Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary
Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary
Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary
4.5
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4.5
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BGIP
Bengaluru, India160 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
A must visit place while touring Odisha. Amazing mangrove forest one of its kind, located in the estuarial region of Brahmani-Baitarani rivers and a world famous place for natural crocodile breeding. The morning boat safari is truly mesmerizing. We saw a few big crocodiles, so many baby crocodiles, Monitor lizards, many spotted deer and so many birds including colorful Kingfishers,. The Information center at Dangmal has a ticket counter, very nice museum, amazing crocodile hatchery, coffee shop, wash rooms and a boating point. There is a boating point in Khola too. There are number of resorts and homestays in and around Dangmal where one can stay.
Written 19 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mitali
9 contributions
Aug 2022
It was a 4 hour boat ride and we were submerged with excitement and joy.For us luckily it was heavily clouded with bit of rain which gives different dimension.
This jungle will not disappoint you. It is not crowded as sundarban which makes you feel more close to the nature.
This jungle will not disappoint you. It is not crowded as sundarban which makes you feel more close to the nature.
Written 20 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jiya
1 contribution
Jan 2021 • Family
It's horrible..
There is nothing..
Waste of money..
Boat ride cost Rs. 2500
And the national park has nothing expect only two crocodiles.. Per person ticket Rs. 40
It's like a village..
No animals.
Nothing...
Don't go and waste your money and time..
I've followed the google images , but in reality there is nothing...
Nadankanan is far more best than this place ..
I think even cuttack's deer Park is better than this place.
There is nothing..
Waste of money..
Boat ride cost Rs. 2500
And the national park has nothing expect only two crocodiles.. Per person ticket Rs. 40
It's like a village..
No animals.
Nothing...
Don't go and waste your money and time..
I've followed the google images , but in reality there is nothing...
Nadankanan is far more best than this place ..
I think even cuttack's deer Park is better than this place.
Written 7 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kumardip
Kolkata (Calcutta), India549 contributions
Apr 2012 • Friends
On a weekends we have decided to visit Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, it was the month of April and we were 3 in a group. It was a calm and quite place to enjoy your weekends , but I must mention reaching to that destination is a real pain. It will get on your nerve. Though in most of the forums (including the govt websites) it is mentioned the nearest railway station is Bhadrak , but it is not at all a helpful information. 2 of my friends have decided to come from kolkata and I was going there from Bhubaneswar. But the roads and communication to the place were terrible. from Bhubaneswar it was only 170 kilometers by road and one can get a direct bus to till gupti (entrance of the sanctuary) , but it was very much time consuming , took almost 8 hours to reach 170 kilometers, and one need to change the bus at rajanagar. From bhadrak no one even knows about the place. There is no bus communication. Only way is : you have to book a cab which will cost you around 2300rs till rajanagar. Before entering the wildlife one must issue permission from the rajanagar forest department office. The charges for entrance and room rents were so minimum (around 300 rs room rent for 3 persons per night). Rajanagar to gupti is around 25 kilometers , and one can hardly get a bus, shuttles are available , costs you around 200 rs to reach gupti. From there you need to ride a boat for almost 3 hours (around 9 kilometers) journey , last boat for bhitarkanika leaves @ 5:00 pm . in case someone will reach gupti after 5pm , he / she needs to spend their night @ gupti govt holiday home. The next possible boat will be the morning one. Though gupti is avery small village (around 30-40 houses nearby) but one can manage dinner from there and the caretaker is helpful indeed. Morning boat takes around 2.5 hrs to reach bhitarkanika, It will depend on your luck whether you will be able to see any crocodile or not. Around afternoon there is a trekking trip (for 2 hours) inside the forest , a lots of dear , boar , kingfisher , cranes are visible. There is a decent fooding arrangement at Bhitarkanika camp , you might get prawn , and crabs on request , but those are not at all cheap, costs around 200 rs per plate for crab. Normal lunch and dinner (meal system) costs around 100 rs per person. Rooms were not so decent, it can be said just a roof over the head. Even there were only a single table fan for a room of 3 persons. Anyway it was not a place for luxury , a very remote area indeed. Overall it was a nice trip, but the to and fro journey will suck up all your energy.
