Similipal National Park

Similipal National Park sits in Mayurbhanj district in Odisha, in the northeast corner of the Deccan Plateau, with its own climate impact from the Similipal hills. It was once a hunting ground for royalty, was formally designated a tiger reserve in 1973 under Project Tiger, declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1979, proposed as a national park in 1980 and expanded to 845.70 sq. km in 1986, and declared a biosphere reserve in 1994, with UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves status in 2009.

The landscape is moist deciduous sal forest, dry sal savanna, semi evergreen valleys, hills, rivers and waterfalls, with the park named from semul, red silk cotton trees, that bloom abundantly here. Khariburu and Meghasani hills form the highlands of the southern core, while the northern zone has sloping mountains and destinations like Joranda, Barehipani, Lulung and Sitakund. Joranda and Barehipani waterfalls are among India’s highest, and they give Similipal a scenic, hilly feel that is different from a flat forest park.

Similipal is known for Royal Bengal tigers, whose numbers rose from 17 in 1973 to 99 by 2002 in historical counts, Asian elephants, leopards, gaur, sambar, chital, mugger crocodiles and a rich birdlife, with the park also part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, which includes Hadgarh and Kuldiha wildlife sanctuaries. It is also known for melanistic tigers, the famous black tigers of Similipal, which are a rare colour variant found here, though sightings are extremely rare.

The conservation story includes the Mugger Crocodile Scheme started in 1979 at Ramatirtha near Jashipur, elephant protection through the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, and biosphere management that includes tribal villages in the buffer zone. That buffer life matters for a visitor, because Similipal’s buffer includes villages, valleys and rivers where people live alongside forest, and tourism is managed through nature camps and eco development committees rather than only through jeep routes.

For a visitor, Similipal suits a longer Odisha journey, with nature camp stays inside the reserve at Kumari, Gudgudia, Chahala, Barehipani and Jamuani, and with day visits through Pithabata and Jashipur gates. It suits travellers who want waterfalls, hills, forest and tribal culture as much as tigers, and who are happy to plan around vehicle limits, ground clearance rules and fixed entry and exit times, rather than a flexible single day drive.