Mangalajodi is a bird paradise situated at the north western part of Chillika lake. It is an important wet land of Odisha. It is inhabited by many residential birds. During winter, Mangalajodi is highly populated by migratory birds. The place is very significant for birding. Mangalajodi is conserved by local community of the Mangalajodi village. The best time to visit this place is from October to February (winter season). During this time, the weather is very pleasant and lots of migratory birds can be seen. Every year there are lakhs of migratory birds come to this place. Mangalajodi is at a distance of 64 km from Bhubaneswar.
The journey to Mangalajodi started from Bhubaneswar (Capital of Odisha). I caught a bus from Baramunda bus stand (Bhubaneswar) which was heading towards Tangi at 6: 30 AM in the morning. The bus dropped me at Tangi bus stoppage after traveling one and half hour. I had my breakfast at Tangi. From the bus stand, I traveled by a sharing auto rickshaw which dropped me at Mangalajodi village and then traveled to the boat catching point by hiring an auto rickshaw and the auto rickshaw charged INR 50. It was 9:30 AM in the morning.
Exploring Mangalajodi:
There are few local community manage the boat riding. There is a community which is managed by Mr. Madhu Behera from whom I booked a boat at a cost of INR 500. This was a traditional boat propelled manually by a boatman (Nauria). Motorized boats are prohibited in these area as it disturbs the birds. I was alone in the boat except the boatman. The boatman is very much acquainted with the place and knows where to spot birds. He first sailed the boat throw a narrow channel region guarded by bush on both the sides. Then we slowly moved towards the inner region. We stopped at different points where there is more chances of spotting specific birds. Most of the birds were migratory birds. I was carrying my DSLR camera with 300 mm lens. When we moved further towards the central region, abundant number of birds were found. Most of the birds were at a distance of approximately 5 meters from the boat. It was very easier for me to capture photographs. I captured lots of photographs. After sailing for 3 hours in the wet land, we returned to the boat point. I met Mr. Madhu Behera who was about to leave the ghat. He dropped me at a lodge which was owned by him. I had my lunch at the lodge located in the Mangalajodi village.
It was 2 PM when I left Mangalajodi and moved to the nearest railway station, Mukteswar station. The station is at a distance of 1.2 km from the village. I purchased a train ticket from the counter and traveled by train at 3:15 Pm and arrived at Khurda junction at 4:45 PM. From Khurdha junction , I traveled by Puri-Angul passenger and get off at Bhubaneswar railway station.
The journey was very pleasant and enjoyable. Riding the boat and sailing through the bird paradise of Mangalajodi are more exciting and memorable. I was on the boat riding during 10 AM - 1 PM. The best time for birding is in the early morning from 5: 30 AM - 9:00 AM.
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About me
Tapan Kumar Pradhan PhD, IIT Kanpur http://tapankp.weebly.com Distance:
Bhubaneswar - Mangalajodi = 64 km Bhubaneswar - Tangi = 60 km Tangi - Mangalajodi = 4 km Mangalajodi - Boat point = 2.2 km Boat point - Mukteswar station = 3 km |