Bhubaneswar, April 20: Tourists to the city will now have a new place to visit — the natural surroundings of Godibari near the main entrance of Chandaka Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary on the outskirts of the state capital.

Odisha environment and forests minister Debiprasad Mishra inaugurated the Godibari Eco-tourism Complex today. The eco-tourism complex will have a rock-climbing facility for adventure enthusiasts. This facility will be the first of its kind in the city.

The authorities of the sanctuary have also developed two nature trails near the Godibari entrance. Mishra inaugurated an interpretation centre near the complex where nature-based knowledge would be imparted to tourists and students. The interpretation centre will also be used as a mini auditorium.

Mishra said: “The eco-tourism concept has become a huge hit, with the environment and forests department getting a good response from people all over the state. The eco-tourism complexes in Dhenkanal and Angul districts inspired us and we are planning to develop more such complexes in districts such as Mayurbhanj. There is also a plan to develop eco-tourism complexes at major tourist destinations so that tourists can have mini conference facilities for their work as well as take nature trips.’’

Divisional forest officer of the sanctuary Akshaya Patnaik said: “The tourist interpretation centre will also have an eco-theatre with a collection of 100 short films. Visitors can choose from the collection and watch up to three films a day. The theatre will accommodate around 40 persons per show and have an interactive touch-screen computer with LED screen to display the flora and fauna of the sanctuary. The complex also has a children’s play area.’’

“We have renovated two nature trails — sal trail and machharanka (kingfisher) — where the tourists can take walks. They can also ask questions about popular plant varieties. We are aiming the exercise at students. While the sal trail is inside a sal and bamboo forest patch, the machharanka trail is a popular spot near a water harvesting project where three varieties of kingfishers and many other bird species are also seen,’’ said Patnaik.

The forest department has also developed a garden consisting of 34 medicinal plants, 20 species of fodder, 10 berry species, 100 tree species from the 730 species found in the sanctuary near the main entrance of Godibari. Boards describing the scientific and common names are also placed at strategic points.

While the herbal garden was formed to encourage tourists to grow medicinal plants in their homes, the collection of fodder species is there to educate farmers.

A souvenir house displaying products of various eco-development societies in and around the sanctuary is also present at the complex.

Mrutyunjay Tripathy, a resident of Bhubaneswar, said: “After developing Deras and bamboo huts inside the sanctuary, the new addition for visitors near Godibari will encourage people from the city to spend their weekends there.’’