Being an Odia it was almost embarrassing and I was long thinking about planning a visit to this beautiful and scenic sanctuary. But amongst all other things like proper timing and cost factor, one of the things which was hindering my plan, was the knowledge that if I have to travel with my family, which I generally do, I wasn't sure of the safety factor.

After all it's a jungle area with lots of crocodiles and wild animals. So is it safe to go with kids? But when I heard a group of my office colleagues discussing and planning for a visit, I quickly said yes without any second thoughts. The idea was to get a good understanding of whether it is okay to plan a visit to the place with family or not. And I think I achieved that at the end of the trip to Bhitarkanika. It is surely one of the best-unexplored places I had visited ever and I would love to bring my family here.

We had one person in our group who has visited Bhitarkanika place many times and he was the best guide we could have. Quickly he made all the bookings and off we go. Initially, they were planning to go in Enfield bullets but based on my insistence, we took one car (4 people) and one bullet (1 person). I have never been a bike guy and absolutely not for long distance and highways. The idea was to travel early morning on Saturday and return back Sunday afternoon. We started at around 7 from Bhubaneswar but it was still quite foggy, at-least till we reached Cuttack city.

Multiple route options from Bhubaneswar - Bhitarkanika

There are 2 routes you can take if you are going in car and travelling from Bhubaneswar/Cuttack. One is through Salipur and the other is through Chandikhol. The Chandikhol route is 2 lanes, so faster than Salipur road which is single lane, but it's a toll road and also 15 km more. We took the Salipur one and decided to have breakfast at the famous Bikalananda Kar Hotel in Salipur. We had Vada and curry and have to say it was awesome. Add to it the thing which this shop is famous for - The Rasgullas and we were completely full for the next few hours. So if you are going by car, you can go up-to Gupti and take a boat from there or you can directly drive to Dangamala. So how do you choose: