With the chill steadily setting in at the Dalma wildlife sanctuary, tourists are rushing to book accommodations.

Winter is the best season to spend quality time at the sprawling 192 sq km elephant abode and visitors shall have to wait till next month to get accommodation. All the accommodations, plush AC and non-AC cottages, bamboo hut and mud cottages at Mukulakocha as well as the four non-AC rooms at Pinderabera at the top, are already reserved till December 7.

Dalma range officer (West) Dinesh Chandra said tourists would only be able to get rooms after December 7 or in case of cancellation of reservation. "Tourists flock to the sanctuary every winter which is steadily setting in. I think Dalma should be in the grip of chill in about 10 days," he added.

The temperature inside the sanctuary remains 2-3 degrees less than urban pockets. The present temperature in Dalma is 13 degrees.

Tourists from Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Odisha and Chattisgarh flock to Dalma sanctuary to enjoy a cosy stay and the flora and fauna. Picnickers are already enjoying the beauty of the place, especially at a vacant land at Pinderabera, 14 km from Makulakocha, the main entrance to the elephant reserve.

The road which snakes to the top hill from Makulakocha is in good condition. The damaged portions of the stretch have been repaired with plain cement concrete.

Tourists need to take along ration stock if they get accommodated at the rooms tophill but they get vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes at the cafeteria at Makukakocha.

Visitors also get guides in the form of local villagers who take them to the watering holes and deep inside the jungles. Tourists also visit the Shiva temple at the top from where they can have a panoramic view of the sanctuary.