- We covered Aul Palace,
Bhitarkanika National Park, Crocodiles, Gajlaxmi Palace, Jungle walks, Adivasi villages,
Daringabadi hill station, Turtle mating, Gopalpur Beach and Chilika Lake. Payment
in villages was through UPI.
In an earlier
travelogue I wrote about our visit to Gandikota – The Great Canyon of India. This one is about a recent visit to Odisha’s forests, lakes, wetlands, villages and tribes. Here is a day wise account.
Day
1 AUL Palace
We flew from
Delhi to Bhubaneshwar (The City of
Temples) and drove straight from the airport to AUL palace. It was a three to four hour drive. We were a group of nine so hired three Innova’s for the trip.
Unlike in
Rajasthan, the AUL palace is where the former ruler and his family (wife and
two daughters) stay too. I gathered that former rulers have many properties to
maintain with few resources. What better way than to convert it into a home
stay palace hotel. It is a 16th century palace of which 5-6 rooms
are for guests.
We enjoyed
spending time with the royal family. Food tasted like home food. Every evening
something new was organised for us for e.g. bonfire, karoke etc. We spent the
night at AUL. I would recommend a stay.
Day
2 Bhitarkanika National Park
In boat entering the national park.
We drove to
Jayanagar Jetty and hired a boat for visit to Bhitarkanika National Park. It is
the second largest mangrove ecosystem in India after the Sunderbans in West
Bengal. It is a network of mangroves and rivers that eventually end up in the
sea. One can get off the boat and trek in the jungle. Also saw lots of birds
near the Surajpore creek. One can spot Kingfisher birds there too.
18 feet crocodile spotted by us.
The water is
known for crocodiles, the biggest being Kalia at 23 feet. If you fall into the water
they will eat you up. The Guide told us that if we fell into the water none would
jump to save the person who falls.
It is a 2-3 hour
boat drive, carry your food as nothing is available during the boat ride. It
was a unique and enjoyable experience for all of us.
Kayats.
The Maharaja of
AUL has a private island where we had tea and Kayats were provided. We had a
great time.
According to the
Odisha Tourism
website, “The National Park is essentially a network of creeks and canals which are inundated with waters from rivers Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra and Patasala forming a unique ecosystem. Bhitarkanika is home to the largest congregation of the endangered Salt Water Crocodile in the country. The Salt Water Crocodile is the apex predator of the region, besides it, the park is home to numerous reptiles like the water monitor lizard, pythons to name a few. Bhitarkanika is also home to numerous animals like the deer, hyenas, wild boar etc and migratory birds which make it their home during the winter season lending a vibrant hue to the eco system.”
We spent the
night at AUL Palace.
Day
3 Dhenkanal (staying in the forest), Mahima Dharma Ashram, Dhokra Art
It about a three
hours drive from AUL to Dhenkanal. Enroute we stopped by and saw the
monasteries of Ratnagiri, Udaygiri and Lalitgiri. Enroute we stopped by at
Cuttack, ladies bought a lot of Silver Filigree (local name TARAKASI) that
Cuttack is famous for.
Ratnagiri Monastery. At one end is Mahakala Temple.
To see album of
Ratnagiti Monastery and others
Former Member of Parliament Brig K P Singh Deo (retd) is part of the royal family of Dhenkanal. We drove through the town straight to Gajlaxmi Palace i.e. run by a member of the royal family. This is again a home stay palace like AUL with 5-6 rooms given out. Wife of royal family is from Udaipur royal family. Current ruler of Udaipur Shriji’s daughter-in-law is from Odisha, do not know from which the place though.
Overview of Palace amidst forest.
Inside Gajlaxmi Palace.
This is a place
for elephants, hence the name GAJ. They usually move around in herds. Our hosts
took us for a Jungle Walk in the morning and a Night Safari where we saw foxes
and deers but not elephants. I must appreciate how the erstwhile royal family
have immersed them in the tourism business.
View from balcony of Gajlaxmi Palace. Courtesy Odisha Tourism.
Mahima Monks.
In the evening
we went to Joranda Ashram where we saw monks belonging to the Shunya Cult.
“Joranda is well-known as the religious centre of Mahima Dharma and is home to the samadhi of Mahima Gosain, the preacher and proponent of the Mahima Cult. Sunya Mandira, Dhuni Mandira, and Gadi Mandira are three other sacred temples.” Source
Also read
Mahima Dharma
history and teachings
Our stay at
AUL/Gajlakshi palaces gave us unique & memorable experiences.
