Chilika Lake

Chilika Lake, India

A low-angle view from a wooden boat prow looking across the golden sunrise waters of Chilika Lake in Odisha.

Odisha's Chilika Lake is a shifting, bird-filled lagoon where dolphins and fishing boats share the water.

The place

Chilika Lake sits on Odisha's east coast, spread across the Puri, Khordha and Ganjam districts, where the Daya River reaches the Bay of Bengal. It is a lagoon of mixed water: fresh where rivers pour in, close to sea-salt where tides push through the mouth. Its size changes with the seasons. In summer it shrinks to roughly 900 square kilometres, while the monsoon swells it to about 1,165. Few visitors arrive expecting that kind of change, and the shoreline villages plan their livelihoods around it. The lake is a Ramsar wetland, and it was among the first two Indian wetlands given that status, in 1981. It has since won a conservation award for how it is managed. More than 225 bird species have been recorded here, along with the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin and a wide range of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants. Around 200,000 fisherfolk from more than 130 villages depend on the lake, so it is as much a working landscape as a nature reserve. Getting around means getting onto the water. Boats leave from Rambha, Barkul, Satapada and Tampara, and the main draw in winter is the migratory birds that settle on its mudflats and sandbars. Islands such as Nalabana sit in the middle of the lake. The landscape is flat and hazy rather than dramatic, and the appeal lies in the wide water, the reed beds and the sky full of wings. Crowds are light compared with the big Indian monuments, but weekends and festival days bring more boats onto the lake.

Its story

Chilika was not always a lagoon. Geological evidence points to the sea reaching this stretch of coast during the later Pleistocene, when sea and land were still rearranging themselves. Over long periods the coastline pulled eastward, cutting the bay off behind sandbars and leaving the lagoon we see today, a place where river and tide still negotiate. Archaeology at Golabai, on the Malaguni River, a tributary of the Daya, shows people living around the lake for a long time. The Archaeological Survey of India excavated the site and found a sequence running through Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Iron Age phases. Radiocarbon dating traced the earliest layer to about 2300 BCE. Woodworking adzes were among the many items recovered, and Golabai is the sole dig in Odisha that has uncovered evidence of boatbuilding. That detail matters: it suggests the lake offered a route to the sea and a reason to build boats. Early texts describe the southern part of the lake as a busy harbour for seaborne trade. Kharavela, king of Kalinga, was remembered as the 'Lord of the Sea', a title that hints at naval power or at least a close bond with the water. Ptolemy, writing around 150 CE, placed a port called Paloura near the lake's southern edge, from which ships sailed for Southeast Asia. The coast has continued to shift. The Konark Sun Temple was built on the seashore centuries ago and now stands about 3 km inland, a reminder that this shoreline has been moving for a very long time.

What to see

Culture

Chilika is a working lake before it is a destination. Around 200,000 fisherfolk from more than 130 villages depend on its waters, so nets, drying racks and small wooden boats are part of the everyday scene along the shore. Odia is the language of the villages and the boatmen, and a few words of greeting go a long way. The island shrine of Kalijai draws pilgrims in large numbers, especially in January during the Makar Mela around Makar Sankranti, when the island becomes busy and devotional. Many visitors come for birds and dolphins, but the people who live here are fishing, farming and running boats for a living, and their homes and temples are not tourist sites. Dress modestly, keep voices down near shrines, and ask permission before photographing a fishing family or anyone at worship, and take your shoes off before stepping onto a shrine floor.

What to wear

Odisha's traditional dress centres on handloom weaving. Women have long worn saris woven in cotton or silk, and the state is known for ikat work, including the sambalpuri patterns often used for saris and dress lengths. Men traditionally wore a dhoti or a lungi, usually in cotton. These textiles are still worn for festivals, weddings and temple visits more than for everyday work. Day to day, people around Chilika mostly wear practical clothes. Women wear saris, salwar kameez or a simple blouse with a long skirt, and men wear shirts with trousers or lungis, especially among fishing families who work on the water. Many people wear sandals or go barefoot on the boats and sand. For a visit, light cotton or linen in pale colours suits the heat and spray. Long trousers or knee-length skirts, and a shirt with sleeves that cover the shoulders, are the sensible choice for shrines. A wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and a light layer for early boat rides are useful. Closed shoes that can get wet work better at the landings than flip-flops, and a scarf for the head helps at temples.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. November to February, when migratory waterbirds arrive and the weather is cooler. The monsoon swells the lake to its largest extent but brings rain and rough water, and the summer months are hot and bright with the lake at its smallest.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Bhubaneswar airport is about 120 km away, and taxis, buses and trains run from there to the lake. The nearest rail station is Balugaon on the Howrah–Chennai line, and state-run OSRTC buses cover the roughly 2-hour road journey from Bhubaneswar to Balugaon. From Balugaon, hire a taxi or auto-rickshaw to Barkul or Rambha.

Budget. low

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources