• Odisha government has declared the Gandhamardan Hill Range in Bargarh and Balangir district as a Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS).

About Gandhamardan Hill (Gandhamardan Reserve Forest)

• It is considered as the treasure trove of medicinal plants and an Ayurvedic paradise of Odisha.
• Gandhamardan is home to 1,200 species of plants and 500 species of animals with hundreds of types of trees, shrubs, herbs, and species of medicinal plants.
• Hosts two historical monuments: Nrusinghanath Temple located on northern slope and Harishankar Temple situated on southern slope.

In In his chronicles, Hiuen Tsang had described the hill shrine as a Buddhist heritage site named Parimalagiri.