Chilika Lake

The 1,100-square-kilometre coastal lagoon on the Odisha coast, 50 kilometres from Puri — the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second-largest brackish water lagoon in the world. The lagoon is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance since 1981 and holds over 160 bird species (an estimated 1 million migratory birds winter here from Siberia, Baikal and Iran), the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin (around 150 individuals in the Satapada area, the only remaining Irrawaddy dolphin population in a lagoon anywhere), 160 fish species and 60 crustacean species. The Kalijai temple on a lagoon island (dedicated to the goddess Kalijai, Odia tradition of a bride lost in the lake) is a major pilgrimage. The 1960 Nalabana Bird Sanctuary within the lagoon preserves core bird habitat.