Written 2 July 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alok M
Bhubaneswar, India12 contributions
Nov 2012 • Friends
We started from Bhubaneswar by 11am. ..since it is located at Rajnagar and not Chandipur..so we went thru Cuttack then Kendrapara.. then Pattamundai and lastly reached at Rajnagar...parked our vehicle..got on the motor driven boat..called as " luncher " in local language..crossed Brahamini river and arrived at Sand Pebbles Jungle Resort...at around 5:30pm. the resort is awesome..more than our expectation...we took one tent house ..which may be called as Swiss tent..weather proof..in evening snacks pokoda) were ready with tea..night bonfire was aranged by the resort...then we had an awesome dinner and went to bed early as we had to wake up early in the morning for site visit. as decided ..woke up by 5:30am and enjoyed the beautiful morning inside the resort campus..got ready for site visit. Took another motorised boat with loal guide and started our journey inside the mangroves of Bhitakanika...searching for Crocodiles. ..while we are riding more towards the depth of mangroves our eyes were looking for the crocodiles...but we could not find any as the river was overflowing with flood waters....after 2hrs of boat ride we couldnot find any single crocodiles except some wild birds ...then we reached on Dangmal island..where we visited the breeding centre of WHITE crocodile....also we saw one legged crabs...then we waled around 5km inside the dense forest to reach other side of the river...then we went to see the " Ban Gahan"---bird sanctuary....then what happend to us is unbelievable...while returning back to our resort we saw crocodiles laying on the river bed as the water level of river had been reduced. one after another....different sizes...black...brown...we just could not believe ourselves....simultaneously we were keep on asking our local guide whether we are safe in the middle of the river surrounded by so many crocodiles....unbelievable!!! So many crocodiles... i think it is the largest crocodile park ...then we returned to our resort had our lunch ( fish curry and rice) relaxed for some time and started for Bhubaneswar leaving behind the Crocodiles and Bhitakanika National Park....
Written 18 October 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
me_odisha
Bhubaneswar, India4 contributions
Feb 2011 • Couples
Our stay for Two days & One night at the Bhitarkanika National Park was an amazing experience. The Nature Trails & Jungle Creeks, Crocodiles, Birds, Water Monitor Lizards & lots more to explore in the Amazons of Orissa ( Odisha ). Our stay in the Luxurious Swiss Tents ( by www.bhitarkanikatour.com ) at "Nature Camp" resort run by a private tour operator was really wonderful.
Written 22 July 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CaptainBasu
Kolkata (Calcutta), India163 contributions
Mar 2017 • Friends
Bhitarkanika gives you the perfect picture of calm and serene Orissa backwaters and it's mangrove forests. It's home to few of the world's largest crocodile as per the Guinness book, largest being 23 feet and believe me, they are not scarce. We did see a few more than 20-feet on our river ride through the backwaters. The concentration of crocodiles here is one of the highest in the world - over 1600 by last count as per local forest guides. The waters are, in the truest sense, filled with monsters.
There are also numerous birds, including numerous species of Kingfishers, eagles, migratory birds, etc. Making this a bird lovers' Paradise. Wild boars, porcupines and snakes are also found, though rarely.
Here are some useful tips:
1. Drive route from Kolkata: There are two alternate routes to follow when coming from Kolkata. One - if you wish to take your car all the way to the forest resort. Here is this route:
Bhadrak -Chandikhol-Kendrapara-Pattamundai-Rajnagar-Jarimula-Khola Gate.
The drive took us about 10 hours, with very few stops in-between. That's 5 hours for the first 400 KMs, which is the National highway and then 5 hours for the last 100, which are totally in shambles, and is majorly under construction.
This route is about 200kms more than the shortest route, which is as follows.
2. Route Two - if you don't mind parking your car on one side of the river (which your resort can arrange) and crossing the river by boat, you can go via the alternate route -
Bhadrak - Asurali - Aradi - Bhitarkanika.
Google maps will show you this second drive route, since it is 200 Kms and 3 hours shorter. Remember, you will find yourself on one side of the river with no way to cross it by car. Please talk to the resort to clarify this.
3. If attempting to reach by train, Bhadrak is still your nearest station after which a car can be arranged (by the resort to in certain cases) to reach using route two above.
4. Resort booking: We stayed in the Seven sands resort which is privately owned and close to the national park entrance, but a better and cheaper choice is to book the forest bungalow, which is situated deeper in the forest. You will find deer roaming around in the campus if you stay here.
6. The backwaters view: We hired a boat for the meandering ride thru the mangrove forest and this was memorable! It was serene and calm as we rode through the backwaters, spotting birds, deer, monkeys and numerous Crocs.
They were everywhere - sunbathing on the river bank, swimming in the channel, coming up on the banks, etc.