Dhokra Art on sale.
The same day we
visited village Nuagaon i.e. famous for Dhokra Art. Payment was made through
Paytm. This art form is also found in the Bastar area of Chhattisgarh.
Also read about
Dhokra Art and Bastar Craft
Album to see how made
Day
4 Naupatna and Daringabadi hill station
We left for village Naupatna i.e. famous for Ikkat weaving products. We had a simple and nice meal at a celebrated weaver’s home.
Ladies in our
group bought saris worth app Rs 25,000/ and paid by Google Pay, such is the
penetration of Digital India.
Double Ikkat Sari. Courtesy Bidyutfashion.com
Also
read
About
Handloom Saris of Odisha
We then visited Champeshwar
Mahadev Mandir (video 2.20
minutes) and a Turtle Hatchery.
Next was a seven
to eight hour drive to Daringabadi, also called the Kashmir of Odisha (to see 3 minute video). It is at a height of 915 metres and is in Kandhal district and in the heart of Odisha’s tribal belt.
Pine Forests at Daringabadi.
We stayed at
Utopia Resorts. Functional and nice.
Also read Odisha
Tourism site on Daringabadi
Day
5 with Kondh Kutiya tribes in Daringabadi
We went to the
villages to meet the Kondh Kutiya tribes. The women tattoo their faces. Once
done tattoo remains for a life time. The younger generation is not fond of
getting tattoo done.
Women with Tattos in village, my sister in front.
We visited the
local school, quite nice and distributed stationery to the kids. We had lunch
with vanvasi women.
Eco friendly meal, loved the food.
We returned to
Utopia resort. Then, visited Coffee Plantations.
Like all hill
stations Daringabadi has may points like Sunset, Loverspoint. These are
essentially touristy places. The points reminded me of Mahableshwar near
Mumbai.
Day
6 Gopalpur Beach
Hotel
Mayfair at Gopalpur.
It was a five
hour drive from Daringabadi to Gopalpur beach. It has the usual beach game
facilities like water scooter. Enjoy the beach.
Net connectivity
was good. I could finish two Board Meetings virtually.
Our
group at Gopalpur Beach.
Day
7 Turtles at Rushikulla
Olive Redley Turtles.
In boat enroute to see turtles.
January is
mating and nesting time of Olive Redley Turtles. To see them mating visit
Rushikulla, Gahirmatha Beach i.e. about 40 kms away.
Turtles mating. Pic is from a video that I borrowed.
Female turtles digging hole on beach to place eggs. Pic from a borrowed video.
After mating the
female turtle comes to the beach, digs a hole 1.5 to 2 feet deep and lays eggs
in the hole that she digs. Then she returns to the sea.
The ladies
visited a Shaktipeet close to Gopalpur, Tara Tarini Mandir.
Day
8 Chilika
From Gopalpur-on-sea
we drove Chilika Lake. It is famous for birding. The lake is huge and
eventually joins the sea. If you are lucky you get to see dolphins.
Manglajodi is the wetlands in Chilika. Take a boat, miles of water.
Bird at Chilika.
We spent the
next two to three hours seeing all types of birds. They come from the colder
areas of Russia and China to enjoy the warm summer.
We stayed at Swosti Resorts, very good. They serve good food, at half the price.
To see album of Chilika
Lake
Day
9 Caves, Dhauli Stupa, Yogini Mandir, Lingaraja Mandir
We had breakfast and left for Bhubaneshwar. Enroute we visited –
Udaygiri Khandgiri Caves.
Chausath Yogini Mandir. All yogini temples are round in shape.
Dhali Stupa and Ashoka’s Edict.
We also had
darshan at Lingaraja Temple. Thereafter, we took the flight back to Delhi.
We had a great trip. More Indians should visit Incredible Odisha.
See albums of Udaygiri
Caves, 64
Yogini Mandir, Dhauli
Stupa including temples of Bhubaneshwar
Author Rajat is a senior marketing professional and avid traveller. Unless stated all pictures by author.
Also
see
1. Album Sun
Temple Konarak
2. Album
of Pattachitra Paintings at Heritage Village, Raghurajpur
3. Album
Mukteswar Temple, probably the best temple