Friday, February 1, 2008
उड़ीसा - A few more टिप्स
Beaches in Orissa
From South to North:Sonapur BeachGpalpur on seaAryapalli BeachBalighai beach (near Puri)Chandrabhaga beach (Konarak)Ramchand beachParadidChandipur
Chilka
Dont miss the great Chilka lake. Stay at Barkul & enjoy the largest backwater lake. The tiger prawns & crabs here is famous. Lots of birds in winter! You can do boating to specific islands from Rambha on the Chilika lake. If you have to choose only one point to stay at Chilika, stay at Rambha. Read this about CHilika http://www.bhraman.com/this_month/chilka.html
Also, book Orissa Tourism's Panthniwas in advance from your place and stay at the shore of Chilika for 2 days, I am sure you will enjoy it much more. There are two hotels at two different locations along Chilika, if you can stay in both of them, 2 days each. Then get to the nearest railway station or by road go to Berhampur and then to Gopalpur-on-Sea.
Gopalpur on sea. Beautiful.
There are two locations on Chilika lake which have Orissa Tourism run hotels called "Panthaniwas". These at Barakul and Rambha. I will let you know the charges of lodging later on. Stay first at Barakul and then move to Rambha. From here catch the train (probably Balugaon station will be nearby) or by bus/car to Bahrampur.
You can come back to Bhubaneshwar and take BBSR-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, there are several other trains also.
Shopping in Puri
Cuttacki Weaving Coop has a store close to where the rickshaw park near Sri Jagganath Mandir । it is fixed price and has lots of nice cotton ikat sarees, Sambalpuri longhi pieces, and ikat etc. Also in Orissa , one would strongly recommend to visit at least Onokudeli and Chatikona weekly market to have a look at bonda and Kondh people.
A Few tips around Puri
In Puri in the seaside you will find plenty hotels । As you know the entrance at "Lord Jaggannath temple" is not allowed for non hindous, so, the only thing to do is to live the ambiance, something like a rural Madurai.
Do not miss Konarak, you can also visit there the fishermen's village । Pipli is on your way back to Bhubaneswar.Near Bhubaneswar(6 Km) do'nt forget to pay a visit to Jain's caves of Udayagiri and Kandagiri. 2nd cent.BC. If interested in Buddhism the Ashok's Edict Stone is a stone's throw from Bhubaneswar.
If you love nature trail॥follow to the lonely beach at RANGERS a naturefriendly cafe 15 kms from puri on way to konark। The camping activity is free of cost here. In Puri, Z Hotel is good । The rooms are bright and have mosquito nets। Good grilled fish at the Z, and at Peace Restaurant. and at the Swedish-Indian place (fried mackeral for lunch). The Chinese restaurant at Lee Gardens (just next door to WildGrass) is quite good, and it's run by Chinese people.
Between Puri and Konark is Pipli, where they do that incredible patchwork for wedding tents, etc. Worth a few hours.There are tours through Adivasi areas, if you're into that, but they are quite expensive and will take most of your Orissa time
In Bhubaneswar also visit the Khandagiri and Udayagiri elephant caves.While moving from Bhubaneswar to Konark visit the Dhauli Shanti stupa built in memory of the Kalinga war fought in the bank of river DAYA and which incident moved King Ashoka to embrace Budhism .Do not forget to do some shopping of world famous applique works canopy's,lamp shades etc at PIPILI which is on the way to Konark and is around 25km from Bhubaneswar.Visit the Jagannath temple and feast on the PRASADAM at the ANAND BAZAR in the traditional way sitting on the floor.While going back you can take a direct train from Berhampur to Calcutta.
Bhubaneswar do visit the Mukteswar temple which is very famous for its needlework on stones।Take one english speaking guide who will not cost you much but can explain the stories carved on the stone.
Instead going to Bhubaneswar you can get down at Balasore and take a vehicle to Similipal which is around 90-100km from Balasore.The park opens for visitors from mid november.Please check that before venturing into.Also you need to take permit from the forest department for entering into the park.Please check up the orissa tourism site for further detail.
Well Simlipal National Park is really wonderful and full of adventures,,Total area : 2750 sq km Protected area : 845.70 sq km Average rainfall : 2000 mm Open : 1st Nov -15th June Best time to visit Simlipal : Nov - Feb Location and access : Mayurbhanj district, Bhubaneswar 270 kmBaripada 50 Kms more Simlipal National Park
I guess if you are in the area it was quite nice scenery, the locals of the area we very very friendly and no hassling - maybe it was worth the trip for that alone!