Our guide (you need a guide to spot animals here) was quite active in spotting and showing us the crocodiles hiding behind the bushes at times. It took us about 4 and a half hours, and we were back just before lunch. This also included an hour of a trek through the jungle (about 2kms) where we expected to see porcupines, king cobras, and wild boars. However, it rained and none showed up. Besides, there was an open space in the jungle which was chilling cold during the rains and we had to turn back soon. There is another longer trek of 5kms and you can attempt this if you have time.
7. Other attractions: We were here for a day only but were told that there is a beach which is about 4hours ride along the backwaters. Reaching the place and coming back to Kolkata took us a day each and there was no time for this.
8. Way back to Kolkata: On our way back we stopped to take a look at Udaygiri, Lalith giri and stone sculpture villages of Orissa. This took us three additional hours and starting at 9am from Bhitarkanika we reached Kolkata at midnight.
9. Pro tips: Prepare for Bhitarkanika on an SUV, with rain gear, binoculars and a good camera for sure. Wear sturdy footwear and do not sit on the edge of a boat. You do not want to fall in the crocodile infested waters of Bhitarkanika.
There are also numerous birds, including numerous species of Kingfishers, eagles, migratory birds, etc. Making this a bird lovers' Paradise. Wild boars, porcupines and snakes are also found, though rarely.
Here are some useful tips:
1. Drive route from Kolkata: There are two alternate routes to follow when coming from Kolkata. One - if you wish to take your car all the way to the forest resort. Here is this route:
Bhadrak -Chandikhol-Kendrapara-Pattamundai-Rajnagar-Jarimula-Khola Gate.
The drive took us about 10 hours, with very few stops in-between. That's 5 hours for the first 400 KMs, which is the National highway and then 5 hours for the last 100, which are totally in shambles, and is majorly under construction.
This route is about 200kms more than the shortest route, which is as follows.
2. Route Two - if you don't mind parking your car on one side of the river (which your resort can arrange) and crossing the river by boat, you can go via the alternate route -
Bhadrak - Asurali - Aradi - Bhitarkanika.
Google maps will show you this second drive route, since it is 200 Kms and 3 hours shorter. Remember, you will find yourself on one side of the river with no way to cross it by car. Please talk to the resort to clarify this.
3. If attempting to reach by train, Bhadrak is still your nearest station after which a car can be arranged (by the resort to in certain cases) to reach using route two above.
4. Resort booking: We stayed in the Seven sands resort which is privately owned and close to the national park entrance, but a better and cheaper choice is to book the forest bungalow, which is situated deeper in the forest. You will find deer roaming around in the campus if you stay here.
6. The backwaters view: We hired a boat for the meandering ride thru the mangrove forest and this was memorable! It was serene and calm as we rode through the backwaters, spotting birds, deer, monkeys and numerous Crocs.
They were everywhere - sunbathing on the river bank, swimming in the channel, coming up on the banks, etc.
Our guide (you need a guide to spot animals here) was quite active in spotting and showing us the crocodiles hiding behind the bushes at times. It took us about 4 and a half hours, and we were back just before lunch. This also included an hour of a trek through the jungle (about 2kms) where we expected to see porcupines, king cobras, and wild boars. However, it rained and none showed up. Besides, there was an open space in the jungle which was chilling cold during the rains and we had to turn back soon. There is another longer trek of 5kms and you can attempt this if you have time.
7. Other attractions: We were here for a day only but were told that there is a beach which is about 4hours ride along the backwaters. Reaching the place and coming back to Kolkata took us a day each and there was no time for this.
8. Way back to Kolkata: On our way back we stopped to take a look at Udaygiri, Lalith giri and stone sculpture villages of Orissa. This took us three additional hours and starting at 9am from Bhitarkanika we reached Kolkata at midnight.
9. Pro tips: Prepare for Bhitarkanika on an SUV, with rain gear, binoculars and a good camera for sure. Wear sturdy footwear and do not sit on the edge of a boat. You do not want to fall in the crocodile infested waters of Bhitarkanika.
Written 13 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
saradabhagavathy
Mysuru (Mysore), India373 contributions
Sept 2012 • Family
We went to the Bhitarkanika National park not from Chandipur, but from Rajnagar through Khola gate. We reached the Sand Pebbles Jungle Resort around 12.30 p.m. Here tents provide the only accommodation and we wanted a different experience of stay; so we had chosen these Swiss tents - all weather proof; with zippable double doors - one is completely closing and the other netted door to keep away the insects, but let in air and light. There are cute ventilators too; and each tent has an attached bath. After a sumptuous, authentic Orissan lunch we left for the boat ride around 1.30 p.m.
