsular sal forests, the sanctuary is a natural habitat for a host of wild creatures, including muggers, fresh water turtles and a variety of snakes.

Gopalpur —on-Sea 
Gopalpur-on-Sea is a port city with pristine beaches fringed by coconut groves and casuarinas. The small town is picturesque with rolling hills descending dramatically upon the Bay of Bengal. Gopalpur offers sailing, surfing, scuba diving, rowing and swimming. In addition, you can go out to sea in paddle boats and on water scooters. 

Catch a glimpse of the glorious history of the once- humming seaport, palpable from the crumbling walls and pillars of the jetty. The town, which was left to slide into history by the British, was rediscovered by holidaymakers from Bengal in the early 1980s. The annual Gopalpur Beach Festival in December sees the town thrum with activity.

Puri Beach

 
This beach has become synonymous with devotees who bathe here before offering obeisance to its deity, Jagannath, and his siblings at the temple. The Beach Festival that takes place in November draws beach-lovers from India and abroad. The sand sculptures, especially by the world acclaimed artist, Sudarshan Patnaik, add their own magic. The beach at Pun is unique in that it offers stunning views of both sunrise and sunset. With its warm sea-lapped beach that abounds in water sports, Pun offers a sublime as well as invigorating experience to tourists and vacationers.

For more details: Budget Tours India & Wildlife Tour India