Have you heard of Bhitarkanika? Chances are dim, unless you are not from the Orissa (sorry Odisha now) province of India. But if I ask how many of you have heard of Sundarban, chances of getting a yes from most of the readers of this blog would be quite high. Now the million dollar question - why have I mentioned Sundarban in the context of Bhitarkanika?
Bhitarkanika is a mangrove forest, designated as a Ramsar site and a national park, situated in the two districts of Kendrapara and Bhadrak in Orissa, India, with the core lying in Kendrapara. Sundarban is also a mangrove forest - in fact the largest mangrove forest of the world. It is designated as a tiger sanctuary and it is spread between West Bengal in India and Bangladesh, with larger area in Bangladesh.
Sundarban area is close to where Ganges enters sea. Bhitarkanika is where rivers Baitarni and Brahmani meet and enter sea. Both the sanctuaries are, therefore, prone to high and low tides with the river water turning salty for a greater part of the year.
After visiting both the places I would strongly recommend you to visit Bhitarkanika instead of Sundarban. Reasons are plenty. Sundarban may have been declared a tiger sanctuary but these tigers would never be visible. If you spot one in Sundarban, believe me, you should buy a lottery ticket that very day because you are definitely one of the luckiest persons on earth that very day. Other than the false attraction of tiger, there is nothing you would love except the boat ride, which after some time becomes boring. Same is the case with the mangrove forests. You are not allowed to get out of boat and venture into forest on foot or smaller boats as the nearby villagers do (of course without any permission!). The massive mangrove forests, despite the massiveness, becomes quite moron and dull after half an hour. This can remain interesting only to botanists perhaps or a die hard naturalist, but sorry, not for ordinary tourists, which I guess, most of us are.
Cut to Bhitarkanika biodiversity forest - you are bound to see what this is famous for - the giant salt water marine crocodiles. This you can find only in a few other countries like Australia and some African countries. The forest is also a declared bird sanctuary. So you will see abundant number of birds and chances of you sighting at least 5-6 out of 8 varieties of Kingfisher are quite high. Enjoy their helicopter kind of stationary flight and look at how they prey on small fish and insects in water bodies below.If you have never watched deer grazing like cows in any forest, you are welcome to Bhitarkanika National Park.
Do not get frightened by the size of monitor lizards roaming freely within forest area. And, do go on trekking in the jungle. You will see numerous cobras and pythons, with cobras hanging on trees like ghosts in horror movies. For those who love architectural monuments, the forest has hidden the yesteryear rulers' temples and remains of some other buildings. The only residents of these buildings are the cobras and deer. If you are lucky you can see a few hyenas as well. Wild boars are also in plenty.
Once fed up with these go on a boat ride in moonlit sky. It can be ultimately romantic. Have dinner on boat. Next morning if you want to go into forest you can do so, and in case you are fed up, just take a car and drive to lonely beach almost an hour drive from the main gate of the forest, though this lies within forest area as well.
Have you heard of Oliver Ridley turtles? Just Google it. These come for resting at Gahirmatha, a part of Bhitarkanika forest. They lay their thousands of eggs, hatch them and return with their young ones immediately after winter. Nesting starts normally from late October and they start returning to their native places from February end. This phenomenon has been widely documented, including by National Geographic and Discovery channels.
So why do people not know much about Bhitarkanika and down on a not so exciting Sundarban? There are three main reasons - First, complete lack of marketing by the concerned authorities, who never encouraged private players to come forward. Secondly, there used to be no good hotels till ery recently and the available accommodations were highly avoidable. Thirdly, lack of road communication, which though is not such a big hurdle considering reaching Sundarban is much tougher.
Fortunately road communication has improved quite a lot (though you should not expect wide highways in a forest area surrounded by numerous villages). Most importantly a new resort - Estuarine Village Resort (www.villageresort.in) - has come up. It will formally start its operation from September 2010. The resort has started with 12 comfortable rooms - 7 being Swiss tents and 5 being ethnic style cottages. These cottages have a touch of local architectural elements. The resort is owned by Apass India Leisure Solutions Private Limited - a travel company mostly into inbound and domestic package providing services.
Since the promoters are into inbound service, they are well aware of the requirements of foreigners. They have, therefore, put in place enough facilities at this property. It is till now only place where you can feel confident to stay without any hassles. I was one of the earliest visitors to the resort ( I visited it even though they have not launched it). They have a scheme where they would offer all tourists visiting the resort in the first year of operation 10 percent discount lifelong. Not only this, you are free to pass on this advantage to someone you want to. I have already availed of this facility once by passing on the facility to my brother and his wife.
The resort has not yet started its website. However, as promised to the promoters I can tell you that you can contact them at info@villageresort.in or sales@villageresort.in for bookings. You can also contact at info@excursion2india.com. I must tell you about their tariff as well. They charge Rs13,000 for a couple for 2 nights, 3 days package. This is a jungle plan which includes all meals, a visit to forest and village tours. However, if you book for 3 nights, 4 days, you have to pay Rs16,000.
