Bhubaneshwar – City of Temples

Background

Bhubaneshwar is the largest city and capital of Orissa state in India. The history of this holy place of pilgrimage is about 2000 years old. Bhubaneshwar was first mentioned in the Indian history after the Kalinga war in 3rd century BC held at Dhauli. This city has more than 600 temples which are known for their sculptures and unique Kalinga architecture. Bhubaneshwar was planned and designed by a German architect Otto Konigsberger in 1946. The well planned wide roads, gardens and parks spreading greenery all over have made this city one of the first planned cities of modern India. Bhubaneshwar connected to Puri and Konark forms a ‘Swarna Tribhuja’ meaning Golden Triangle. It is one of the most visited destinations of East India.

How to Reach

Bhubaneshwar Railway station is about 6 km from the heart of the city is well connected to the metro cities like Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Biju Patnaik Airport is about 5 km from the city is connected to Delhi and Mumbai

The Bus stand is about 6 km from the city and connects major cities with regular bus services.

Places of Interest

Lingaraj Temple was built in the 11 century with a Oriyan architectural style. The massive structure of the temple is about 147 ft high surrounded with beautifully carved fortified walls. The unique feature of this temple is the Swayambhu Linga a merge of half Lord Vishnu and half Lord Shiva.

Mukteswara Temple was built in 10th century and is known for its stone arch and lavish sculptures showing evidence of Buddhist culture.

Raja Rani Temple is a ‘love temple’ built in 11th century having an elegant architectural delight covered with carvings of women and couples and beautifully well maintained gardens.

The Parasurameswara Temple is Lord Shiva temple cluster of 20 small temples known for its ancient art and design built in 7th century. The walls of the temples have the carvings of animals, birds, flowers and human figures.

Nandan Kanan is a Zoo and a botanical Garden situated 20 km from Bhubaneshwar

Orissa State Museum was established in 1948 is known for its huge collection of manuscripts of palm leafs, tools of ages, coins, sculptures, paintings, ancient traditional musical instruments and so on.

Every place in Bhubaneshwar has a history of its own and is a place of interest such as Udaigiri Khandagiri Caves, Bindusagar, Dauli, Chilka Lake, Taptapani etc.