[greenhorn]

I'd been thinking of putting up this thread for a very long time. Never had the time while I was actually in college. Most of these trips were made during my 2 year stint at Bhubaneswar while doing my MBA. As a devout car nut, I had my car with me most of the time, and a bunch of friends willing to travel. I'm just putting up the pics, - I have no idea about how to get there - usually there was a cabbie or a bigger convoy I tagged along with, or had local friends guiding me, or just with plain GPS!
If you do have any doubts, do ask, will try to answer them (or clarify with my friends to get you the info).

[greenhorn]

First of all is the Ekamra Kanan Botanical garden




This is in bhubaneswar city itself, but I found it pretty breathtaking and serene, and it is technically a getaway, since you'll find half the romantic couples in bhubaneswar here, engaged in amorous pursuits. So the snaps here are pretty low, because I was rather occupied myself, and the guards don't encourage photography here for obvious reasons.

Nandan Kanan - I never got around to going there, and i've been told that it's too crowded

Khandagiri/Udayagiri - These are rock carved caves, apparently used by jain hermits at one time. Lots of monkeys, and lots of people too. this should take less than an hour, especially if NH5 is not that crowded

[greenhorn]

Dhauli is on puri road. there is a small detour. This is the shanti stupa, was built by japanese devotees. Nearby are King Ashoka's edicts. The view from the top of the Stupa is amazing - you can see the Daya River (the one that turned red from the Kalinga war) and lead to Ashoka renouncing violence.

[greenhorn]

Deras & Jhumika are a bunch of small dams nearby. As dams, they're rather unremarkable, but the area around them is rather nice and cozy. They are pretty close by as well, so went there for the heck of it. Deras is easy to find, jhumika is smaller and a bit harder - I got there because I went there with a couple of localite friends

[greenhorn]

Kapilas is the closest you can get to a hill near bhubaneswar. After what seemed like an eternity of driving on flat, straight roads, I had a craving for curves, and jumped at the chance of going there. This is one route I thoroughly enjoyed driving, all the way. In fact, the temple at the end was a bit of an anticlimax.
Saptasajiya was another temple/shrine, and there is a small brook running alongside. I wet my feet in the puddle, and it felt pretty nice! The last few kilometers to saptasajya are pretty steep, and i was running in first gear with the engine revving away - with me worried about overheating at one point

[greenhorn]

These are from a visit to bhardak we had to do as part of our curriculum. We had to stay in a village near bhadrak, and soak in the village life. The village had concrete roads, and was pretty nice. We were just awestruck by this particular tree - It's huge!

It was a full moon that time, we had a campfire, and there was a festival going on, where they put small lamps in paper boats in the river - this is a throwback to the time when the men were sailors and went on long voyages, and this was done for their safe return.

[greenhorn]

Chillika was one of my biggest disappointments. I did not get to see *any* dolphins. All I got to do was look hither and thither when people shouted, "look there, a dolphin" and be content with seeing a ripple. We finally stopped at a sand bar in the middle, and later towards the sea mouth. The sea mouth was quite calm and expansive.

There are two locations of interest on chillika lake, the second, satpada is more of a bird sanctuary, and there were some large interesting birds. The water was quite shallow at a number of places, and you could see the lake floor.

Adding insult to injury was the fact that all you could get to eat was mostly (for obvious reasons) seafood. Me being turned off by seafood, just had to sit and watch as my friends chowed down on crabs and fish
The first time I went there, it was rather hot, and sitting in a rickety boat in the hot sun wasn't much fun. The second time, in winter, with a cooler atmosphere was much better

[greenhorn]

Gopalpur is in itself, nothing unremarkable, but after visiting satpada, we didn't feel like stopping, and continued driving. the Yatri Nivas at satpada was nothing to write home about either.

At gopalpur, we reached to find all the waterfront hotels booked. Thanks to having a car and an android phone at our disposal, we found the panthanivas there, and it was beautiful. For a govt resort, it was pretty well kept, and we bargained and got a deal for the room also. I should say i fell in love more with the resort than the place itself!

[greenhorn]

Now puri - konark is a regular feature on our route. I must have done this at least 6 times. the best plan (IMO) is to head out by around 3, reach chandrabhaga at konark at around 5:30, enjoy the sunrise, loaf around till 7~8, check out the sun temple, then head via the marine drive slowly - this is arguably the best road I've driven till yet - to puri. While for most people, the Jagannath temple at Puri is the main attraction, for me, the foodie that I am, and starved of good italian food, Honey Bee, a hotel that serves mainly foreigners is a *must* visit. In fact I've driven all the way to puri directly just to eat from there. Honey bee is on the road from the sea beach to the railway hotel (you'll have to go a little further). There is this shop opposite to Honeybee which sells some pretty interesting curios.










































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[greenhorn]

I'm sure most of you would have seen enough shots of the sun temple. At the restaurant, unfortunately, we were too busy eating, so I dont have many pics. I've felt chandrabhaga beach to be far superior, so I've never bothered going to puri beach, so the pics are a bit less from this side. Sunrise is the best time to visit the sun temple. remember to hire a guide - there are a lot of stories behind this particular temple.

[Rudra Sen]

Mods note: Thread moved from Assembly Line to Travelogues section.

[greenhorn]

I wanted to save the best for last.
Bhitarkanika is by far the best, Take at least one day to explore it, slowly, at your own pace. We made arrangements at the govt guest house - it was pretty cheap.
It was the most breathtaking place I'd seen in orissa

[greenhorn]

[manolin]

you were studying at ximb?

[byomjeet]

Great pics. I admire your patience. Great job done.