[SourabH007]

Year 2019




Every year Me, my mother and father go for a long trip during Durga Puja holidays, so this year we decided a trip to Odisha. Our initial plan was to visit Puri only, later my father told me to add some more places. So we decided the places to visit and made a rough plan.

Travel Dates
Day 1 (5 October)- Suri - Baripada (287 kms, almost 8.5 hours)
Day 2 (6 October)- Siteseeing (164 kms)
Day 3 (7th October)- Baripada - Keonjhar (163 kms, almost 6 hours)
Day 4 (8th October)- Siteseeing (216 kms)
Day 5 (9th October)- Keonjhar - Konark (255 kms, 5.5 hours)
Day 6 (10th October)- Siteseeing (332 kms)
Day 7 (11th October)- Siteseeing (149 kms)
Day 8 (12th October)- Konark to Suri (596kms, 15.5hours)

Hotel Booking
We searched hotels at Bangriposi but due to the peak season they don't have rooms, so decided to stay at Baripada as it is just 30kms from there, called "Panthanivas, Baripada" and booked our room, and they also provided the contact number of "Panthanivas, Keonjhar", quickly called them but they told us that they don't have rooms. I quickly searched and got "Hotel The Sans" and booked our Room. After that we called various hotels of Puri but there also the same story, either the hotels are booked or the Room tariff was way above our budget, so decided to stay near Konark. We booked "Hotel Surya Inn"(a 400 metre walk to Sun Temple).

Day 1
We started around 4 A.M, the roads are free from any kind traffic and can easily cruise. Within 3 hours we reached Bankura, but there after the road condition is not that good, thus the google map shows so much time to cover this much distance. The road condition improves near Pheko More, from there the last 50kms one can easily maintain a good speed. We reached our hotel around 12.15 P.M.



We got a big room and it was very good, they quickly served our lunch and then after lunch we went to visit Panchalingeswar Temple. The Road is very good and wide, and within 2 hours we reached the temple. The parking space is ample.

Few kilometers left


Temple Gate


Stairs to reach the top(250 steps approx)


The water coming from the top


Reached




Coming down


A Puja Pandel near our Hotel


The lightings


Then we came back to our hotel.

Day 2
Today our plan was to visit Devkund Waterfall and Sitakund Waterfall. So we started around 9.30 A.M, the first few kilometers the road was congested and there were "no entry" boards also due to the puja pandels. After that the road condition improves and within 1hour we reached Sitakund Waterfall. One can trek to the top of the hill to get various views of the waterfall but we couldn't spot any person to ask the route.

Road to Sitakund Waterfall


Sitakund Waterfall




While returning we saw the Simlipal Forest barrier but couldn't spot anyone there. After 5 minutes a person came from the office and told us that the forest is closed but we can go till Lulung. We make an entry in their office and then proceed towards lulung. The road till lulung is okay and one can easily go.

Simlipal Entry Gate


Road to Lulung




Lulung




Palpala River

[SourabH007]

While returning(This picture reminds me of our March,19 trip to Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, Jamshedpur)


Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary Road(our previous car Hyundai Eon)


Ignis Posing




Then our next destination is Devkund Waterfall, the road condition is very good and full of lush greens. But the last 4 kilometers the road condition is pathetic, it is full of boulders and bricks. This 4 kilometers takes around 20-25 minutes, then we reached the parking spot.

Parking




The last 2 km walk






Mesmerizing View




Stairs to go to the top of the hill


Top view




What am I doing?


After spending around 1.5 hours, we came back to our hotel.

Day 3
Today our plan was to visit Keonjhar, so packed our luggage and leave our hotel around 7 A.M. The road was good for the first 10 kilometers, after that it became just pathetic for the day, road widening work was going on so there were various diversions, after sometime we stopped at a Petrol Pump and ask them about the road condition till Keonjhar, but they told us that it is bad till Keonjhar. Around 1:30 we reached "Hotel The Sans" and checked in, this hotel property is one of the best in Keonjhar. At around 3.30 P.M we decided to visit Sanaghagara Waterfall which was 7 kilometers from our hotel. It took around 30 minutes to reach the park where the falls is present. We paid the Parking fee at the entrance and then went inside the park. It is a well maintained park and proper stairs are there to reach the falls.

Sanaghagara Waterfall








Then we returned back to our hotel.

Day 4
To me it is one of the best falls of Odisha, Gundichaghagi Waterfall. After completing our breakfast, we started around 9.30 A.M. Today's road was very good and scenic as well, their was a toll tax of Rs 15(up-down) only. We reached around 10.30 and parked our car. Now let the pictures speak for itself.

First View of Gundichaghagi Waterfall






View from the footbridge

[SourabH007]

We spend 1 hour and then came back to Keonjhar for our lunch.

Way to Keonjhar






Then we decided to visit Khandadhar Waterfall, which is one of the highest waterfalls in Odisha(152 metre). The road was good and it runs through forest. Within 2 hours we reached the falls.

Khandadhar Waterfall




The rocky hills






Parking


The whole city at night (sorry for the quality) from Keonjhar view point


After that we returned to our hotel.

Day 5
We packed our breakfast and left the Hotel around 8 A.M and within no time crossed the congested town and cruising on fantastic roads.