Bhitarkanika is an estuarine mangrove forest surrounded by rivers like Brahmi and Baitarani and the Bay of Bengal. The forest is criss-crossed by a number of creeks. After a 45 minutes ride we reached the Dangmal island. As we crossed over to the island through a foot bridge, I could see many red little things down in the slush which I first mistook for some berries; they are actually the Fiddler crabs. Till then I had seen only brown crabs and not red crabs.
As we were happily chatting and walking, my daughter accidentally noticed a monitor lizard right next to us! We went to the museum here maintained under the crocodile conservation project. Actually every year during July - August, this is closed to the public for crocodile breeding. In the museum we could see the skulls and skeleton of crocodiles, preserved pythons, a tiger trap and so on. In the project area we found a number of spotted deer roaming about freely and different kinds of crocodiles are kept in enclosures. Here we could see the white crocodile with black dots - very rare and very distinct from the common muddy loathsome crocodiles.
We continued our boat ride; every now and then a crocodile from the banks would speed into the creek and try giving our boat a chase! The very peaceful creek with the lush green mangrove forest on both the sides the gathering clouds and the rain playing hide and seek with us! Totally cut off from the maddening crowds and polluting vehicles and menacing noise; we could feel the meaning of the word 'tranquility'!
We reached another island where there is a heronry. We had to walk for quite some distance on the narrow stone slabs; as you step on each slab, a few crabs would come up from below; at one point, a 1.5 foot long snake crossed my daughter's feet; on another slab we could find a four foot long white moult of a snake. On both the sides we could see pools of water and thousands of stubs - these are the pneumatophores or the breathing roots. These are characteristic of the trees growing in water logged marshy swamps, where the roots grow up to get oxygen! We reached the watch tower and went up the same. From the top we could see at a distance, all the tree tops being covered not with leaves and flowers but herons of different kinds! That being the evening time we could see a number of them just landing! It was already 4.30 p.m. and the trek to the bird sanctuary was another 3 kms. So we didn't go trekking.
Perhaps to make up for what we missed the enthusiastic boatmen took us through winding creeks until it joined the Brahmi river. The ocean-like expanse of water, the arching horizon, the thick black clouds and the absolute silence seemed to have transported us to an altogether different world! By about 6.30 p.m. we returned to our tents; and that night it poured like anything! Thank God, the rains did not play spoilsport during our boatride!
Bhitarkanika is an estuarine mangrove forest surrounded by rivers like Brahmi and Baitarani and the Bay of Bengal. The forest is criss-crossed by a number of creeks. After a 45 minutes ride we reached the Dangmal island. As we crossed over to the island through a foot bridge, I could see many red little things down in the slush which I first mistook for some berries; they are actually the Fiddler crabs. Till then I had seen only brown crabs and not red crabs.
As we were happily chatting and walking, my daughter accidentally noticed a monitor lizard right next to us! We went to the museum here maintained under the crocodile conservation project. Actually every year during July - August, this is closed to the public for crocodile breeding. In the museum we could see the skulls and skeleton of crocodiles, preserved pythons, a tiger trap and so on. In the project area we found a number of spotted deer roaming about freely and different kinds of crocodiles are kept in enclosures. Here we could see the white crocodile with black dots - very rare and very distinct from the common muddy loathsome crocodiles.
We continued our boat ride; every now and then a crocodile from the banks would speed into the creek and try giving our boat a chase! The very peaceful creek with the lush green mangrove forest on both the sides the gathering clouds and the rain playing hide and seek with us! Totally cut off from the maddening crowds and polluting vehicles and menacing noise; we could feel the meaning of the word 'tranquility'!
We reached another island where there is a heronry. We had to walk for quite some distance on the narrow stone slabs; as you step on each slab, a few crabs would come up from below; at one point, a 1.5 foot long snake crossed my daughter's feet; on another slab we could find a four foot long white moult of a snake. On both the sides we could see pools of water and thousands of stubs - these are the pneumatophores or the breathing roots. These are characteristic of the trees growing in water logged marshy swamps, where the roots grow up to get oxygen! We reached the watch tower and went up the same. From the top we could see at a distance, all the tree tops being covered not with leaves and flowers but herons of different kinds! That being the evening time we could see a number of them just landing! It was already 4.30 p.m. and the trek to the bird sanctuary was another 3 kms. So we didn't go trekking.
Perhaps to make up for what we missed the enthusiastic boatmen took us through winding creeks until it joined the Brahmi river. The ocean-like expanse of water, the arching horizon, the thick black clouds and the absolute silence seemed to have transported us to an altogether different world! By about 6.30 p.m. we returned to our tents; and that night it poured like anything! Thank God, the rains did not play spoilsport during our boatride!
