A Night in Similipal National Park
If I have to account for my earliest experience with the Tiger, I would have to go back to Similipal National Park in the state of Orissa, India. Recalling the experience, I realise how fortunate I have been to have such an experience in the midst of a carefree, fun filled trip.
It was the month of January 1997. We had finished with our MBA course in Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. Much to our collective relief, the placements were over, and we were on our way to becoming responsible adults with good jobs. Ours was deemed the best batch of graduates ever by our own professors but the placement session was chilling, to say the least. It was with a sense of relief and new-found independence that we decided to go to Similipal national Park to just chill out. And what a chilling out experience it turned out for us.
We had booked for six of us in Chahala rest house. At the last moment the number went upto seven when Sambit joined us. The forest department rules permitted one driver and one helper to accompany a group of six. So it was decided that we would hire a jeep with a driver and one of us would pose as a helper. We joked that Sambit had to pose as a helper. In the morning when we started from Baripada, Sambit turned up immaculately dressed in a formal shirt, beard carefully shaven with a liberal dose of aftershave sprinkled on his face. We couldn’t stop laughing. Satyaswarup finally volunteered to pose as a helper. He wrapped a red gamuchha (thin hand woven towel) on his head like a daily wage earner with determination writ large on his face.
And the fun had just begun….
The rear right tire of our jeep punctured just as we were entering the forest from the Jashipur side. We discovered then that the driver didn’t have a jack with him. I came forward to help with the tyre change fully expecting the others to chip in by push and tilt to the jeep till the tyre was changed. Satyaswarup, the helper’, had no idea of such technicalities and conveniently hid himself behind a tree. The forest officer was screaming as to why the helper was not around to do his duty.
The fun had just about begun….
Before embarking on our journey, one of the guys had been given charge of stocking up for the duration of our stay inside the Jungle. On reaching Chahala that evening, we started preparation for dinner and for the first time took stock of the provisions that we had for the trip. One kilo of rice, half a kilo of dal (lentils), two dozen eggs, two loaves of bread, half a kilo of onions, few green chillies, six or seven small packets of biscuits and a couple of packets of Haldiram’s bhujia. This was meant to keep seven fully grown men fully fed for 3 days and 2 nights, which was to be our duration of stay at Chahala. Heated arguments followed and there was unanimous decision to leave Chahala the next morning.
And we just could not see any fun in the situation…..
The forest guard provided us with utensils for our cooking. We had to use the earthern chulha, an apparatus used in India to cook on since the great sages wrote the Mahabharata around 5000 years ago. We knew that we could cook on it…. Once we had figured out a way to light it…!!!! We tried to burn the wood in the chulha, but realized very soon, and to our utter dismay, that thick stocky pile wood just does not burn that easily. An axe was hard to find and we tried a blunt knife to cut the wood into small pieces so that they catch fire easily. We poured rum on it, we tried to fan the non existent flames, using a newspaper. We tried to blow on the thin pencil of fire by rolling a piece of newspaper into a pipe. But Agni, the Fire God, was hard to please. We almost gave up and started joking with each other that we would have to sleep hungry. Suddenly I noticed a couple of papaya trees near by and knew that I had the solution to our problems.
As children we used to blow air bubbles using the hollow stem of the papaya leaves. Lessons learnt then proved to be the savior of the day. I got a big stem and soon we were taking turns to blow air into the fire. Years later, one of our friends reminded me that it was perhaps one of the finest pieces of knowledge which helped us survive in the jungle. Since then, I have been making all efforts to garner as much knowledge about jungle and wildlife as possible.
At about eleven pm, after gulping down rice and watery chicken curry that was barely cooked, I planned to sit at the salt lick adjoining the forest rest house. There were loud protests on hearing my plans. Not one of the sturdy young guns was prepared to open the door to let me in when I got back from the salt lick. They were also apprehensive, and rightly so, that if the door remained open, then wild animal might enter the room. Finally, I locked them in the room and then went to the saltlick all alone.
For me the fun was about to begin…..
The Chahala forest rest house complex is surrounded by a deep trench. The trench however does not deter the Cheetal, Sambar, Barking deer, Jackals etc from entering the compound. I could see the bright eyes flashing on my torch beam. The salt lick was created outside the compound. A room built below ground level allows wild life enthusiasts to observe the rich wild life around the salt lick without either disturbing the game or putting themselves at any kind of risk. A wooden platform on the floor, allows one to sit or sleep. Standing on the wooden platform, one can see the salt lick through a viewing window.
