Imagine being soaked in silence on a faraway island, the only sound reaching your ears the constant hood-hood of the boat engine. Imagine being in the land of some of the world's most brightly coloured aves, graced with chirpy tweets. Imagine being surrounded by hundreds of crocodiles flanked by graceful spotted deer on banks as you sail through creeks and canals of a virgin mangrove territory. Welcome to Bhitarkanika!!

Route
To reach Bhitarkanika, start from Vidyasagar Setu and enter Kona Expressway. At the end of the Kona Expressway take the slip-road on the left to follow the left bend and meet NH-16 (NH-6). Continue straight on NH-16 (NH-6) towards Kolaghat followed by Kharagpur. Just before Kharagpur (trip 113 km), follow the highway straight and take the left turn through an underpass towards Odisha.
From here on the drive is over smooth concreted highways with guardrails on both sides. Continue to drive on NH-16 (NH-6) and pass through Belda, Jaleswar and Balasore and reach Jamujhadi.

 

Connectors to Bhitarkanika
There are two ways to reach Bhitarkanika: one, from Jamujhadi on NH-16 (NH-60) to Dhamra and the other from Bhadrak NH-16 (NH-60) to Chandbali.
However Dhamra is the closest point to enter Bhitarkanika and the route happens to be shorter. However, the 56 km drive from Jamujhadi to Dhamra is presently through a broken tarmac road. You need adept hands to brave this stretch and yet it would take nothing less than two and a half hours to reach Dhamra from Jamujhadi.
The other route via Bhadrak to Chandbali calls for covering an extra 20 km. But this road is by far better. Also going to Chandbali is a better proposition since Chandbali offers several options for night stay than Dhamra.
Reaching via Jamujhadi

Once you come across the sign board on NH-16 (NH-60), indicating Jamujhadi just before you enter the flyover towards Bhadrak, do not go over the flyover, instead take the service lane from the indicator. Thereafter, take the left from the crossing and enter the Jamujhadi-Dhamra Road. Drive for another 56 km to reach Dhamra Port Town. JJ Resorts is the best property at Dhamra, right on the main road. Ensure that you do not get diverted towards the Dhamra Port.
Once you reach Dhamra, the following day you can drive to the Dhamra Ghat and park your car at the Dhamra Temple premises before boarding the boat to Bhitarkanika.

Reaching via Bhadrak
To avail this route, you have to continue to drive 20 km beyond Jamujhadi on NH-16 (NH-60) till you reach Bhadrak. From Bhadrak, take the service lane and turn left to enter Bhadrak-Chandbali Road. Drive for another 52 km to reach Chandbali.
Although there are several hotels at Chandbali, we recommend the Aranya Nivas of the OTDC, which provides standard accommodation and food.

Bhitarkanika National Park
Two sanctuaries nestled in the Rajnagar Wildlife Division namely, Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary and Gahirmatha (Marine) Wildlife Sanctuary, extend over an entire coast.
Bhitarkanika is the second largest mangrove forest in India, next only to the Sunderbans. Reptiles are its primary attraction. Located in the Kendrapada district of Odisha, Bhitarkanika encloses an area of about 672 km and supports diverse species that include estuarine crocodiles, rare white crocodiles (sankhua), largest Indian lizards (white monitors), venomous and non-venomous snakes like the cobra and python, varieties of resident and migratory birds (more than 200 species) and a large number of mammalian species such as chitta, sambar, wild boar, fishing cats, jungle cat, and the otter.
You will also spot more than 215 species of Kingfishers, Asian Open Bill, Egrets and Cormorants among others on your trip here. Surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful landscape, the place is perfect for a day's picnic plan. You can spend some fascinating hours exploring the resident flora and fauna.

Gahirmatha Sanctuary

The sea beach of Gahirmatha on the north-eastern border of the sanctuary is the only known mass nesting spot in the Indian Ocean region and the only turtle sanctuary in Odisha. The Olive Ridley turtles travel across the South Pacific to breed on the coast of Gahirmatha. Millions of Olive Ridley turtles visit the beach during mass nesting every year.
The Olive Ridley turtles are the smallest and most numerous of the seven species of sea turtles. Famous for their unique behaviour of forming enormous nesting aggregations known as ‘arribada’ (Spanish for arrival), each female weighs about 40-45 kg and lays about 130 – 150 eggs. This is a major attraction for scientists across the world.

Visiting Gahirmatha is not easy. The permit to Gahirmatha is granted by the Forest Department in association with the Indian Army. It is open only to the Scientists and Research Scholars who obtain prior permission before visiting Bhitarkanika. The place is not open for regular tourists, however. Also, visiting Gahirmatha calls for a night stay either at Ekakula or at Habalikathi, since it is a 5-6 hours boat ride from Dhamra/Chandbali. Both Ekakula and Habalikathi have excellent arrangements for visitors.

