Certain things just happen. And there are things, which, no matter how hard you try don't.
Quite sometime back, BlackPearl had posted a thread about Simlipal and my interest on the place had grown from those days. Enquired to him about what are the places to stay (Simlipal has 6 gates/entry points), how to book etc. since there is not much information on the place. We were on the verge of booking our stay when some unforeseen reason compelled us to cancel the visit. The next opportunity came to us during the Diwali period, but again that didn't materialize.
And then, as the winter peaked around mid-January, we found ourselves cruising along NH 6 with the compass set to Kuldiha - a decision that was unforeseen and unplanned. We had planned to spend one night each at Kuldiha and Simlipal. The itinerary is mentioned below:
11-Jan-20 (Sat): Calcutta to Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary
12-Jan-20 (Sun): Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary - Safari - onwards to Lulung, Simlipal
13-Jan-20 (Mon): Lulung - Simlipal Safari - return to Calcutta
Sapla flowers in the Rissia Dam late afternoon
Rissia Dam.
The forests surrounding Rissia Dam.
Birds flying home as darkness descends in the forests.
Around the Rissia Nature Camp.
Morning safari in Kuldiha
Morram roads.
Eventhough Simlipal, Satkosia and Bhitarkanika are the 'Big Three' National Parks of Orissa, Kuldiha emerges as the dark horse in the fact that it is still raw and virgin. And in those three days in the forest, eventhough we were not able to sight much wildlife except for some peacocks, jungle fowls and deers our primary objective was to experience the jungle, the high pitched shrill of the cicadas, early morning chirping of the birds, the barking of a deer and feel the soft, benevolent winter sun.
The safari ..contd.
Jodachua Forest Camp.
Wavy roads.
One aspect,that I found great in the Orissa forests is, if you have the right car with you, you can do your own safari - all you need is to hire a guide.
Now coming back to the drive. The magic about winter mornings is that you dont realize how fast the hours pass and before we keyed in the ignition, noted that it was past 7.30 AM. And when we had finally joined the highway, the AC was turned off, the windows rolled down and we could feel the cold wind and toasting sun - mild and gentle. Kuldiha is roughly 300 kms from Calcutta and takes approximately 6 hours with relaxed driving. With speed enforcers now on the highways, one needs to be careful with the speeds.
A flower at Jodachua.
A termite mound.
A sinister looking watering hole.
One of the falls, I guess Dev Kund.
This time, instead of stopping at Sher-E-Punjab at Kolaghat, we decided to try the 'New Ghosh Hotel' - bad decision that we realized later. We followed the NH 6 till Kharagpur and then turned left onto NH 60 and then onto a state highway. One needs to pay camera and vehicle charges on entry. When we reached the Rissia Nature Camp, Kuldiha, it was around 2 PM. Mobile towers don't work as you enter through the gate and just like it was mentioned in ADC's Kuldiha travelogue 10 years back, Kuldiha forest is strikingly dense.
Car peeking from the forested stretch.
Another falls, Mench Kund
Tribal village near Rissia Dam.
Rissia Dam. ![To the Forests of Eastern Odisha-_dsc0097.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/1962177d1688493087t-forests-eastern-odisha-_dsc0097.jpg)