It was a moonless night. An hour or more had passed without any sign of an animal, small or large, visiting the salt lick. The bone chilling January cold pierced my jacket and sweater and made me seriously contemplate going back to the rest house and sleep, as my other sensible friends were doing at that very moment. Sudden breaking of branches and trumpeting swept any such idea from my mind. This was a sure sign of the arrival of a herd of elephants. The dark moonless night did not allow any sighting of the elephants and manual focusing was difficult with my torch light. I gave up the thought of photographing them. The wild elephants trumpeted and cavorted in the mud, giving each other mud baths. After a thorough mud cleansing, they retreated into the jungle and silence prevailed. I had not been able to take pictures of the elephants. But the very thought that I had been within touching distance of these magnificient creatures made the effort worth every moment.
And I thought, this was all the fun for this trip…..
I had been standing and watching through the viewing window for about three hours. My legs felt leaden and the biting cold forced me to sit down on the wooden platform and listen to the sounds of the jungle. Minutes dragged into hours. I felt sleepy and before long I was in deep slumber. I woke up all of a sudden without really knowing what woke me up. I looked at my watch, it was 3 am. Suddenly a small pebble came rolling down and fell near the saltlick. It happened all of a sudden and I was afraid, as I knew there was something big in very close proximity. My mouth was dry and I tried to take slow soft breaths and swallow the saliva to moisten my throat, and to stop my heart from thumping loud. The jungle was ominously silent. The crickets had stopped chirping, and all other night sounds of the Jungle had stopped. Suddenly the oppressive silence was broken by the sound of urination. It was from very close quarters and the distinct smell of the tiger told me that the King of the jungle is on the prowl and is very close to where I was at the moment. I had been squatting on the wooden platform and tried to stand from my squatting position softly, without making any sound or creak. I tried to lift my frame inch by inch, making every effort not to rustle the jacket or make any sound. It seemed ages before my eyes were leveled to the viewing slot. At this moment my knuckles creaked bringing all my effort to naught. The tiger jumped away dislodging a few pebbles. I flashed my torch in the general direction but it was a wasted effort. The Tiger had vanished into the dense Jungle and the crickets started chirping again. The oppressive stillness of the jungle had vanished… The tiger had beaten a retreat. The pugmarks were silent proof of God’s most magnificient creation having visited the place.
And I knew nothing could possibly be more fun ever………
At around five thirty in the morning, I got back to the rest house, tired but happy, to get some well deserved sleep. I must have slept for barely half an hour, when I was shaken from my sleep by Satyadarshi. One of our friends had realised our precarious food position and had crept up to the kitchen and was helping himself to the boiled eggs. A lot of shouting and cursing followed and finally all of us were awake and helping ourselves to the remaining eggs and bread.
Who cares to brush the teeth when food is at such a premium? In any case, who ever heard of a Tiger brushing his teeth before a meal…….!!!!!
If you have any questions on Similipal National Park, then please ask below in the comments.
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I had been to Similipal in 1977 and had stayed with my class mates at Gurguria forest bunglow close to river. The area used to be dense forest.Now 34 years after I chanced to see the area in google map and was saddened to see that large tract of forest has been cut and cleaned around the bunglow near Gurguria. Similipal is paying its price for opening up to tourism. Tiger population has drastically reduced.pristine virgin jungle is missing in most part.
Hi Akhtar,
The Similipal I had described in this article is completely different from the one that we see these days. Rampant felling of trees, poaching and extremists have destroyed the once pristine forests. Wish adequate protection is given to this forests and nature can still repair itself.
Every year the tribals conduct “Akhanda Shikar” ie mass hunting of wild animals. This year it was reported that about 500 odd people entered the core area to hunt during the Shivratri festival. Similipal is dying and is crying for our help.
Though am late to this post, I must record my appreciation of your amazing writing skills. I had read your report on Segur road a few months and suddenly remembered about the same today and found it with difficulty. And your love of wildlife is endearing too!! Thanks for sharing
Hi Praveen,
I am very happy that you liked my writing. If my writings can lead to people realising the beauty and importance of our forests then it would be worthwhile.
You have narrated a riveting account of the encounter with the king of cats! I was almost holding my breath till I got to the part when the crickets started chirping again! Beautiful, all the way!
