Sunday, January 8, 2017

Simlipal National Park

This time we planned a trip to the simlipal, Orissa, this place was always in my mind due to significance of the name (My Native place is in Simlapal, west bengal) It is located in the heart of odisha but is mostly untouched due to several reasons.... Mosquitoes... Naxals... Connectivity.

But now this is considered to be a good weekend destination from kolkata.

Planning the trip was a tricky affair as my better half was at chandrakona, and taking her along needs me to go at her place a day earlier but due to the work pressure it was not possible.

So the plan was that she will stay at her relatives place a day earlier and will be joining us at kharagpur.

The Trip started as per plan, Me along with Bibhas & Tiyasa started our journey from Howrah.... The Dhauli express left Howrah at 6 AM and reached Kharagpur at 7:45 AM where Amrita joined us..

Samrat & Tania were already there at Balasore the previous night...The Train reached Balasore at the scheduled time of 11 AM, we got freshened up at the Hotel and then took a cab to reach the Hotel at Panchlingeswar


Mahendra Nivas was a nice place with cottages in the lap of nature with fields & mountains on all the sides.



Oohh... i completely forgot to mention about the my sweet little girl... Anisha... She was enjoying the trip till now... be it be the bus journey or the car ride.. but she liked Mahendra Nivas very much, seeing her having fun I couldn't stop meself from being a kid again.



After freshning up and having the lunch we head to the first spot for the day...

The First stop was Panchalingeshwar

Panchalingeshwar Temple (Odia: ??????????????) is in Balasore district of Odisha. It named after the five Shivalinga that are enshrined inside. The temple is on top of a hillock near the Nilagiri hill (not to be confused with that of Western Ghats).




The Shivalingas are said to have been enshrined by Sita, the wife of Lord Rama during their exile. Another story holds that King Banasura worshiped the Swayambhu Lingas at this place given its beauty. A perennial stream, which is the main attraction of the area, regularly washes the Shivalingas as it flows over them. To reach to the temple one has to lie flat on the rock parallel to the stream to touch and worship the lingas inside the water stream.

One must climb the 260 stairs up the hill. to reach the shrine…



Kothilla Hill stands at an altitude of 2000 ft high is situated at panchalingeshwar,orissa. One can see the entire city as well as the entire kuldiha range of hills.
The trail starts from the panchalingeshwar temple and then goes through the deep jungle through the kuldiha hill range . Favorable for those people who wants enjoy a day hike at the nilagiri hills

The next place was...
Bisweswar Temple




The last stop for the day was Khumkut Dam - Watchtower, this place was having an wonderful view ... a lake with a broken watch tower in the center and the majestic jungle and mountains in the background.

Khumkut Dam - Watchtower

to savor the spectacular sight of the Khumkut Dam.You could also locate a watchtower at the site. Where we rest for some time in order to sight some wild animals there..




After the treat to our eyes we headed back to the hotel and had some snacks before dinner and went to sleep early due to the tiredsome day.

The next day we woke up early and had some fun at the garden and then started our trip for the day.

Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary

Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary /.k?ldi??h??/ (Odia: ??????? ????????? ??????????) is situated in Balasore district of Odisha, India. The sanctuary is spread across 272.75 km2 (105 sq mi) in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region. It is linked with Simlipal National Park via Sukhupada and Nato hill ranges. It is classified as an Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests ecoregion.



It was declared a sanctuary on 4 January 1984. It is famous for the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve that spreads across Simlipal, Kuldiha and Hadgarh wildlife reserves. Locally in Kuldiha, the elephant reserve is known as Tenda Elephant Reserve. There is a watch tower strategically created at Garsimulia for animal lovers to have a look at elephants taking bath or drinking water from a small stream that runs right through the reserve. The sanctuary offers night stay accommodation at Kuldiha entrance, Jadachua and Rishia in form of huts, tents and few concrete houses. Prior reservation is required for night stay. It is usually closed during peak monsoon season which typically falls between July and September months.



The sanctuary is almost equidistant from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata cities. It is easier to reach the place from Bhubaneswar, being the capital city of Odisha state. The nearest airport is Biju Patnaik International Airport. The nearest railway station is Balasore railway station. One can take NH16 (earlier designated NH5) and reach Nilagiri via State Highway 19. Thereafter scenic narrow road leads to the sanctuary entrance.









The trip ended with the car dropping us at the Balasore station... we took the Dhauli express on our return trip and reached home by 11 PM.