Chahala Wildlife Viewing Area

Chahala is a designated wildlife viewing area located in the core zone of Similipal National Park and Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj District, Odisha. It features a large open grassland meadow with a watchtower overlooking a salt lick and waterhole. The area is known for frequent sightings of elephants, deer, and birds within dense sal forest surroundings and is a key visitor zone inside the Similipal Biosphere Reserve.

Visitors can expect an open grassland meadow surrounded by dense sal and mixed deciduous forest inside Similipal Tiger Reserve. A watchtower provides elevated views over the meadow, waterhole and salt lick where wildlife gathers. The setting is quiet and forested, accessible only by authorized safari vehicles via forest roads. Visitors can observe herds of elephants, spotted deer, sambar, wild boar and numerous bird species, and explore the surrounding forest trails with a guide.

Similipal was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1973 under Project Tiger, a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1979, proposed as a National Park in 1980, and designated as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1994. Chahala has long served as a central meadow and wildlife observation point within the reserve's core area.

Similipal region is home to indigenous communities including the Erenga Kharia and Mankidia tribes, known for traditional forest-based livelihoods. The forest landscape holds local cultural importance and is associated with traditional knowledge of flora and fauna.