Resting at the edge of Bay of Bengal and separated by a narrow sandbar called the Rajhansa lies Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, the Chilika Lake. Spread across three districts of Odisha Puri, Khurda and Ganjam. The lake is a paradise for bird watchers and nature lovers.
I visited Chilika Lake with my mother in the first week of February. Therefore, we couldn’t spot many migratory birds. However, we did see some great sightings of the Irrawaddy Dolphins. Here’s a glimpse of our day:
Puri to Chilika Lake, Satpada
Satpada is the closest point to enter Chilika Lake from Puri. It took us 1.5 hours to reach the Visitor Centre of Satpada, which is also the starting point of the safari. The road to Satpada is beautiful. We crossed many villages and marshlands on our way to the lake.
Keep a close eye on those marshlands. You might spot a rare bird or two!
Ticket and Timings
The boating facility remains opens from 6 am until 7 pm. There are plenty of packages available to choose from, each of which covers different spot like temples, island, river mouth etc. We opted for the Dolphin viewpoint along with the Sea mouth package that cost 1800 INR.
Dolphin Viewpoint
We started our journey with the Irrawaddy Dolphins, also known as the short nose dolphins. The sighting point was 20 minutes away from the port. They were camouflaging well amidst the muddy grey water of the lake, making it hard for us to spot them. We couldn’t see many on our way to the Sea mouth. However, we saw plenty on our way back to the dock.
Sea mouth
It was an hour-long journey to the Sea mouth. On our way, we crossed many picturesque islands, salt pans and fisheries. On reaching the Sea mouth, we explored the pristine beaches and gorged on freshly barbecued prawns.
Species spotted on Chilika Lake
It was a great experience to be in the lap of nature and see so many beautiful birds and other species. If you find yourself in Puri, do not give this a miss!
