Solo Travel India|| Solo-female Travel India|| Solo Travel Odisha || Odisha travel Plan || Odisha Travel Guide || Travel Guide to Chandaka and Satkosia|| Weekend Trip from Bhubaneswar: Chandaka and Satkosia Travel Guide||Solo Weekend Getaways: Chandaka and Satkosia in Odisha|| Nature Retreats in Odisha: Solo Travel Tips for Chandaka & Satkosia
What’s up all of you.. after some time ehh!! Yeaahhh.. leave problems at corporate life, family, bulging work.. life is running behind the express train at full speed and the brain is overstuffed.. and days are passing like this. AND in between all these, I found a sneak peek to escape for a long weekend and made it my own. Here comes another Solo trip.. a known state, where I keep visiting for work these days.. but 2 new places to explore for me.. let’s talk about them all.. it’s a small blog because it was an experience, so words, by default will fail!!
CHANDAKA
Firstly both these places I went to, are absolutely nature-oriented. So if you love to be away from the bustling city noise, if you want to stay away from network zone (not completely but to some extent), if you want to see only green all around you.. then you should choose these places. Very close to Bhubaneshwar city but so aloof from the city life and so quiet and peaceful.
Starting with Chandaka, just 15-20 km from Bhubaneswar it is actually a forest area. Can you imagine!! So you are completely not inside a jungle. Within a kilometre, there is a residential school, within a few kilometres there are building complexes.. but once inside the property, you are barred out of the rest of the world. At Chandaka I stayed at Chandaka Nature Camp or Deras Nature Camp handled by Odisha Forest Development Corporation. This is a very interesting property. So once at the gate, the security wanted to see the booking details, once verified, the booking details, he opened the car door, sat inside and ordered the driver to continue driving. We drove inside for about 700 meters in between the meadows, grazing land, narrow mud lanes and then we came to the property. & I loved this thought of positioning the property. Absolutely in the mid of greenery, there are 8 cottages, and you are in the lap of the humble nature.
Really a great place to spend a weekend, if you are looking for workation.. you should consider the place. There can be a bit of network issue, but JIO works fine.. go for it.
How to reach:
Just an hour by car from Bhubaneshwar. So very convenient to reach. The gates are open till 8 pm, so you may come within that time.
Because the late you are, there is a possibility that elephants may guard the road in the jungle, so for safety reasons try to enter the property within daylight.
I came here by the brink of dusk, it was quiet, nature was scooching in slumber. The room was big, with 2 verandas, basic amenities. It was not bad at all. Again very basic, neat-clean place to stay at. Do not expect luxury but expect the touch of nature.
Duration:
1 night is good enough if you want to have a feel of the place. Or if you are someone who loves nature or looking for workation.. 2-3 nights will be good. As a matter of fact, the manager told me a lady came here and stayed for a week, so you know what I mean.
Where to stay:
Deras Nature Camp by Odisha Forest Development Corporation is where I stayed. There is also another private property close by, named Chandaka Nature Resort. There is another called Banani, which I don’t have much idea of.
What to see/ what to do:
Boat ride: no I couldn’t go for it. The water level was too high for a boat ride. Hence no boating for me. But do you know, the lake where you can enjoy boating, has crocodiles underneath.. so be careful and be good while in the middle of the water.
Jungle Safari:
You can go for a jungle safari while here. There are different safari vans available starting from 8 seater open van to 12 seater. You have to book online (it works really well) and the driver comes bang on time (you can take help of the property manager). The Government uses local drivers during season time, rest of the time during low season, if there is a booking, the forest officers take you for a ride. I was the only one doing the safari (the other tourists who stayed there, didn’t go for the safari) and this solo safari was good. The officer shared his experiences with me, the drive was quiet and NO sighting!!! He tried taking me for a little longer ride but no luck. But I enjoyed the jungle, the monsoon special greenery.. I didn’t regret not spotting anything whereas the officer was a little upset. To book the jungle safari/ accommodation you can refer to this link
Season/ when to go:
Nov to Feb is the actual season. When you can spot animals, you can go boating. But I liked the monsoon look of the place, the freshly bathed greenery has a different charm to bask in.. What say!!
