Friday, November 25, 2016

Wildlife Destinations Near Bhubaneswar

Bhitarkanika National Park, 3h 54 min



The Bhitarkanika National Park is located in eastern India’s Orissa state in the Kendrapara District. The park has been declared as a national park since 1998. The park is surrounded by large tracts of wilderness including the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, the Marine Sanctuary, and the Gahirmatha Beach.

The National Park is noted for its saltwater crocodiles, white crocodiles, the highly venomous King cobra, the Indian python, birds like darters and black ibis. A number of rivers like the Dhamra, Baitarni, Pathsala, and Brahmani inundate the sanctuary.




Balukhand Konark Wildlife Sanctuary, 1h 33 min



The Balukhand Konark Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Orissa, India and was designated so in 1984. The sanctuary encompasses an area of 72 square km along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The sanctuary is located between the towns of Konark and Puri. Coastal dunes, sandy beaches, and groves of Casuarina trees and cashew plantations form the landscape of the Balukhand Konark Wildlife Sanctuary. Blackbucks, olive ridley sea turtles are two notable animals sighted in the wildlife sanctuary.


Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary, 13 min


The Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary is located on the Eastern Ghats’ Khurda uplands in the north western fringe of Bhubaneswar in Orissa. Rolling tableland and small hillocks form the landscape of this sanctuary which was designated as a protected area in 1982.

The Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary houses the Indian elephant as the most notable species of this protected area. The other animals found here include the barking deer, mouse deer, chital, rhesus monkey, langur, sloth bear, hyena, Indian wolf, pangolin, mongoose, and others. The leopard is the apex predator of this ecosystem. Chital is commonly encountered on the way to the sanctuary. Another good news is, in 2012, after 40 long years, researchers found evidence of the existence of a tigress and her cubs in the Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary.

Birds like peafowl, serpent eagle, great horned owl, paradise flycatchers, stone curlew, pintail, Brahminy duck, white-eyed pochard, cotton teal and more can be sighted in the Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary. Reptiles like the rock python, Russell’s viper, common krait, mugger crocodiles and others also thrive in the sanctuary.




Simlipal National Park, approx 3 h 40 min




A tiger reserve and national park located in Orissa’s Mayurbhanj district, the Simlipal National Park is part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve which also includes the Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary and the Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary. Since 2009, this reserve is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The red silk cotton trees or the semul trees growing here in plenty lend the national park its name. The park, with 845.70 square kilometres of protected area, houses some beautiful waterfalls like the Barehipani and Joranda.

99 royal Bengal tigers, 432 Indian elephants, gaurs, chausingha, and an orchidarium are the most notable features of this national park.




Chilika Lake, 1h 40 min by train



The Chilika Lake is a large brackish water lagoon that covers an area of 1,100 square km in the Puri, Ganjam, and Khurda districts of Orissa. The lake begins at the mouth of the Daya River and drains into the Bay of Bengal. It is the world’s second largest coastal lagoon and the largest one in India. The Chilika Lake is the biggest wintering grounds for migratory birds in India and provides shelter to a large number of threatened plants and animals. Over 132 villages are settled along the banks of this lagoon where fishing is the main source of livelihood.




Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary




The Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is famous for being one of the most important nesting sites of the rare olive ridley sea turtles. The sanctuary extends from the mouth of the Dhamra River in the north to the mouth of the Mahanadi River in the south.




Hadagarh Wildlife Sanctuary, 3h 25 min

Located on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts of northeastern Orissa is the Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary which spreads over an area of 192 square km. Sal forests dominate the landscape of this sanctuary. Tigers, leopards, fishing cats, jungle cats are some of the predatory mammals found in the park. Elephants, several species of deer, pangolins, hyenas, langurs, and a great diversity of colorful birds, venomous snakes and other reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates also inhabit the park.




Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, 3h 27 min



The Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the most famous sanctuaries of Orissa and is located in the state’s Balasore district in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region where it spans an area of 272.75 square km. The Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary houses an incredible array of wild flora and fauna. The Royal Bengal tiger, the giant squirrel, peafowl, leopard, elephant, gaur, hornbills, several migratory birds, reptiles, hill myna, and more can be spotted in this sanctuary.




Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary, 17 min



The Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary is part of the 400-hectare Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. The park was established in 1960 and opened to public 19 years later. The zoo and botanical garden at the park are its most notable features. The Nandankanan Zoological Park is located in the  Chandaka forest’s environs and includes the Kanjia Lake as part of its landscape. 

The zoo houses around 1660 animals that represent 166 species. 67 mammalian, 81 avians and 18 reptilian species are present at the zoo. The zoo is known to be well kept as the death rate of animals here is 3.1% much lower than the national average of 10%. Asiatic lion, lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Indian pangolin, mouse deer, crocodiles, freshwater fish, turtles, and snakes can be seen in this park. The Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary is also famous for its collection of white tigers which are descendants of tigers bred in captivity and are not found in the wild.




Satkosia Tiger Reserve, 2h 38 min



The Satkosia Tiger Reserve is located in Orissa’s Angul district and encompasses an area of 988.30 square km. The reserve’s landscape is formed by the Mahanadi River flowing through a 22 km long gorge in the Eastern Ghats. Mixed deciduous forests cover the land in the reserve The Tiger Reserve includes the Saktosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary and the  Baisipalli Wildlife Sanctuary. Bears, spotted deer, sambar deer, leopards, and elephants inhabit the forests of this reserve.





3 comments:

  1. It's really very well and informative content given about Bhitarkanika National Park, 3h 54 min. Thanks for given this information here about this blog.
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  2. Thank you for ur kind information it was very helpful

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