Bhitarkanika is a mangrove forest, designated as a Ramsar site and a national park, situated in the two districts of Kendrapara and Bhadrak in Orissa, India, with the core lying in Kendrapara. Sundarban is also a mangrove forest - in fact the largest mangrove forest of the world. It is designated as a tiger sanctuary and it is spread between West Bengal in India and Bangladesh, with larger area in Bangladesh.
Sundarban area is close to where Ganges enters sea. Bhitarkanika is where rivers Baitarni and Brahmani meet and enter sea. Both the sanctuaries are, therefore, prone to high and low tides with the river water turning salty for a greater part of the year.
After visiting both the places I would strongly recommend you to visit Bhitarkanika instead of Sundarban. Reasons are plenty. Sundarban may have been declared a tiger sanctuary but these tigers would never be visible. If you spot one in Sundarban, believe me, you should buy a lottery ticket that very day because you are definitely one of the luckiest persons on earth that very day. Other than the false attraction of tiger, there is nothing you would love except the boat ride, which after some time becomes boring. Same is the case with the mangrove forests. You are not allowed to get out of boat and venture into forest on foot or smaller boats as the nearby villagers do (of course without any permission!). The massive mangrove forests, despite the massiveness, becomes quite moron and dull after half an hour. This can remain interesting only to botanists perhaps or a die hard naturalist, but sorry, not for ordinary tourists, which I guess, most of us are.
Cut to Bhitarkanika biodiversity forest - you are bound to see what this is famous for - the giant salt water marine crocodiles. This you can find only in a few other countries like Australia and some African countries. The forest is also a declared bird sanctuary. So you will see abundant number of birds and chances of you sighting at least 5-6 out of 8 varieties of Kingfisher are quite high. Enjoy their helicopter kind of stationary flight and look at how they prey on small fish and insects in water bodies below.If you have never watched deer grazing like cows in any forest, you are welcome to Bhitarkanika National Park.
Do not get frightened by the size of monitor lizards roaming freely within forest area. And, do go on trekking in the jungle. You will see numerous cobras and pythons, with cobras hanging on trees like ghosts in horror movies. For those who love architectural monuments, the forest has hidden the yesteryear rulers' temples and remains of some other buildings. The only residents of these buildings are the cobras and deer. If you are lucky you can see a few hyenas as well. Wild boars are also in plenty.
Once fed up with these go on a boat ride in moonlit sky. It can be ultimately romantic. Have dinner on boat. Next morning if you want to go into forest you can do so, and in case you are fed up, just take a car and drive to lonely beach almost an hour drive from the main gate of the forest, though this lies within forest area as well.
Have you heard of Oliver Ridley turtles? Just Google it. These come for resting at Gahirmatha, a part of Bhitarkanika forest. They lay their thousands of eggs, hatch them and return with their young ones immediately after winter. Nesting starts normally from late October and they start returning to their native places from February end. This phenomenon has been widely documented, including by National Geographic and Discovery channels.
So why do people not know much about Bhitarkanika and down on a not so exciting Sundarban? There are three main reasons - First, complete lack of marketing by the concerned authorities, who never encouraged private players to come forward. Secondly, there used to be no good hotels till ery recently and the available accommodations were highly avoidable. Thirdly, lack of road communication, which though is not such a big hurdle considering reaching Sundarban is much tougher.
Fortunately road communication has improved quite a lot (though you should not expect wide highways in a forest area surrounded by numerous villages). Most importantly a new resort - Estuarine Village Resort (www.villageresort.in) - has come up. It will formally start its operation from September 2010. The resort has started with 12 comfortable rooms - 7 being Swiss tents and 5 being ethnic style cottages. These cottages have a touch of local architectural elements. The resort is owned by Apass India Leisure Solutions Private Limited - a travel company mostly into inbound and domestic package providing services.
Since the promoters are into inbound service, they are well aware of the requirements of foreigners. They have, therefore, put in place enough facilities at this property. It is till now only place where you can feel confident to stay without any hassles. I was one of the earliest visitors to the resort ( I visited it even though they have not launched it). They have a scheme where they would offer all tourists visiting the resort in the first year of operation 10 percent discount lifelong. Not only this, you are free to pass on this advantage to someone you want to. I have already availed of this facility once by passing on the facility to my brother and his wife.
The resort has not yet started its website. However, as promised to the promoters I can tell you that you can contact them at info@villageresort.in or sales@villageresort.in for bookings. You can also contact at info@excursion2india.com. I must tell you about their tariff as well. They charge Rs13,000 for a couple for 2 nights, 3 days package. This is a jungle plan which includes all meals, a visit to forest and village tours. However, if you book for 3 nights, 4 days, you have to pay Rs16,000.
Great post.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashis31
Great post.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/member.php?u=296796
Thanks for these informations. It's very helpful for my story .
ReplyDeleteThe Sundarbans are a true gem of nature! I loved my sundarban tour package that included a boat ride through the mangroves. The guides were knowledgeable and shared fascinating stories about the local wildlife and the ecosystem.
ReplyDelete