 

 

 

 

 

The Boat Ride
It would be evening by the time you reach Dhamara or Chandbali starting from Kolkata. So you could spend the evening relaxing in the hotel.
Infobox:
Boat fare: Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per boat
Best season: December – February
Boat capacity: 15-16 persons per boat (9 persons for Covid regulation)

For visiting Bhitarkanika, you have to reach the Dhamra or Chandbali Ghat along the Baitarani River by 8 am to avail a boat. There are motor boats available at these ghats ready to take you around the creeks of Bhitarkanika. It takes at least an hour and a half to cross the Baitarani and Brahmani rivers to reach Khola Gate – the check post from Dhamra mainland and nearly 2 hours from Chandbali.

Khola Gate
Whether you board at Dhamra or Chandbali, you are first taken to the Khola which is the gateway to Bhitarkanika. After a thorough security check of the boat at the Khola Check Point, you are allowed to visit inside the forested creeks. You may take a break here and use the clean washrooms.
A word of caution: Carry sufficient dry food items and water with you as there are no proper eateries any where in the course of the water safari. However, avoid carrying any non-vegetarian food items or heavy meals, these will be seized at the gate.
From Khola you are taken to various other islands through the creeks to the interior of the tidal forests.

Dangmal Island
Dangmal is one of the most significant islands of Bhitarkanika. It is on this very island that crocodiles are ‘cultivated’. The main attraction of Dangmal is the breathtaking beauty of the tidal forest. You would also find wild boars, jungle cats and deer. There is an Interpretation Centre which has extensive exhibits on crocodiles, their skeletons and rare information on the species.
The island has a crocodile hatchery where the crocodile eggs are carefully cultured and the little ones hatched out of the shells ‘grown’. Interestingly, the eggs are hidden under small mud mounds and after they hatch out, they are allowed to grow till a certain stage and then left in the river where they can feed on the fishes, prawns and crabs. It is to protect the species and develop tourism that the sanctuary was formed.

The park is also home to some rare species like White Crocodile, King Cobra, Darter, rhesus monkey, the water monitor lizard, cobra, Indian python and Black Ibis among others. Walk about three and a half kilometres long path winding its way through thick forests, meadows and enjoy the view of the lotus ponds, creeks and water bodies. You may even take a look at the ruins of a hunting tower and an old Shiva temple. It is a big relief that there are clean washrooms on this island and a forest canteen, which serves vegetarian thalis on prior booking.

Baghaghana Island – Heronry
The Heronry at Bagagahana is the largest in Asia and spreads across 4 hectares of land. It is home to 11 species of resident birds. About 15,000 nets are made in this saucer shaped tree canopy, consisting mainly of Heritiera and Excoecaria. It has a watch tower from where you can get a wonderful view of the dense mangrove forest canopy. It provides nesting space to a large number of resident water birds during the rainy season whereas the wetlands spreading throughout the sanctuary serve as feeding grounds for a number of migratory birds during winter. Butterfly, crab, snail, spider, can be seen in abundance.

Bhitarkanika Island
This island, like all others, has nearly the same flora and fauna. The prime attraction of this place happens to be the hunting palace of the king of Kanika. The palace is however in a dilapidated state.

Booking a boat
There is no organised way to plan your trip beforehand. For booking a boat, you have to land up at the ghat, either at Dhamra or at Chandbali by 8 am and book your ride then and there. A single boat ride might cost you upto `5,000-6,000 for an entire day’s trip. Based on the number of islands you visit (it is not necessary for you to visit all of them), the trip duration may vary between 6-8 hours. If you can bargain well, or if you have a large group, then the fee for the boat ride would turn out to be value for money.     

Accommodation
If you travel via Dhamra, then the best place to put up is the JJ Resorts at Dhamra. It is a 3-star property, about 4 km away from the Dhamra Ghat along Baitarani, from where the boats to Bhitarkanika are available.
JJ Resorts is a beautiful property with 51 rooms, available in three varieties. They have a plush lounge and a sprawling restaurant adjoining the lounge. The rooms are done up tastefully and boast modern amenities. They also have banquets to host conferences and seminars in, a gymnasium and a spa. The parking lot can easily hold 10-12 cars. They specialise in Indian, Chinese and Tandoori cuisine and make exceptionally good food. The service is top notch.
For those of you who choose to put up at Chandbali, you can easily check in to the Aranya Nivas, an OTDC property, which is not just a decent lodging with ample parking space, but also provides good food and doesn’t pinch your pocket.