SATKOSIA GORGE  SANCTUARY

 Satkoshia Gorge Sanctuary owes its name to the narrow stretch of River Mahanadi that is "sat-kosh" or seven miles long near Tikarpada, 60km south of Angul. Here Mahanadi has cut across the Eastern Ghats and is known for the gharials, mugger crocodile and rare freshwater turtles like Chitra indica and Trionyx (Aspideretes) gangeticus. The Gorge is famous for the scenic beauty and boating experiences in Mahanadi. A Nature Interpretation Centre at Tikarpada supplements an ecotourist's search for subject and thrill. A journey to stay in the Forest Rest Houses at Baghmunda, Tulka, Purunakote, Labangi, Raigoda and Chhamundia offer scope for chance encounter with tiger, leopard, bison and elephant. The composite Satkoshia-Baisipalli sanctuary is a proposed "Tiger Reserve'. The sanctuary functions as a carbon sink to the fast-growing industrialization around Angul, but the future of the sanctuary depends on people of 35 villages within Angul district and 15 in Boudh district. Click: more on Satkoshia

Satkoshia Gorge

BAISIPALLI SANTUARY

HADGAD SANCTUARY

          The main feature of Hadgarh Sanctuary is the Hadgarh reservoir adjoining the Baula hill range. The reservoir is built on river Salandi that takes its origin in southern Similipal. The forests of Hadgarh constitute an important link for elephants between Similipal and Kuldiha sanctuaries, within the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve.
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 NANDANKANAN SANCTUARY

    Right outside the fringe of Bhubaneswar City, Nandankanan Sanctuary of 467ha area has a natural lake in the middle and a Zoo and a Botanical Garden on two sides of the lake. Spotted deer, wildboar, langurs, rhesus macaques, porcupine, jungle cats, mongoose, monitor, nesting birds and a variety of reptiles outside the zoo enclosures constitute the main wildlife species of the sanctuary.
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KOTGAD SANCTUARY

       Kotgad Sanctuary, 250km from Berhampur and 60km from Baliguda is the heartland of the proposed South Orissa Elephant Reserve. It holds great attraction for naturalists and ecotourists because of leopard, tiger, elephant, gaur, sambar, spotted deer and wolf.
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CHANDAKA-DAVIEW MAPARA SANCTUARY
Chandaka Sanctuary, a strip of forest hardly 25kms in length and 8kms in width, within a few minutes drive from Bhubaneswar city houses a isolated population of 60+ elephants. The forest is struggling to recuperate against pressure of grazing, fire and wood collection but still holds great attraction for city-dwellers for the thrill of chance encounter with wild elephant. Bird lovers are not disappointed either.
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KHALASUNI SANCTUARY

      Khalasuni Sanctuary with its undulating topography offers an altitudinal range 223mt to 750mt and scenic beauty, covered with wild virgin forests. Tiger, leopard, elephant and gaur are among the variety of wild fauna seen in the sanctuary.
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BALUKAHNDA-KONARK SANCTUARY

          Balukhand-Konark Sanctuary is established on the sandy tract covered by plantation of casuarina and cashew trees, along the coast between Puri and Konark. It is well served by the marine drive road. The rivers Kushabhadra and Nuanai cut through the sanctuary. Spotted deer abound in the area but the star attraction is the rare Black-buck.
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KULDIHA SANCTUARY

   Encompassed in the Nilgiri Range of Balasore Wildlife Division, Kuldiha Sanctuary, 14km from Nilgiri, 22km from Balasore and 30km from Udala (in Mayurbhanj district), is situated close to a string of tourist spots in the district of Balasore, namely Chandipur sea beach, Remuna's Gopinath temple, Jagannath temple in Nilgiri township, and the cave shrine of Panchalingeswar and Kuldiha. Jharanaghati, the serpentine hilly road, the sal forests, the streams and the wintering ducks in Rissia Reservoir provide unforgettable experience to ecotourists. Known for its leopard, elephant, gaur, sambar and giant squirrel, occasionally Kuldiha also reveals the pugmarks of tiger that may have come out of Similipal. The sanctuary is linked with Similipal through Sukhupada hills and Nato hill ranges and has an elephant population which is a satellite to the main population in Similipal. Trekking in Kuldiha should form an important item in an ecotourist's itinerary. The sanctuary faces challenge from advancing township and mining in the periphery.
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DEBRIGARH SANCTUARY

