To add to the experience of wilderness in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), the authorities have introduced four tented accommodations at Jamuani tourist complex.
Each tent comes equipped with two beds, a dressing room and a tiled western bathroom.
An Indian tourist can book it for ` 500 a day whereas the tariff for a foreign national is `1000. The new accommodations were unveiled by Field Director of STR Anup Nayak recently.
Currently, the Jamuani complex has two suites in the forest rest house having two beds each, two suites, as many cottages and four tents with a combined accommodation capacity of 25 persons.
Apart from the accommodations, the STR authorities have focused on providing local delicacies to the tourists for which 10 contractual cooks and villagers from Jamuani have been selected by the volunteers of Indian Grameen Services.
They are being imparted training in hospitality and food preparation and will be in a position to start the work by the end of the month.
Tourists can also avail the services of guides at Jamuani for trekking from Jamuani to Brindavan apart from visiting a picturesque waterfall. A 13 seater departmental vehicle with experienced official guide has been made available at Jashipur for the tourists.
“We are also trying to encourage foreigners to visit Similipal. If they apply for booking and submit their documents, we will take measures to get the statutory permits from the district administration,” Nayak said.