If want to enjoy the immeasurability and infiniteness of an
ocean and calmness and serenity of a river, Chilika is the place where you
should be.
Chilika - Nature's Gift |
A few facts about Chilika:
- Spread across 1100 sq. Km it’s the largest water Lagoon in Asia and second largest in the world. Maximum length of the lake is 64.3 Km and maximum breadth is 18 Km.
A picture taken from Yatrinivas Room in Satapada |
- Situated in the east coast in the state of Orissa, it is one of the largest wintering ground for the migratory bird, many of them are endangered. The Nalaban Island within the lagoon is notified as a Bird Sanctuary under Wildlife (Protection) Act.
- Some rare, vulnerable, and endangered species listed in the IUCN Red List of threatened Animals inhabit in the lagoon for atleast part of their life cycle.
- Around 135 rare and endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins have made Chilika their home, and yes you can see them jumping around.
Chilika |
- Around 52 rivers and rivulets drain into Chilika, thus the saltiness of the water depend on the rain and high tides of the sea.
- Many fishermen earn their living from Chilika’s Prawn, mackerel, crabs.
Chilika is nature’s gift and we need to conserve it’s
ecosystem, which is threatened by unplanned prawn farming and mechanised boats.
If you want to visit Chilika, there are three entry points,
Satapada, Barkul and Rambha, each between 100 to 120 Km from Bhubaneswar. I
would suggest Satapada because it’s close to one of the mouth from where the
sea water enters the lagoon. Satapada has a Yatrinivas, the accommodation can
be booked online. Please don’t expect any luxury in your rooms, but then, you
are not visiting Chilika for luxurious rooms, isn’t it?
Spend your time floating on the lake listening to nature’s
symphony, trickling of water, the chirping of the birds and the dolphins
jumping around. Heaven is right there, and if you have carried a few beer
bottles, you can feel it even closer :p
Mouth - Chilika (left) meets the sea (right) |
Aahh !!! Great post Amit !!
ReplyDeleteChilika remains a very popular tourism spot for all the reasons that you've mentioned. I often go by it during my official tours. Felt great to read about my home land. Thanks for sharing this
Yes Anupam its a great place but I think tourism needs to be promoted more because not many people know about it's beauty.
DeleteNice pics and thanks for all that info :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jaish :)
Delete