From Gudgudia it is an uphill climb through dense forests of Sal, Mango, Mahua, Mahogany, Champak, Palash and dense undergrowth and numerous climbers thickening the forest cover. "Kabataghai" is the check gate to the tiger zone and it is a distance of 35 kilometres on ghat road along the Deo River, which flows below the road. It takes about two hours.

Situated in the southern part of the sanctuary at a high altitude, "Debasthali" has trees being frost prone had a burnt look and the Sal, which grows to magnificent heights elsewhere here, rises barely to eight metres at the maximum. It is an oval shaped valley at the top surrounded by emerald and azure hued mountains. In this open grazing land animal sightings are the easiest. We also had an eyeful of deer, sambar stags, mouse deer and all we wanted was to have a look at the elephants and wild boars in the open land of Debasthali.

Debasthali has a two-storied watchtower in the middle with salt licks around it. Mornings and dusk are the best time for the purpose. It was winter. Mist and early sunset had already darkened the area. We sat at the watchtower and soon there were the elephants-mothers and the calves. I got so excited at their calm demeanour that I climbed down very close to them to take home a perfect snapshot. They too meekly stared at me as if enjoying the photo session with equal ardour! But the flash in my camera gave me a royal ditch refusing to oblige.

I could not take the photograph I so desperately longed to. When I was still trying, the watchman's nervous whispers to come back broke my reverie. Just when I turned back I saw another herd of tuskers looking at me menacingly. I almost froze in fear before I managed to crawl back to the tower.

It was really a thrilling and unexpected experience altogether. Legend has it that every elephant has to visit Debasthali at least once in its lifetime. The darkness deepened and we came back through the lich-infested forest to Gudgudia destination. We lit a small fire here and enjoyed the silence of the forest which soon was filled with sounds of its own - the callings of the nightjars mainly. Gudgudia has an orchidarium showcasing the 100-plus orchids found in the sanctuary. There are small tribal villages scattered around.

The next morning we headed for the famous waterfall of Barehipani at a distance of 21 kilometres. Barehipani has a log cabin that was once used as the hunting lodge of the king of Mayurbhanj built by the timber merchants of the Barua Timber Company who felled trees n the forests. They also built the rest houses at Dhudhurchampa and Gudgudia.

We passed through the lovely meadows of Nawana Valley and through the mustard yellow beds of lovely Alasi flowers sown by the local tribals.

There were numerous perennial streams and waterholes and there were exotic orchid bunches at the high tree branches as if offering their colourful bouquets to the sun whose rays barely touched the ground through the thick foliages.

Similipal has more than 1,070 species of plants and a rich variety of fauna including reptiles, birds and mammals. Meghasani in the north and Khairiburu in the south are the tallest mountains, which give rise to many rivers, streams, and waterfalls. Barehipani waterfall with a height of 400 metres is the source of the mighty Budhabalanaga river.

The waterfall and the log cabin facing it has a huge chasm in between and the more adventurous ones often trek down to the end of the waterfall. At about 12 kilometres from Barehipani is another waterfall, Joranda with a height of 150 metres falling into the chasm of tall mountains all around. It is noted for its scenic serene beauty, and the rich bird species. The waterfalls are entirely different in their surroundings.

Chahala is a popular tourist destination. It has number of accommodations with vast clearings for animal sighting at salt licks. It has plenty of centuries old eucalyptus trees around. Peacocks, spotted deer and elephants are its regular features. Lulung in the east side with an entry point at Pithabata is a tourist destination developed by the state tourism department.

Till 1931 there was absolutely no habitation inside the forest and today there are 62 tribal pockets with a massive population of more than ten thousand. They pose a threat to the future of Similipal. They burn forests during the week long Akhanda Shikar in the months of January and April to kill animals en masse to have a common feast and burn the trees to collect forest produce like honey and raisins and the timber mafias have become very active recently apparently in connivance with the forest officials.

Everyday, truckloads of precious timber are siphoned out of the forest and poaching of elephants and tigers hog the limelight once in a while. Fortunately, this is the only tiger zone not blackened with the depletion of forest cover and poaching of the tigers still under control. The green forest is the lifeline of Orissa as well. That is why one must pay one's obeisance to the heritage forest and cause no harm to it.

Tigers, elephants, leopards, spotted deer- sambar, barking, gaurs, are found in the forest but one notices only the peacocks, blue jays, giant squirrels, hornbills normally because the forest is undulated and thickly forested. There are many rest sheds in the forest for which bookings have to be made much in advance.

One has to carry basic rations, as these rest sheds are not well equipped except for bedding and utensils. The watchmen double up as cooks and are of immense help. Mosquito repellents and malarial preventive medicines are a must. There are a number of accommodations at Chahala, Nawana, Barehipani, Jashipur, Gudgudia and Lulung, for instance.

Similipal takes about five hours to reach from Bhubaneswar at a distance of 250 kilometres. It is one of the lesser-known bio reserves of India established in the year 1994. It has openings on the south and east sides only. During the rainy season it becomes inaccessible completely. And it is open from the 1st of November till the 15th of June.

For reservations
Field Director,
Similipal Tiger Reserve, Baripada,
Mayurbhanj, Orissa.