Simlipal National Park

Simlipal is a national park and tiger reserve covering about 2,750 square kilometres in Mayurbhanj district of northern Odisha, named after the red silk cotton trees that grow here in abundance. Once a royal hunting ground, it became a Project Tiger reserve in 1973 and joined UNESCO's network of biosphere reserves in 2009. Around 10,000 people live in villages inside the forest, and some core villages have been moved out, after which tiger sightings have increased.

The reserve averages about 900 metres in height, with peaks such as Khairiburu and Meghasani. Its two great waterfalls are Barehipani, at 217 metres, and Joranda, at 181 metres, and the northern zone, with Sitakund and Lulung, is promoted for tourism. Tigers, elephants, gaur and four-horned antelope live here, and the tigers are notable for a high rate of pseudo-melanism, a dark coat pattern linked to inbreeding. A mugger crocodile project has run at Ramatirtha since 1979.