From South to North:Sonapur BeachGpalpur on seaAryapalli BeachBalighai beach (near Puri)Chandrabhaga beach (Konarak)Ramchand beachParadidChandipur
Chilka
Dont miss the great Chilka lake. Stay at Barkul & enjoy the largest backwater lake. The tiger prawns & crabs here is famous. Lots of birds in winter! You can do boating to specific islands from Rambha on the Chilika lake. If you have to choose only one point to stay at Chilika, stay at Rambha. Read this about CHilika http://www.bhraman.com/this_month/chilka.html
Also, book Orissa Tourism's Panthniwas in advance from your place and stay at the shore of Chilika for 2 days, I am sure you will enjoy it much more. There are two hotels at two different locations along Chilika, if you can stay in both of them, 2 days each. Then get to the nearest railway station or by road go to Berhampur and then to Gopalpur-on-Sea.
Gopalpur on sea. Beautiful.
There are two locations on Chilika lake which have Orissa Tourism run hotels called "Panthaniwas". These at Barakul and Rambha. I will let you know the charges of lodging later on. Stay first at Barakul and then move to Rambha. From here catch the train (probably Balugaon station will be nearby) or by bus/car to Bahrampur.
You can come back to Bhubaneshwar and take BBSR-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, there are several other trains also.
Shopping in Puri
Cuttacki Weaving Coop has a store close to where the rickshaw park near Sri Jagganath Mandir । it is fixed price and has lots of nice cotton ikat sarees, Sambalpuri longhi pieces, and ikat etc. Also in Orissa , one would strongly recommend to visit at least Onokudeli and Chatikona weekly market to have a look at bonda and Kondh people.
A Few tips around Puri
In Puri in the seaside you will find plenty hotels । As you know the entrance at "Lord Jaggannath temple" is not allowed for non hindous, so, the only thing to do is to live the ambiance, something like a rural Madurai.
Do not miss Konarak, you can also visit there the fishermen's village । Pipli is on your way back to Bhubaneswar.Near Bhubaneswar(6 Km) do'nt forget to pay a visit to Jain's caves of Udayagiri and Kandagiri. 2nd cent.BC. If interested in Buddhism the Ashok's Edict Stone is a stone's throw from Bhubaneswar.
If you love nature trail॥follow to the lonely beach at RANGERS a naturefriendly cafe 15 kms from puri on way to konark। The camping activity is free of cost here. In Puri, Z Hotel is good । The rooms are bright and have mosquito nets। Good grilled fish at the Z, and at Peace Restaurant. and at the Swedish-Indian place (fried mackeral for lunch). The Chinese restaurant at Lee Gardens (just next door to WildGrass) is quite good, and it's run by Chinese people.
Between Puri and Konark is Pipli, where they do that incredible patchwork for wedding tents, etc. Worth a few hours.There are tours through Adivasi areas, if you're into that, but they are quite expensive and will take most of your Orissa time
In Bhubaneswar also visit the Khandagiri and Udayagiri elephant caves.While moving from Bhubaneswar to Konark visit the Dhauli Shanti stupa built in memory of the Kalinga war fought in the bank of river DAYA and which incident moved King Ashoka to embrace Budhism .Do not forget to do some shopping of world famous applique works canopy's,lamp shades etc at PIPILI which is on the way to Konark and is around 25km from Bhubaneswar.Visit the Jagannath temple and feast on the PRASADAM at the ANAND BAZAR in the traditional way sitting on the floor.While going back you can take a direct train from Berhampur to Calcutta.
Bhubaneswar do visit the Mukteswar temple which is very famous for its needlework on stones।Take one english speaking guide who will not cost you much but can explain the stories carved on the stone.
Instead going to Bhubaneswar you can get down at Balasore and take a vehicle to Similipal which is around 90-100km from Balasore.The park opens for visitors from mid november.Please check that before venturing into.Also you need to take permit from the forest department for entering into the park.Please check up the orissa tourism site for further detail.
Well Simlipal National Park is really wonderful and full of adventures,,Total area : 2750 sq km Protected area : 845.70 sq km Average rainfall : 2000 mm Open : 1st Nov -15th June Best time to visit Simlipal : Nov - Feb Location and access : Mayurbhanj district, Bhubaneswar 270 kmBaripada 50 Kms more Simlipal National Park
I guess if you are in the area it was quite nice scenery, the locals of the area we very very friendly and no hassling - maybe it was worth the trip for that alone!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
A trip to Orissa:
This was one of the most amazing journeys. Though we went by train (taking 36 hours from Delhi) an ideal way would be to fly to Bhuvneshawar and then get a cab to Puri (60 Km ). Once in Puri we went towards the beach from the station. There are many good hotels (almost brand new with tariffs ranging from 600- 900 in the full season). These hotels are towards the lighthouse and the beach is also less dirty. The area towards the main beach is crowded.
The Jagganath temple: Please checkout the evening removal of flags where a rock climbing Pundit ji does some amazing feats to reach the high end of the temple and removes all the flags. A visit to the kitchen area is also mind-blowing. Sadly Puri temple is not open for non Hindus otherwise its an amazing experience to visit it. However I would advise any foreign friend to visit Orissa…..its inexpensive, virgin, great food and beautiful.
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