Written 1 October 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nishant P
22 contributions
Mar 2020
Bhitarkanika is truly a wilderness gem of India. It is among the few wilderness areas of India which in 21st century can still be called pristine and near virgin. Thanks to its remoteness and lack of information that virginity could be maintained. It was a painful experience to find information and reach Bhitarkanika. Most information on Bhitarkanika is incomplete or just plain wrong, and whatever information is present hides more than it reveals.
I wanted to visit Bhitarkanika from Puri. A day before I had traveled to Konark from Bhubhaneshwar, a 60 KM journey, on a local bus which took almost four hours, so I desperately wanted to avoid bus travel to Bhitarkanika which is more remote than Konark. I spent many hours on internet researching on possible routes and how to reach Bhitarkanika, I could not find proper information. There are two major towns, Chandbali and Gupti, from where people can go into Bhitakanika. Gupti on map looked near but that involved about 200 KM of bus travel. So I decided to take 5:45 AM morning Shatabdi train from Puri to Bhadrak and then take a local bus to Chandbali. My initial plan was to spend two days in Bhitarkanika and stay at OTDC Habalikhati beach nature camp. This plan was soon to go down the drain. Shatabdi train was good but the trouble started when I got on the bus from Bhadrak. I boarded bus at 9:45 AM and expected to reach Chandbali (about 60 KM) in two hours. After 4 hours of a painful journey I reached Chandbali around 12 Noon. I thought probably worst has passed and it cannot go bad anymore. Again I was so wrong. To go to Habalikhati I had to take another 3 hours of boat journey and since toruist season was nearly over there was nobody I could share the boat with and I had to hire the boat by paying around Rs. 4000. I was so tired of travel I decided to stay for a night at OTDC Aaranyanivas in Chandbali expecting to take a short boat ride that evening from Chandbali or go for some bird watching. First Chandbali is not what you expect. On google maps it looked on the forest boundary and I expected if I had to stay for a night at Chandbali I can still expect a peaceful and quiet stay near Jungle and can take some bird watching walks. Chandbali was too busy and too crowded than I expected. After checking in I went to wildlife office to inquire about boat but came across some very unhelpful staff which shooed me away and told me to come next morning at 6 AM. On further inquiry at hotel reception it became clear that boats run only from 6 AM to 12:30 PM. Both private and government run boats are available. Boats can go to multiple places and prices have been posted on a public notice board. All boats have to pay some fees to forest department, though journey prices can be negotiated with private boat operators. Boats can be shared with other people or can be privately hired but complete journey price has to be paid in advance. As this was the end of tourist season there was nobody with which I could share the boat. I realized that if I have to go inside Bhitarkanika I would have to pay the full price of the boat (Rs. 4000 plus fees for a trip to Dangamal, comes to nearly Rs. 4150), and have to wait till next morning.
Totally dejected and tired I thought my trip is totally wasted. I went back and asked if OTDC guys can arrange a shared boat with others who may be staying here. I was told nobody is available to share and if hire a boat from OTDC it will cost me Rs. 5120. As luck would have it a local guy was hearing our conversation and offered to arrange a private boat at Rs. 3000. Having come so far and realized that I had no other option I agreed, and from here on my luck and trip changed. I had lunch at OTDC and it was excellent!. On this journey till now I hadn't had any local Oriya cuisine. Restaurant cook (a very kind and polite person) prepared fish besar curry, rice, karela pakodas (fried bitter guard) and it was authentic Oriya food and incredibly delicious. If you stay at OTDC Chandbali I would highly recommend to have your meals here.
