Thursday, January 2, 2014

Bhitarkanika National Park

As part of our Orissa trip we had been Bhitarkanika, which is one of the largest Mangrove Eco systems in India. The place is on the river delta of Brahmani and Baitarni rivers. It is home to diverse flora and fauna, migratory birds, turtles, and the menacing estuarine crocodiles.



The wetland is divided into 3 protected Areas, namely “Bhitarkanika National Park”, “Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary” and “Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary”.



If lucky one can spot any of salt water crocodile, king cobra, water monitor lizards, marine turtle, kingfisher, wood pecker, horn-bill, bar headed geese, brahmany duck, pintail, white bellied sea eagle, tern, sea gull, waders and a large variety of resident and migratory birds. It supports an amazing 8 varieties of Kingfishers in its habitat.


The best time to visit the place is November to February. We had been here in the month of April and could see few of the birds and other creatures in the area. Khola and Gupti are the two main entry points to the park. Visitors should take entry permit from the Forest Check Gate at Khola and Gupti.



We hired a boat to ferry us in the river system for observing the scenic beauty and the biodiversity resource including basking crocodile, water monitor and spotted deer.



We went around the park in the boat for around 4 hours and visited crocodile breeding area, museum, red crabs, birds and even basking crocodile. Even though off season it was a good experience. In other posts on this I will show you what else I discovered. But,  a tour of this place is must during the peak season.

How to Reach: Entry pints to the park is 160 kms from Bhubaneshwar, 140 kms from Cuttack and 70 kms from Bhadrak. We reached this place from Kendrapara which is at a distance of 35 kms.

43 comments:

Ramakrishnan said...

This is a wonderful place to visit. The pictures are so captivating.

R Niranjan Das said...

Lovely place. Thanks for sharing this.

Lowell said...

What a fascinating place. I love mangrove swamps even if they sometimes smell yucky.

We don't have mangroves in Ocala but we have a lot of them in south Florida. And even a few saltwater crocs!

Phil Slade said...

That's a place I'd love to visit Rajesh. I'm sure it would be warm and sunny in the winter months for us cold UK folk. Happy New Year to you and your whole family.

Ash said...

Very nice photos. Happy New Year, Rajesh!

Leovi said...

Very nice pictures, I would paser by this natural park!

Photo Cache said...

Happy New Year. Thanks for all the wonderful temples and India travels that you shared in 2013 and all the visits you made to my blog.

Sylvia K said...

Pale, cloudless skies look perfect for the trip!! Hope your new year is off to a great start, Rajesh!! Enjoy!

Al said...

It looks like a beautiful place - I love all the water. Have a wonderful 2014!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely place to visit.

Gattina said...

It looks very green and flat ! and there are even crocodiles ?

eileeninmd said...

What a great place to visit, the wildlife must love it there. Happy New year to you and your family, Rajesh!

Pallavi said...

I love the colorful boats and the blue bridge. Looks like an amazing place to visit!

Birgitta said...

Nice photo series!

Annemor said...

Thank you for some new glimpses from India.
All the best for 2014.
Mormor

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

We have mangrove swamps here in Florida (but no menacing crocodiles, only alligators, scary enough though!). What a beautiful area your wetlands are ... I'd love to take that boatride -- these kind of other-worldly areas captivate me.

SandyCarlson said...

A lush and exciting place!

AmitAag said...

Great pics, Rajesh, of a nice place:)

Thomas Lee/Lee Lip Pang said...

It's always nice to be with nature.

Anonymous said...

Lovely nature photos ~ Happy 2014 ~ ^_^

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

So different from what you usually post. Did you enjoy your journey?

Shadowy Mexican Dreams

robin. said...

thanks for bringing us along. lovely series of shots.

Kathe W. said...

thanks for posting these fascinating photos. Happy New Year!

Anni said...

Awesome Rajesh.

sunshine said...

Seems to be an interesting place.

EG CameraGirl said...

It would be amazing if I could see all your wonderful birds in person!

Jeannie Marie said...

Lovely, I especially liked the hired boat.

Jeannie Marie said...

I especially liked the hired boat! So colorful!

Sridharan said...

Looks to be an amazing place..thanks for sharing..

Unknown said...

Looks like a beautiful place. I look forward to seeing more photos from your visit.

Shrinidhi Hande said...

Had never been to Orissa..

THis reminds me of Pichavaram mangrove in TN.

Jeevan said...

Wow! Sounds like an amazing place... it reminds me Pichavaram, a mangrove forest near Chidambaram. Beautiful photos and details

HansHB said...

A nice post!
Well done!

Unknown said...

The is beautiful, thank you for sharing with us!

Lina Gustina said...

Very interesting place!
http://www.1sthappyfamily.com/2014/01/monday-post.html

Anonymous said...

By boat must be a great way to see all the beautiful natural features of this park.

HansHB said...

....and nice for WBW, too!

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

I'm sold ... it sounds like a birders holiday. There are a few of the wildlife specimens I might like to avoid, but the beauty and choices of things to see sound ravishing. Thank you for the tour ...

Andrea @ From The Sol

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

HI It looks like a great place to visit. Happy New Year.

Anonymous said...

what great captures. I don't think I'd want to run across a basking crocodile.

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

The mangroves are moving north along the Florida coast, probably because of salt water encroachment. They perform an important role in protecting the beaches and providing better habitat for wildlife.

Tomichan Matheikal said...

The river looks ominous. Is it in spate?

D.Nambiar said...

Nice to learn about Bhitarkanika. For a while now, I've been wanting to go see a mangrove.