Sight Seeing

Puri District is a coastal District on the eastern part of Odisha, India. This District needs no introduction, being the abode of Lord Vishnu, most popularly known as Lord Jagannath. This District derives its name from the heritage city of Puri, one of the four pilgrimage centres of India. Covering an area of 3051 sq/kms. Handicraft and cottage industries of this District is famous the world over, its original source being the temple craft of Lord Jagannath and the Sun Temple at Konark. The rich traditional culture and heritage of the District gives a boost to this industry. The important products of this industry are in appliqué, stone carving, patta chitra, wood carving, modern patch work, terracotta, bell metal, and sea shell items etc.

Other tourists Attraction while you are in Puri like:
» Sunara Gaurang Temple
» Bedi Hanuman Temple
» Chakra Tirtha Temple
» Mausima Temple
» Shree Gundicha Temple Destination of Rath Yatra
» Shankaracharya’s GOBARDHAN Pitha

Chilka Lake is the brackish water lake and is the largest coastal lake in India. The driving distance between Puri and Chilika Lake is 104 km, while the aerial distance from Puri to Chilika Lake is 70 km. By Train it is 122 Km. and is Asia’s largest inland salt-water lagoon. Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. Chilika Lake, popularly known as Chilka, is the queen of natural scenery in the tribal state Orissa, also known as the Swiss-lake in the continent. Attraction of chilika lake are fishing boats, migratory birds and an entertaining dhabas or Road side food joints serving you hot and delicious fish , crab , prawn dishes. The beautiful chilka lake is paradise for the migratory birds.

Located at a distance of 50 kilometers from Puri, Satapada on Chilika is very famous for Irrawaddy Dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris). 'Sata' means 'Seven' and 'Pada' Means 'Village', so the name Satapada means group of seven villages. It is located on the southern part of the Chilika Lake. The exact geographical location is 19°40'10"N and 85°26'38"E. Satapada is also famous for Sea Mouth Island where Chilka lake meets the Bay of Bengal.
Satapada, alternatively spelt as Satapara, is one of the most popular tourist place of Orissa. Here Dolphins and the scenic Sea Mouth attract large number of tourists every year. Satpada also provides the opportunity for viewing a memorable sunrise and sunset.
Another major attraction is the nearby Rajahansa Island. It is a small island on Chilika at the mouth of the lagoon. This island is named after the famous bird ‘Rajhans’. A one-and-a-half-hours boat journey across the Chilika Lake from Satapada, takes visitors to Rajahansa island. The island is 18 kilometer from Satapada. Rajahans is a small strip of land which has the lagoon on one side and the Bay of Bengal on the other, with a forest and mountains in between.

Dhauligiri, a hillside with another name as Dhauli located on the River Daya banks, is 8 km far from the south of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Orissa. You can find splendid Edicts of Ashoka embossed on a mass of rock in Dhauli, beside the way to the hill summit. It is believed that Dhauli hill was the battlefield of the Kalinga War. The marvelous Shanti Stupa or Peace Pagoda is also located here.
In the result of the bloodbath taken place in the Kalinga War, the water of the River Daya got red, making Ashoka understand the gloomiest side of a battle, turning him into the propagator of peace. Later, with his help, Dhauli became a major Buddhist centre, when he built several chaityas, stupas and pillars here.

Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary: Nandankanan, literally means the ‘Garden of Gods”. The entire landscape which includes Nandankanan Zoological Park, the Kanjia Lake and the State Botanical Garden has been notified as “Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary”. The Sanctuary harbors a variety of free-ranging mammals like Wild Boar, Spotted Dear, Jungle Cat, Small Indian Civet, Hanuman Langur, Common Mongoose, Small Indian Mongoose, Jackle, Indian Crested Porcupine, ect. Visitors to the zoo, while moving through the forested path between enclosures, are sometimes lucky to see these animals. Reptiles encountered on such tracks are the Monitor Lizard, Chemelion and snakes like pyhon, etc. The Roosting places Open Billed Stork, White Ibis, Herons, Egrets and Cormorants are also attraction in the sanctuary. Nests of weaver birds in the gharial enclosure enhances its scenic charm. It also includes a natural wetland known as “Kanjia lake” which has been recently designated as National Wetland of India.

Built in the thirteenth century, it was conceived as a gigantic solar chariot with twelve pairs of exquisitely-ornamented wheels dragged by seven rearing horses. The temple comprised a sanctum with a lofty (presumably over 68 m. high) sikhara, a jagamohana (30. m. square and 30. m. high) and a detached nata-mandira (hall of dance) in the same axis, besides numerous subsidiary shrines. The sanctum and the nata-mandira have lost their roof. The nata-mandira exhibits a more balanced architectural design than that of other Odishan temples. The sanctum displays superb images of the Sun-god in the three projections which are treated as miniature shrines. The sanctum and the jagamohana together stand on a common platform studded with an intricate wealth of decorative ornaments and sculptures, often of a highly erotic type located at a manageable distance from the seat of Lord Jagannath, Puri at 35 kms. There are several smaller shrines situated in the neighborhood of the Sun Temple. In them are found Rameswar,Chitreswara,Tribeniswara, and Utpaleswar, all Siva-lingas; and Ramachandi Rudrani, Khileswari, Charchika and Chitreswari, various forms of Goddess Durga. Legends embodied in the Kapila Samhita, the Madala Panji, and the Prachi-mahatmya, take the sanctity of Konark back to mythical times. The legends of these late texts are an obvious adaptation of a much earlier tradition as recorded in the Bhavisya Purana and the Samba Purana.

Raghurajpur is a heritage crafts village in Puri district, Odisha, known for its master Pattachitra painters, an art form which dates back to 5 BC. in the region and Gotipua dance troupes, the precursor to the Indian classical dance form of Odissi; it also known as the birthplace of one of finest Odissi exponents and Guru, Kelucharan Mohapatra. Apart from that the village is also home to crafts like Tussar paintings, palm leaf engravings, stone and wood carvings, wooden, cow dung and papier mache toys and masks. To reach Raghurajpur one has to get down at Chandanpur, which is 10K.M from Puri and 50 K.M from Bhubaneswar on NH-203, connecting Puri and Bhubaneswar. From Chandanpur, one has to take cycle-rickshaw or walk on 1.8 K.M zigzag scenic village road to reach the village.