Bhitarkanika National Park one of the renowned National park located in the Kendrapara District Odisha in eastern India. Core area of 145 square kilometre of the Bhitarkanika Wild Sanctuary, spread over 672sqkm, has been designated as a National Park since 1998.
The national park is surrounded by the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary. Gahirmatha Beach and Marine Sanctuary lies to the east, and separates mangroves from the Bay of Bengal.
The park is home to the endangered Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), White Crocodile, Indian python, King Cobra,black ibis, darters and many other species of flora and fauna.
The national park was created in September 1998 from the core area of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, which was created in 1975. The sanctuary is the second largest mangrove ecosystem in India.
The flora and fauna of this park is home to the saltwater crocodile, white crocodile, Indian python, black ibis, wild pigs, rhesus monkeys, chitals, darters, cobra, water monitor lizard . Olive ridley sea-turtles nest on Gahirmatha and other nearby beaches. Bhitarkanika has one of the largest populations of endangered saltwater crocodile in India. As per the 2014 survey of mammals, first of its kind to be undertaken in the forest and wetland sites of the park; 1,872 spotted deers, 1,213 numbers of wild boars have made the forest areas their home. The census breakup of other mammals is monkeys - 1,522, jackals - 305, common langur - 39, otter - 38, sambar deer - 17, jungle cat - 11, fox - 10, Mongoose - 7, wolf- 7, fishing cats - 3, hyena - 1, according to the survey.
The boat ride from Khola to Dangmal or vice versa is highly recommended. Khola is one of the gateways into the park. This is along an artificial creek and it passes through dense mangrove forest providing a glimpse into the estuarine ecosystem and its wealth of fauna. The best time to travel through this creek is early morning or before sunset.
Bhitarkanika has a very rich historical past. It used to be the hunting grounds of the King of Kanika . The hunting towers and artificial watering holes can be seen at many places including Bhitarkanika trail and at Dangmal. It is also the home of medieval Hindu temples which can be found dotted throughout the sanctuary.
Sightseeing is done on boats which have got forest department licenses. Main entrance to the forest is from Khola Gate, even though there is another gate called Gupti gate also. Most convenient entry points are:
Dhamara which is 40 km away from Jamujhadi and 92 km from Balasore
Chandbali at 60 km distance from Bhadrak and 190 km from Bhubaneswar
Rajnagar, 30 km distance from Kendrapara and 130 km from Bhubaneswar
Gupti situated at 25 km distance from Rajnagar.