Konark Sun Temple - ASI maintains the temple and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Konark Sun temple is also featured in the list of 7 wonders in India, along with Meenakshi Amman Temple of Madurai, Dholavira of Gujarat, Red Fort of Delhi,Jaisalmer Fort of Rajasthan, Nalanda of Bihar and Khajuraho of Madhya Pradesh.
Chilika lake is one of the popular places to visit in Odisha and it’s spread over Puri, Khurda and Ganjam regions of Odisha state. It’s on east coast of India which flows into the Bay of Bengal. It’s largest coastal lagoon in India and second largest lagoon in the world. The largest one is New Caledonian barrier reef.
Nandankanan Zoological Park - Nandankanan means 'The Garden of Heavens' and is spread over 400 acres. It's one of the must visit places in Bhubaneshwar, especially when kids are accompanying you. It's very different from Zoo you see in cities by Delhi. It's a zoo and botanical park. Some part of it is also declared as sanctuary.
Shanti Sputa at Dhauligiri - This beautiful Shanti Stupa is located around Dhauli which is on the banks of Daya river and place is about 8 km away from Bhubaneshwar, Orissa. There are lot of stories associated with Dhauli Hills and how Ashoka is connected with this region. Dhauli has more to offer apart from this Shanti Stupa.
Udaigiri and Khandgiri Caves - Udaygiri and Khandgiri Caves are mix of natural and man-made caves around Kumari parwat. It seems that caves were carved for Jain monk. Udaigiri means sunrise hill. Udaipgiri has 18 caves, while Khandgiri has 15 caves.
Museum of Tribal Art and Artefact, Bhubaneshwar - It's a nice place to hang around, see some inspiring art and know the lifestyle of Odisha tribes.
Rock Edicts of Asoka - There are multiple edicts of Ashoka and spread across various countries including India, Bangladesh, Afganistan and Pakistan. Odisha state has some of these which have some messages by Ashoka which is influenced by him follower-ship of budhhism. While in Bhubaneshwar, we also planned to visit Rock edicts of Asoka. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs along with some information.
Rughurajpur - Raghurajpur is a heritage crafts village in Puri district known for the Pattachitra painters, an art form which dates back to 5 BC. These pattachitra paintings are made over a piece of cloth known as ‘Patta’ or a dried palm leaf which is first painted with a mixture of chalk and gum. Over the prepared surface, colorful and intricate pictures of various Gods, Goddesses, and mythological scenes with ornamentation of flowers, trees and animals are then painted. Undeniably- this was my favorite experience on this trip. I had a firsthand opportunity to see the artists paint stunning and detailed paintings- day and night of untarnished labor and an impeccable display of fine arts passed through generations. Today, this is a dying art. There is no royal patronage or no benevolent art enthusiasts to support this dying art form. The houses are shabby and dilapidated yet painted in such stunning masterpieces only to tell a saga of our current state of cottage industries.
Puri
If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -
- Manage your waste well and don’t litter
- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.
- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.
- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.
- Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite
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