Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary

Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected marine sanctuary off the coast of Kendrapara district, Odisha, along the Bay of Bengal. Established in 1997, it is Odisha's only marine sanctuary and covers Gahirmatha Beach and surrounding waters. It is globally renowned as the world's largest rookery for Olive Ridley sea turtles, which arrive annually for mass nesting (arribada). The sanctuary also protects mangroves, estuarine ecosystems, dolphins and migratory birds.

Visitors can expect a remote coastal and marine wilderness accessible only by boat with prior forest department permission. The sanctuary encompasses a long sandy beach, shallow coastal waters, mangrove creeks and estuarine channels adjoining Bhitarkanika. Direct access to the core nesting beach is highly restricted, especially during nesting season. Visitors typically view the landscape, mangroves, dolphins, migratory birds and, when permitted and seasonally, Olive Ridley turtles from designated areas or boats under guide supervision. There are no developed tourist facilities inside the core area.

Notified as a Marine Wildlife Sanctuary on 27 September 1997 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Gahirmatha is Odisha's first and only marine sanctuary. It was created to protect the world's largest Olive Ridley sea turtle rookery at Gahirmatha Beach, which was scientifically documented in the 1970s, and to conserve its mangrove and marine ecosystem extending over 1435 sq km.

The sanctuary is significant for coastal communities of Kendrapara who have traditional connections to fishing and turtle conservation, and it has become a focal point for wildlife conservation awareness and eco-tourism education in Odisha centered on Olive Ridley protection.