Having wasted the entire first day resting in my room and strolling around in the evening, next morning, after some initial delay I was able to board the boat at around 6:30 PM. Bhaitrani and Brahamani rivers are the biggest rivers in this area and Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary is at intersection of these rivers with saline water from Bay of Bengal. From Chandbali Bhaitrani river takes you into Bhitarkanika and looked having much more water than major rivers like Ganga or Yamuna. With the world still waking around us in the cool morning breeze I had the boat all to myself and it could not have been more magical. I got talking to my two boatmen and learnt that out of Rs. 3000 they will get only Rs. 300 for 7 hours of effort. But these guys were cheerful and added to all the fun I had in those 7 hours. It takes about 1.5 hours to reach the entry point of Bhitarkanika. After document check by the forest department provided and quick cup of tea we entered Bhitarkanika. We must not have been 200 meters from wildlife department checkpoint when we saw our first crocodile. Crocodile was partially submerged and did not seem that big. It was about 8 AM now and beginning to get a little hot in Mid March sun. Later on we saw many baby crocodiles resting on the mud banks but only saw a couple of adult crocs partially submerged in water. We kept going and with no boats around forest was too all ours. I had been told that in peak season there are many tourists and boats would have to wait half an hour to an hour just to get to bank. I felt lucky that though I did not see a lot of crocs but had an absolute tranquil noiseless surroundings. Locals tourist guides call Bhitarkanika 'Mini Amazon' and it was easy to see why. Though Bhitarkanika too has lost a lot of forests to human encroachment and farming but still a lot of it was left. Thanks to its 'unpopularity' (pun intended) it still feels virgin and pristine. Mangrove forests unlike deciduous forests have thick canopy cover and hundreds of small rivulets around it looked straight out of Discovery channel documentary on Amazon forests. Morning is a low tide time and we could see a lot of roots sticking out of mud which would get totally submerged in high tide about four hours from now. After another hour our stop was the crocodile hatchery in Dangamal. They also have a little museum in which they have kept skeletons of some crocodiles and other mangrove forest wildlife. One of the largest crocodile skeleton was 23 feets long and even with no flesh on, it looked menacingly deadly. Bhitarkanika is one of the few places in India to have all three types of crocodiles, Salt water crocodile, fresh water crocodile and alligators. An albino female crocodile 'gauri' has been kept in an artificial pond here. On the mud bank where we parked our boat I could see hundreds of small red-pink crabs and other small fish and insects. Just 100 meters ahead on other bank we stopped and one of the boat guys took me for a three kilometer hike in the forest. About half a kilometer beyond which water does not reaches even in high tide mangrove forest gave way to deciduous forest. I did see a couple of monitor lizards, spotted deer (chital) and kingfisher birds. Only spoiler on this hike was group of loud group of young men who we came across on our return. They did not seem to care that they are in the core area of forest and it were only interested in having some beers (and is highly likely they will leave bottles, cigrette butts and plastic packages behind). My intent to mention this is to request authorities to discourage these activities and catch some offenders. As responsible tourists people should speak about these activities so that we can save the last remaining forest and wildlife heritage we are left with.
Return journey took about 2.5 hours and in the hindsight I realized it turned quite well that I had to pay a high price to enjoy something which I could not have enjoyed with hundreds of selfie crazy tourists.
I had been to many forest areas in India and would rate this experience as among the best experiences I had in little but truly amazing remaining forests that India has.
Later I realized that there is a fast bus from Cuttack to Chandbali via Pattamundai which takes about 3.5 hours and costs only Rs. 130. There is another good option for travelers who do not have a vehicle with them and want to avoid all troubles I faced. OTDC organizes weekend day trips from Bhubhanewshwar which starts at 5 AM, returns by 7 PM and costs only Rs. 1700. I would highly recommend this.
I wanted to visit Bhitarkanika from Puri. A day before I had traveled to Konark from Bhubhaneshwar, a 60 KM journey, on a local bus which took almost four hours, so I desperately wanted to avoid bus travel to Bhitarkanika which is more remote than Konark. I spent many hours on internet researching on possible routes and how to reach Bhitarkanika, I could not find proper information. There are two major towns, Chandbali and Gupti, from where people can go into Bhitakanika. Gupti on map looked near but that involved about 200 KM of bus travel. So I decided to take 5:45 AM morning Shatabdi train from Puri to Bhadrak and then take a local bus to Chandbali. My initial plan was to spend two days in Bhitarkanika and stay at OTDC Habalikhati beach nature camp. This plan was soon to go down the drain. Shatabdi train was good but the trouble started when I got on the bus from Bhadrak. I boarded bus at 9:45 AM and expected to reach Chandbali (about 60 KM) in two hours. After 4 hours of a painful journey I reached Chandbali around 12 Noon. I thought probably worst has passed and it cannot go bad anymore. Again I was so wrong. To go to Habalikhati I had to take another 3 hours of boat journey and since toruist season was nearly over there was nobody I could share the boat with and I had to hire the boat by paying around Rs. 4000. I was so tired of travel I decided to stay for a night at OTDC Aaranyanivas in Chandbali expecting to take a short boat ride that evening from Chandbali or go for some bird watching. First Chandbali is not what you expect. On google maps it looked on the forest boundary and I expected if I had to stay for a night at Chandbali I can still expect a peaceful and quiet stay near Jungle and can take some bird watching walks. Chandbali was too busy and too crowded than I expected. After checking in I went to wildlife office to inquire about boat but came across some very unhelpful staff which shooed me away and told me to come next morning at 6 AM. On further inquiry at hotel reception it became clear that boats run only from 6 AM to 12:30 PM. Both private and government run boats are available. Boats can go to multiple places and prices have been posted on a public notice board. All boats have to pay some fees to forest department, though journey prices can be negotiated with private boat operators. Boats can be shared with other people or can be privately hired but complete journey price has to be paid in advance. As this was the end of tourist season there was nobody with which I could share the boat. I realized that if I have to go inside Bhitarkanika I would have to pay the full price of the boat (Rs. 4000 plus fees for a trip to Dangamal, comes to nearly Rs. 4150), and have to wait till next morning.