          Debrigarh Sanctuary has miscellaneous forest fringing the Hirakud reservoir and is an abode of Tiger, Leopard, Gaur, Sambar, Spotted deer and Chowsingha. The entry point into the Sanctuary is at Dhodrokusum adjoining Hirakud reservoir, which is 40km from Sambalpur and 60km from Baragarh.
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LAKHARI VALLEY SANCTUARY

  The lack of roads has kept Lakhari Valley Sanctuary in the district of Gajapati away from the hustle of tourists, but it offers a rare feast of rich tropical miscellaneous forest, hills, valleys, perennial water sources and wildlife like the tiger, elephant, spotted deer, sambar and a variety of birds and reptiles.The approach is from Berhampur (60km), Taptapani (the famous hot-water-spring) and Chandragiri (15km).
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NALABAN SANCTUARY

         The Nalaban Sanctuary is a part of the Chilika lake, the vast picturesque watery expanse over the districts of Puri, Ganjam and Khurda. The lagoon, where it is easy to observe the Irrawady Dolphin, is famous for attracting 94 species of migratory birds, and is a "Ramsar site". It is studded with small fascinating islands and sandy beaches interspersed with casuarina groves along the Bay of Bengal.
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BADARAMA SANCTUARY

      Badrama Sanctuary, also known as "Ushakothi", is located in Bamra WL Division in the District of Sambalpur. The place Badrama is 48kms from Sambalpur town on the NH 6, and about 200kms from Rourkela. There is an attractive FRH at Badrama, and the sanctuary abounds in luxuriant sal forest. The sanctuary mostly has hilly terrain, and is continuous with Khalasuni sanctuary to the south. Because of tigers and elephants and proximity to Sambalpur and Rourkela cities, this is one sanctuary in western Orissa with a lot of potential.
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SUNABEDA SANCTUARY

 Proposed as a Tiger Reserve, Sunabeda Sanctuary in Nuapada district is largely a grass-covered plateau adjoining Udanti and Sitanadi Sanctuaries of Chhatisgarh State. It forms a migration link for wild buffaloes across the two states of Orissa and Chhatisgarh. The sanctuary is an attraction to ecotourists because of elepven waterfalls, caves at Ranimuhas, archaeological sites at Giribaman, Jumlagarh Fort and Muraguda, and the bird observation points at Jalki and Raital Bandh in Maraguda. Sunabeda forms a part of the tourist route linking Nrushinghanath, Harishakar, Patal Ganga, Patora Reservoir and Jogeswar Temple. The life-styles and the livelihood opportunities generated for people of 43 villages hold in them the future sustenance of Sunabeda Sanctuary as a part of an interstate habitat for tiger and wild buffalo.
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KARLAPAT SANCTUARY

 Encompassing a dense Sal and Bamboo forest and the beautiful Phulijharan waterfall on its outskirts, Karlapat Sanctuary in Kalahandi district is about 12km from the district town of Bhawanipatna. It is within the South Orissa Elephant Reserve and has an attractive Forest Rest House at Jacom.
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GAHIRMATHA MARINE SANCTUARY

         Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary extends along the coast from Nasi Islands in the N.E. to Telanga Muhan (Mahanadi mouth) in the S.W. The sanctuary extends 20km into the sea. It has been created to protect the endangered olive ridley sea turtles, dolphins and other marine flora and fauna. Gahirmatha coast, which is a part of the sanctuary, is used by lakhs of Olive Ridles for mass-nesting.
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Also at: www.bhitarkanika.org