SATKOSIA:
I was looking forward to it. Can I give a spoiler first? This is in Odisha and 98% of the tourists are from Bengal when it comes to Satkosia. Even during my stay here.. all rooms were occupied by Bengalis.. I even happened to meet an old school friend after donkey’s age!! ‘She’ actually recognised me as a matter of fact, I took some moments to travel back in time and then resemble her today’s appearance with her childhood.. Tough job ehh!!
There are a few places to stay at Satkosia.. but most of people prefer Satkosia Sands Resort by Odisha Forest Development Corporation. There are 3 AC cottages, 4 AC tents (better go for the tents because of the view) and during season time they put up 3-4 camps on the sand bank. The view is.. green jungle all across, then there is the Mahanadi flowing at the front crossing over the sand bank.. followed by there are small hills layered one after the other right across the other bank of the river.. and then the infinite blue sky taking over.. green-blue- brown, rainbow is brewing shades here, the call of crickets at night, birds in the morning.. clattering of rain, clean greenery.. I don’t know what else to say? Only I wanted to have this view more..
Getting inside the room was so painful, then I had to sacrifice so many moments of missing this view from the veranda of my tent room. The reason you should come here is just for the view. You can’t miss this.
How to reach:
Satkosia is just 3:30- 4 hours driving distance away from Bhubaneswar.
However, people coming from Kolkata, usually come by car, it is about 10-12 hours of driving.
By train, you may come to Bhubaneswar or Khurda, from there you have to take a car.
Duration:
Minimum 2.. 1 night will break your heart.. so 2 is minimum, then you may go up to 3-5 nights without getting bored at all.
Where to stay:
I will recommend Satkosia Sand Resort. There are a couple of others, but I didn’t get any opportunity to find them out.
What to see/ what to do:
If you stay at Satkosia Sands resort.. then campfire by the bank in the evening (during winter). The property also arranges folk dances where artists from nearby villages come and perform. Also to tell you, the property employs local village men and women to service the tourists and the local people, especially the ladies are very sweet.
Now what else to do??
You can go for a boat ride during season time.. I didn’t do that because it was closed. The area for boat rides is also available for small picnics, as my friend and her family went there, and had a small camping experience (they had their own equipment with them).
But.. and I was told not to talk about it so forget it after you read this okay?? I was taken to a secret fountain where tourists are not allowed.. and it is for all good reasons. There is no proper road to go to the fountain, it’s between the jungle, just 500 mt from the main road but there are all chances for people to get lost. Locals may come here.. we didn’t spot any of them, but it was good.
We also saw some local temples. Punthei Mata temple, where the villagers of Purunyapani village start any of the good work after seeking blessing from the goddess.
There is another very interesting temple which connects to the very famous Puri Jagannath temple. so every year the chariot for the Rath Yatra festival needs wood to build the Rath. The woods of the Rath come from this jungle, hence before collecting the woods, the priests offer puja to Bororouro Thakurani to seek her permission and then go inside the jungle to collect the woods.
Even if you don’t go anywhere around, you can relax and enjoy inside the resort enjoying the view.
Season/ when to go:
Nov to Feb is the actual season. When you can enjoy boating. You can enjoy a camp fire, and barbeque night, they also have tents on the sand bank from mid-November to Feb end.
Which was my favourite?
I liked Chandaka, I really enjoyed the safari there all alone. But no doubt I loved Satkosia more. The view was surreal. But you should experience both to have your own preference.. right?
That’s for this time.. will be back soon..
TurtleGotWings 
Thank you so much for sharing what a beautiful solo-escape story! Your descriptions of Chandaka and Satkosia are full of heart and kind of magical I almost felt the jungle air and heard the river flowing.
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thank you for those lovely words and it a great pleasure to know that you liked the write up. thank you once again..
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