Hi Umashankar,
This was a very memorable experience. When I told my friends about it, they didn’t believe. Only after showing the pugmark did they believe.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi
Wow ! What a beautiful tale ! And so craftily written 🙂 I am glad to have stumbled upon your blog. Sending you a friend request on Indiblogger 🙂
Regards
Puru
Thanks Puru! I am happy that you liked it.
Have been to simlipal in 2006..people expect a lot from forests,I remember that I had a great vacation there at the forest guest house,and we trekked inside the jungle at night :)[advantage of not having big big animals there]
Hi Anki,
Did you stay in Lulung area? Of course, these days even in the core area you don’t find many wild animals. With the Akhand Shikar by tribals, rampant poaching and the maoist problem, Similipal is not in pink of health. Couple of years back, a melanistic tiger (commonly called as black tiger) has been photographed in camera traps there. One such skin was recovered from a poacher 10 yrs back. Great place.
Bhaina
I have a wish to visit Similipal. Everytime i visit my native place (60 k.m. from Similipal), i wish to visit there but because of the maoist problem my family stops me.
However, your writing took me to my college days when we used to cook and gulp those rice and watery chicken curry. Superbly written. I can feel the wildlife love inside you.
Regards
Subrat
Subrat,
Unfortunately, the maoist problem will finish off whatever is left of Similipal. The maoist issue has nothing to do with ideology. In the name of maoists, all the poachers, wood cutters are stripping Similipal of its unique biodiversity. I too wish to go there, but haven’t found the time. Wish I can go and film there.
I had been to STR five times and last time before the extremist vandalized everything. I had been to lot of forests in India but Simlipal , to me means something else.Simply I love this place.
I visited Similipal again in 2012. I was told by the villagers living within Similipal that the local villagers had come together and spread the word that the maoists are going to attack. Hearing this, the forest officials abandoned their posts and ran away. The villagers burnt down the forest outposts and offices. They cut away big teak trees. Deer and sambar meet was freely available for many days as they killed indiscriminately. The timber was sent to calcutta and other places. With that money, many local people staying inside the park as well as people in the nearby Jashipur town, built multi-storied houses and bought SUVs. For 8 months, the forest department officials had left similipal.
Now you can hardly sight any animal during the day time. Poaching still continues. Wood cutting is on. Similipal needs a very good administrator to bring it back to glory.
Hii, I am willing to visit Similipal in Jan 2016. I am planning to go there from Bhubaneswar in my own car with some of my friends. I am planning to stay there for a couple of days inside the jungle itself if at all possible. Please give necessary feed back like if it possible to park my car somewhere outside the jungle safely, if I stay in the jungle, then do we need to cook our own food?? Please help me out with a detailed plan. And also let me know what are the probabilities of spotting a tiger in the national park.
Appreciate your valuable suggestions
You can certainly drive down to Similipal. The forest office is in Baripada. You have to do the bookings there. There are rest houses in Chahala and Lulung. Other FRHs are generally not given to tourists. You can always park your car in the FRH. Now the roads are much much bigger and broader and the forests have been more or less destroyed by people. Wood cutting and poaching of animals have taken its toll. Forget about the tiger, it would not be easy to sight even deers and sambars in the tourism zone. In my last visit I stayed inside the core area in Jenabil, Upper Baraha Kamuda etc where normal tourists are not allowed and I could sight animals but not the tiger.
Day tourists are also allowed to enter into the forest with a forest guide and come back by evening. The normal spots are the waterfalls and you should definitely visit Barehipani as it’s height is much more than some of the other waterfalls in India.
hi , i am anil kumar das willing to visit similipal in dec 2016. we are planning to stay night in jungle in core areas to see the wild animals and want to cook are own food is it possible ?
please appreciate your valuable suggestions that help us.
Hi Anil,
For stay in core area one needs to get special permission from the forest department.
Otherwise one can get day visit permission.
Hi, I am getting only two places Jamuani amd Kumari from https://www.ecotourodisha.com/ Odisha Forest Development Corporation site. Do you suggest any other places to stay along with reservation process? Looking for a place to see wild animals at night.
That was indeed a great story to be shared Sir. I was looking for some stay in Simlipal or any tiger reserve where forest rangers or someone could take us on a tour to spot wild animals, may be Tigers.
Can you please suggest best place for that?
You will have a difficult time if you are looking for tigers. You may visit Bhitarkanika. There you can easily sight salt water crocodiles. Sighting wildlife in Similipal is extremely tough.
Hi Mr. Patra.. Just relating to your original post, I completed m MBA in 1998.
I am planning to visit with a group of 15 people and will stay at Gurgudia. Will be taking a guide and travel to Uski falls, Joranda falls, Barehipani falls and Chahala.. All these places are as suggested by the Tour operator. Does it look fine to you .
Also we will be travelling in 4 Duster Cars. Solicit your suggestion.
regards,
Shashank Jha
Jamshedpur
Hi Shashank,
Great to know that you too are an MBA. Of course now I have moved away from the corporate world and am full time into filmmaking.
The package suggested by the tour operator is the normal one. The Barehipani fall is very high. After going there you will laugh at most of the other water falls in India.
Roads have become very broad and good, so it shouldn’t be an issue if you are travelling in Duster. Hopefully in the Chahala salt lick you may sight something. These days they have destroyed Similipal…
Sabyasachi
So nicely descrition was given by you. Is it good time to visit simlipal in the month of MAY. And I guess there is no scope of booking chahala forest house now days.so kindly suggest me which forest house should I book to see the wild animals. we r planning from Kolkata for 2nights overthere. or you can suggest for any nearest forest safari rather than Simplipal if u think so like Bhitarkanika.
Thanks,
Moumita
Hi Moumita,
Unless and until you go through some high-ranking official, it would be difficult to get Chahala FRH. They may give you booking at Lulung FRH. May would be very hot in Similipal, especially since most of the buffer areas are devoid of trees due to rampant tree cutting. Chances of sighting animals in buffer area is less, as there have been rampant poaching. The general tourists visit the various water falls like Barehipani and joranda falls. The Barehipani falls is some 399 meters tall and the sight is breathtaking. Chances of sightings of animals in Similipal buffer zone is low. In Bhitarkanika you will have some good sightings of salt-water crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) and birds. You can also visit Satkosia. You can do boating there in the Mahanadi and see muggers or marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) and there are trekking options.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi
Sir we are planning to go similipal with family sir plz suggest us the best place to stay in from the four places so that we can get chance of seeing any animal or for a good experience
Sorry Pratik for the late reply. Did you go there?
The best is if you can get a FRH (forest rest house) booking in the core area. Chahala is a good place.
Hi Sabyasachi,
We are a group of 8 people planning to visit Simlipal in February,2018. Can you provide details on how to book the FRHs at Lulung and Chahala? Like how did you book them? Any contacts will be helpful.
Thanks,
Samia
Samia,
You can book through http://www.ecotourodisha.com . You can select Jamuani. From there you can go to chahala and wait at the saltlick to watch animals. Booking in Chahala FRH can only be obtained if you talk with the field director and convince him. It is primarily for the Government guys.
Similipal is very nice place
We are going to Simplipal with a group of 5 members, and we have booked cottages at Kumari and we will stay there for two nights. What are the places to visit, Is Kumari a good place for night staying and enjoying nature at its best, is there any chance of get a glimpse of the tiger?
Sighting a tiger is tough in Similipal. The wildlife in Similipal is bouncing back. There are many scenic places. Are you visiting the waterfalls? Have a look at the tree branches for sighting some nice orchids which start blooming now. Those are rarities which you won’t find elsewhere. Lets us know your experience after visiting.
Is there any option to stay at Chahala?
I visit Barehipani Eco tourisn GH and day visit at Chahala but again want to visit Shimlipal at want to stay at Chahala.
“https://www.ecotourodisha.com/similipal-nature-camps.php” do not have any option to book any accomodation at Chahala.
Kindly advise.
You can find booking via ecotourodisha site.
I am also trying to book chahala or Lulung FRH but both of the options are not available in ecotoruodhisha.com , so can you guide with the procedure of booking any of these guest house.
In the ecotourodhisa.com the options available are Ramtirtha , Kumari , Jamuani , Guguria and Barehipani
Chahala used to be core area earlier. Then it kind of got degraded. They are not allowing to tourists now. The last time I stayed in Lulung was some 20+ years ago and at that time it was a touristy kind of place with lot of noisy tourists staying there. Of course it is close to baripada so people prefer it. You will get a great view in Bareihipani. It’s a fantastic waterfall. From which side are you entering? Baripada or Jashipur?