Sambalpur, March 11: The newly opened ‘Island Cafe’ on the Bat Island, adjoining the Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary here is luring tourists with the surreal experience of an open-air hangout spot in the middle of a lake.
The Island Cafe was thrown open for visitors on Friday by the Hirakud Wildlife Division and is scheduled to open everyday from 6 am to 6 pm with availability of breakfast evening snacks along with tea and coffee.
Visitors can reach the cafe by taking a 30-minute boat ride by luxury cruise from Debrigarh Nature Camp to Bat Island. The entire package including the cruise is priced at Rs 2,500 for 10 persons, said Anshu Pragyan Das, divisional forest officer, Hirakud Wildlife Division.
To give it a rustic feel, all structures and amenities have been made of palm trees, bamboo and natural stones with help of the local communities residing in Debrigarh.
The island has a few temporary fishermen settlements which are being used as part of the cafe and these fishermen have been entrusted the duty of managing the Island Cafe. Besides, there is also a wildlife camp at the island for inter-border protection of Debrigarh Sanctuary from reservoir side.
Around 60-80 tourists can be accommodated at the cafe all at a time. Those planning to visit the cafe can enjoy a visual treat of the crystal clear turquoise waters of Hirakud in the front and rugged forested mountains and cliff at the back of the island.
Another major attraction of the cafe is that it serves authentic Odia cuisines with various Hirakud fish dishes exclusively prepared by the fishermen for breakfast. Visitors can also buy dried Hirakud fish for takeaway, enjoy bird watching using binoculars, and revel in the joys of photography, fishing and sunset view.
Spanning over a 7-km forested patch on Hirakud Lake, Debrigarh authorities in 2022 added the island to the map of Hirakud as ‘Bat Island’, a cruise destination along with Cattle and Sunset islands. It is home to around 1,200 Indian Fruit Bats which are popularly known as the Indian Flying Fox. The island is connected to Debrigarh Sanctuary through a narrow strip of land.
