Satkosia Gorge: The Nature’s Delight

“My wish to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature.”  - Claude Monet

Satkosia Gorge                                                                                   Inserted Representative Map: source Wikipedia

It was May’23 that I got an invitation from Divisional Forest Officer, Satkosia to visit Satkosia Tiger Reserve (STR). I set out very next day afternoon to Angul (Odisha, India), headquarter of STR. Odisha‘s harsh summer was unbearable and by the time I reached Angul in the evening I was down with motion sickness and heat stroke. For next 24 hours I couldn’t move anywhere but to confined myself to my host guest room.

A precious day and half was lost of the trip due to my sickness. So I rescheduled my itinerary only to Satkosia Gorge within STR. Accompanied by my host we drove about 65kms to Tikarpada Forest Rest House (FRH) on the bank of Satkosia Gorge. The drive was very pleasant and we reached FRH in the evening. Situated on the top of river bank the Rest House site was incredibly picturesque. There were 13 well furnished cottages, a children park, walk trails and other fun-adventure sports amenities within the camp property. After a refreshing tea break I strolled on the walking trail infront of the guest house. I could see the vast body of water shining under moonlit night. Enhancing the magnificence was the mysterious thought-provoking silence that was intermittently broken by call of Nightjars. Definitely the gorge in the night was enigmatic. But soon my musing walk was interrupted abruptly by call for dinner. 

Next day we woke up by 5.15am. After a morning cup of tea we board the boat. Beyond my all imagination the view of the gorge was just insanely beautiful.  Indeed it’s nature’s paradise. The Satkosia gorge is in meeting point of the Deccan Peninsula and the Eastern Ghats. The gorge is created by the Mahanadi River cutting the Eastern Ghats and is located along the border between Angul and Boudh districts of Odisha. I was told that the water body cover a length of 22 km from Sunakhania village in Boudh to Badmul village downstream.

 Marsh Crocodile (Muggar)

From the jetty of the Tikarpada our boat moved slowly towards left of the gorge. The water body looks mesmerising as if painted with blue. The total view was like a surround movie screen and clip after clip scrolled before us. We saw numerous Marsh Crocodile (Muggar), bird species like River lapwings, Black-bellied tern, Little tern, River tern, little & large cormorants, Kingfishers (pied, white-throated & common) and so on. The boatman showed us a ferocious mother Muggar guarding her newborn hatchlings. That was sheer joy to eyes. We returned from the downstream after roving about 4/5 kms.

Striated Heron

Blue-tailed bee-eater

Pied Kingfisher

River lapwing

Our upstream journey mostly covered the other bank of gorge. Due to the receded water level a vast land mass of sand bank was visible. It appeared as if a sea beach. Such sand banks are perfect backdrop for many ground nesting birds to breed and propagate. We were lucky to see a pair of Indian Skimmer (classed as Endangered by IUCN) engaged in nesting. Next on our surround screen was a nesting colony of hundreds of Blue-tailed bee-eaters. They were popping in and out of their hole-nest on the ground feeding their chicks. Further ahead we saw a massive Mugger sunbathing on the sand bank.

 

 I was told by my host that after gap of nearly four decade a Gharial (fish eating crocodile; critically endangered on the IUCN Red List) has breed in 2021, 2022 and this year in the natural habitat of Satkosia Gorge. To my fortune I saw the mother Gharial with her hatchlings in the wild. That was just amazing.

 

Gharial (fish eating crocodile)

On our return to Rest House we were welcome by pair of Giant Squirrel jumping around branches of trees. The FRH Campus also housed Gharial Research Centre and a well equips wildlife hospital. One can see Gharial, Mugger and turtle in the enclosures of research centre. 

Living on the edge

Satkosia Settlers crossing the Mahanadi River

               My journey ended with a full belly breakfast at the Forest Rest House. As a wildlife enthusiast I’m frequenter to National Parks & Sanctuaries. But Satkosia Gorge in Tikarpada will be a lasting memory of my life.

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                                                                                                        Text and Photos by Ranjit Sahu

How to Reach:

Tikarpada is about 140km by road from state capital Bhubaneswar (also the nearby airport).By Rail Anugl is the nearest railway station about 60km.

References:

1. Sri Saroj Ku Panda, Divisional Forest Officer, Satkosia.

2. Wikipedia

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