Blackbucks & Peacocks Nature Camps To Promote Eco Tourism

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Tourism on Monday unveiled its new Blackbuck Nature Camps in Ganjam district with a Facebook post.

These sites are located at three destinations – Chermaria Nature Camp, Bhanjanagar Dam Nature Camp and Saluapali.

Blackbucks are considered part of the community here. The villagers feel they bring good luck and tie tinkling bells around their necks. The villagers are known to serve and nurse injured animals too. Back in 1997, 20 villagers had founded the Ganjam District Blackbuck Protection Committee for conserving this animal. They were awarded the Biju Patnaik Award for Wildlife Conservation in 2004-05.

Chermaria is located on the foothills of Pakidi and the place is often visited by environmentalists to check peacocks and look for medicinal plants. As mentioned on the ecotourodisha.com site, an air-conditioned suite here is priced at Rs 3500 per night and a non-AC one is priced at Rs 3000 per night. There are tents available at the other two locations. The tariff of a tent Bhanjangar Dam Nature Camp is Rs 2000 per night. There is also a ‘Timber House’ accommodation here. A night at the ‘Timber House’ costs Rs 3500. Similarly, at Saluapali, there are options of air conditioned cottages and tents, both of which cost Rs 2000 a night.

All the accommodation options come with complimentary breakfast, lunch and dinner for two people. A maximum of eight people are allowed to book at a time.

Bookings can be done from Odisha Tourism’s ecotourodisha.com handle.