• Chilika Lake is Asia’s largest and world’s second largest lagoon.
• It is brackish water lagoon located in odisha state covering an area of over 1,100 km2.
• It is home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals.
• The Nalaban Island within the lake is notified as a Bird Sanctuary under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Interesting Facts about Chilika Lake

• It is the biggest lake of India. It is the largest salt water lake in India.
• It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent.
  • The lake hosts birds migrating from thousands of miles away from the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea, remote parts of Russia, Mongolia, Central and Southeast Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas.
• In 1981, the Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• The famous Kalijai Temple is Located on an island in the Lake.
• Major attraction at Chilika is Irrawaddy dolphins which are often spotted off Satpada Island.

Where is the lake located?

• The lake spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India.
• It is located at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal.

Latest News

January 2022: Chilika Lake saw a million birds, including the uncommon Mongolian gull, visiting the waterbody this year. Read the complete story here.

Sources

1. Wikipedia
2. The Hindu