Totally dejected and tired I thought my trip is totally wasted. I went back and asked if OTDC guys can arrange a shared boat with others who may be staying here. I was told nobody is available to share and if hire a boat from OTDC it will cost me Rs. 5120. As luck would have it a local guy was hearing our conversation and offered to arrange a private boat at Rs. 3000. Having come so far and realized that I had no other option I agreed, and from here on my luck and trip changed. I had lunch at OTDC and it was excellent!. On this journey till now I hadn't had any local Oriya cuisine. Restaurant cook (a very kind and polite person) prepared fish besar curry, rice, karela pakodas (fried bitter guard) and it was authentic Oriya food and incredibly delicious. If you stay at OTDC Chandbali I would highly recommend to have your meals here.
Having wasted the entire first day resting in my room and strolling around in the evening, next morning, after some initial delay I was able to board the boat at around 6:30 PM. Bhaitrani and Brahamani rivers are the biggest rivers in this area and Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary is at intersection of these rivers with saline water from Bay of Bengal. From Chandbali Bhaitrani river takes you into Bhitarkanika and looked having much more water than major rivers like Ganga or Yamuna. With the world still waking around us in the cool morning breeze I had the boat all to myself and it could not have been more magical. I got talking to my two boatmen and learnt that out of Rs. 3000 they will get only Rs. 300 for 7 hours of effort. But these guys were cheerful and added to all the fun I had in those 7 hours. It takes about 1.5 hours to reach the entry point of Bhitarkanika. After document check by the forest department provided and quick cup of tea we entered Bhitarkanika. We must not have been 200 meters from wildlife department checkpoint when we saw our first crocodile. Crocodile was partially submerged and did not seem that big. It was about 8 AM now and beginning to get a little hot in Mid March sun. Later on we saw many baby crocodiles resting on the mud banks but only saw a couple of adult crocs partially submerged in water. We kept going and with no boats around forest was too all ours. I had been told that in peak season there are many tourists and boats would have to wait half an hour to an hour just to get to bank. I felt lucky that though I did not see a lot of crocs but had an absolute tranquil noiseless surroundings. Locals tourist guides call Bhitarkanika 'Mini Amazon' and it was easy to see why. Though Bhitarkanika too has lost a lot of forests to human encroachment and farming but still a lot of it was left. Thanks to its 'unpopularity' (pun intended) it still feels virgin and pristine. Mangrove forests unlike deciduous forests have thick canopy cover and hundreds of small rivulets around it looked straight out of Discovery channel documentary on Amazon forests. Morning is a low tide time and we could see a lot of roots sticking out of mud which would get totally submerged in high tide about four hours from now. After another hour our stop was the crocodile hatchery in Dangamal. They also have a little museum in which they have kept skeletons of some crocodiles and other mangrove forest wildlife. One of the largest crocodile skeleton was 23 feets long and even with no flesh on, it looked menacingly deadly. Bhitarkanika is one of the few places in India to have all three types of crocodiles, Salt water crocodile, fresh water crocodile and alligators. An albino female crocodile 'gauri' has been kept in an artificial pond here. On the mud bank where we parked our boat I could see hundreds of small red-pink crabs and other small fish and insects. Just 100 meters ahead on other bank we stopped and one of the boat guys took me for a three kilometer hike in the forest. About half a kilometer beyond which water does not reaches even in high tide mangrove forest gave way to deciduous forest. I did see a couple of monitor lizards, spotted deer (chital) and kingfisher birds. Only spoiler on this hike was group of loud group of young men who we came across on our return. They did not seem to care that they are in the core area of forest and it were only interested in having some beers (and is highly likely they will leave bottles, cigrette butts and plastic packages behind). My intent to mention this is to request authorities to discourage these activities and catch some offenders. As responsible tourists people should speak about these activities so that we can save the last remaining forest and wildlife heritage we are left with.
