Baripada: Similipal National Park and sanctuary in Odisha has been closed for visitors from today following the arrival of monsoon.
A senior official of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) informed that the prohibition period for visitors starts from June and extends up to the end of October every year as the road connectivity in the sanctuary gets disrupted due to the seasonal rainfall and the famous tourist destination of North Odisha would reopen from the first week of November.
The national park, present in the northern part of Odisha joins neighbouring Jharkhand, is nationally famous for a black rare melanistic tiger (royal bengal tiger) that was spotted by tracking cameras installed to track the big cats inside the core area of the sanctuary. The park is also known for its wide range of flora, fauna and wildlife.
In the visiting season, the national park experiences more than 10,000 tourists footfall from all over the country and abroad, who come to have a glimpse of the orchids, birds, carnivorous and herbivorous animals along with reptiles and have a close experience of the picturesque nature and waterfalls of the Sanctuary.