Today's drive excites me, as end of the day we will reach the sea beach. We reached Cuttack around 11.30 A.M, stopped for a small tea break and then started again.

Cuttack


We reached our hotel around 2 P.M, quickly dropped our luggage and went for our lunch near some Beach Restaurant. Then we spent our time at the Chandrabhaga Beach. One thing to mention is that those who love the evening of Swargadwar(Puri), they might not like the Evening Chandrabhaga Beach as it is not upto the expectations.









Evening Chandrabhaga Beach


Hello


Day 6
Our plan was to visit Rambha Chilika Lake, Odisha, we packed our breakfast and left our hotel around 8.00 A.M. Google map shows the route Konark-Puri marine drive road for 30 kilometers, the view of the sea and the joy of driving in this route is awesome. We reached around 12.30, parked our car and enter the lake area.

Road to Rambha




Rambha Market


Rambha






Beautiful sky


Then we went to Panthanivas, Rambha for our lunch. The property is beautifully maintained and the food is also very good.

[SourabH007]

We started around 2.30 P.M from Rambha towards Puri, suddenly black clouds formed and started raining heavily. We were quite enjoying the scenery and the beautiful roads.



As we were coming closer to Puri Beach area the congestion started getting worse, parking is a big problem during Durga Puja time. Somehow after spending around 45 minutes, luckily got a parking spot to park the car and take a walk to the beach. But it was extremely crowded(forgot to click any photos), so we left Puri within 45 minutes. Again we hit the Konark-Puri marine drive road, the traffic movement is minimal, but the problem is several cows and goats take rest peacefully in the middle of the road. We reached Konark within 1 hour, spent some time at the Beach and return to our hotel.

Day 7
Today morning we went to the Beach

Me


Maa Baba










Then we came back to our hotel, completed our breakfast and went to visit Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves. As expected Google maps showed shortcut routes, but later we realized that this route is for small cars. We reached the caves and parked the car.

Khandagiri Stairs


Khandagiri Caves








Udayagiri Caves


Then we went to visit Dhauli Shanti Stupa.





Dhabaleswar Temple


Earlier we had a plan to visit Raghurajpur, but decided to skip this time as we were running late and our plan was to visit Konark Sun Temple before sunset.
We reached Konark around 4.45 P.M, proper parking area is also available.

Konark Sun Temple






















Then we came back to our hotel.

Day 8
Today we started at 8 A.M in the morning. At around 10 A.M we stopped for our breakfast near Cuttack and then started again. We reached Baleshwar at 2 P.M and went to "Restaurant By The Way" for our lunch. We reached Suri around 11.45 P.M.

The 2 months old Ignis performed flawlessly

[BlackPearl]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[haisaikat]

Nice travelogue again @SourabH007, Odisha is indeed full of wonders. You covered a lot of places in short period and what I liked most is that your parents seem to be very supportive of you. Rated 5 stars, keep travelling and writing and wish many happy thousands of KMs with the Ignis.

Just months back in January we touched Rambha Jetty on our route to Vizag, its a beautiful place indeed. Sharing one picture from that trip. Did you take any of the boat rides ? When we visited around 10 am in the morning nothing had actually started.

Rambha Jetty




On a separate note we have been long making plans to Baripada for a small reunion since my father in law was posted here during his last few years of service at Britannia and he has quite a few acquaintance. It is a calm and quiet place surrounded by nature especially where he stayed around the outskirts close to the factory.

We had plans to cover Simlipal and Bangriposhi too on the planned journey but this unprecedented situation put a halt to everything. But now after seeing the pictures of the beautiful waterfalls I think those cannot be overlooked at any cost requiring a longer tour . Your previous TL on Patratu is already bookmarked for a future. A few clicks from our last trip to Baripada
back in 2009.

The Panchalingeshwar ascend looked different then


Siba Priya Park at Baripada






The biscuit factory at Baripada

[SourabH007]

Originally Posted by haisaikat

Nice travelogue again @SourabH007, Odisha is indeed full of wonders. You covered a lot of places in short period and what I liked most is that your parents seem to be very supportive of you. Rated 5 stars, keep travelling and writing and wish many happy thousands of KMs with the Ignis.

Thank you. Actually Me and my parents loves travelling, everytime we hit the roads 1k kilometer comes easily. Till now covered 49k in the last 5 years.

Just months back in January we touched Rambha Jetty on our route to Vizag, its a beautiful place indeed. Sharing one picture from that trip. Did you take any of the boat rides ? When we visited around 10 am in the morning nothing had actually started.

No, we didn't take any boat rides as this was not in our plan, but we will take the boat ride next time we visit Rambha Lake to enjoy the environment even more.

Thank you for sharing such wonderful photos of your trip.

[armaan_singh]

Amazing travelogue!

Could you share some inputs on how the car performed on the various roads?

Thanks!

[SourabH007]

Originally Posted by armaan_singh

Amazing travelogue!

Could you share some inputs on how the car performed on the various roads?

Thanks!

Thank you

The Car performed brilliantly well. The pull from the K12 engine is good, overtaking is a breeze. The 180mm ground clearance also helps a lot to clear some of the bad and unpaved roads.