Return journey took about 2.5 hours and in the hindsight I realized it turned quite well that I had to pay a high price to enjoy something which I could not have enjoyed with hundreds of selfie crazy tourists.
I had been to many forest areas in India and would rate this experience as among the best experiences I had in little but truly amazing remaining forests that India has.
Later I realized that there is a fast bus from Cuttack to Chandbali via Pattamundai which takes about 3.5 hours and costs only Rs. 130. There is another good option for travelers who do not have a vehicle with them and want to avoid all troubles I faced. OTDC organizes weekend day trips from Bhubhanewshwar which starts at 5 AM, returns by 7 PM and costs only Rs. 1700. I would highly recommend this.
Written 5 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
shankha72113
Kolkata (Calcutta), India114 contributions
Feb 2015 • Family
At Dangmal Jetty where the Bhitarkanika forest bungalow is there and the research center, museum, etc. a hoarding says "Thrill may kill you". We have hired a motor boat (launch) from Chandbali, Orisa and the way we entered the creek up to Dangmal is full of salt water crocodiles. The mammoth reptiles of length up to 20 feet and weighing up to 1000 Kg are spectacular, thrilling as well as frightening. We went their as a weekend trip and stayed at OTDC hotel Arnya Nibas in Chandbali. Be sure to carry photo identity proof to get a permission to enter into Bhitarkanika. The hotel is good but always check the cost of food they are going to charge. For simple veg dish they charged approximately Rs.450 each which is totally unjustified. Other than that Bhitarkanika is a dream weekend spot and we enjoyed the motor boat tour and walk tour greeted with the flora and fauna of Bhitarkanika now and then making this an unforgettable thrilling experience. We knew that crocodiles, deers, monkeys, birds, etc. are to be seen and we seen them in abundance. Be there to believe.
Written 20 February 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi,
I am planning to visit Bhitarkanika by next month. It would be very helpful, if you can share some of the information:
1. How did you get the boat from Chandbali? How much did they charge you?
2. How did you book the Forest Rest House at Dangmala? (I am hoping that this was other than OETDC Eco-Tourism Guest Houses)
3. How did you arrange for travel to Gahirmatha from Dangamala?
Thank you in advance for your help
Written 12 November 2020
Is it possibel to travel by car from Bubaneshwar, visit Bhitharkanika National Park and return to Bhubaneshwar on the same day? Total how many hrs will it take?
Written 22 November 2019
Sir, I have booked for bani bhawan, Dangamal. How to reach from Bhubneshwar to this place. Is boat hiring is required for reaching at our place of stay.
How to explore the place i mean what to see and do.
How to hire boat.
Written 11 October 2018
Hi,
Please confirm:-
1) Availability of room ( 1 double bed) at Bhitarkanika for 23rd & 24th Jan'19 nights in Dangmal Forest Rest House.
Please send the link to book on-line.
2) Facilities for Boating and visiting places within Bhitarkanika sanctuary.
3) Availability of Car for 25th Jan.'19 to travel to Bhubaneshwar from Bhitarkanika and local sightseeing at Bhubaneshwar.
Regards,
Dipankar Ghosh
Kolkata
Written 15 September 2018
The rooms are booked online. and visiting Bhitarakanika and car ental can be done easily
Written 4 October 2018
We are in a group of 3 adult male...we would reach Bhadrak on 18.10.18 early morning...how to reach Dangmal Forest Rest House at cheapest rates & how much time it will take???
We are booking 2 nights (18.10 & 19.10) at Dangmal...
Please inform
Written 26 August 2018
best way is to take a cab. You don;t have public transport till the entry gate!
Written 29 August 2018
Ashok B
Bhubaneswar, India
Hello Rahi,
How can one reach Dangamal from Bhubaneswar. Do we have to take boat journey
from any spot? If so where from and timing rate etc.
Thanks
Ashok
Written 2 August 2018
Easier is to hire a cab from Bhubaneswar to kendrapada. Then there are govt ferries which take you to the core area.
Written 17 August 2018
We are planning our stay at estaurine resort for a day ..kendrapara..how long is the boat ride and charges.. family of 3 adults ...Also how safe it is to be tents
Written 12 February 2018
Hi ,
My parents along with my grand parents are planning to viist later this month or March 1st week . Is it a good time now ? And is it advised for them as they are all senior citizens but enthusiastic bunch ? What are the stay options ? They will be visitng Puri before or after , so can it be travelled from theere? They will have a car with them
Written 10 February 2018
Where to stay at bhitarkanika?How to book boats?
Written 3 February 2018
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