Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika

From Howrah railway station, we boarded the 12837 Howrah - Puri Express. Our train departed at 22:50 hrs from platform no. 22. It reached Puri the next morning at around 08:30 hrs about 1 hour behind the scheduled time. From there we took a cycle rickshaw. At this peak time tourists were flocking in and it was quite hard to get sea facing rooms. Our first target was the Puri Hotel. On reaching the Puri Hotel we got off from the rickshaw. I went in to enquire whether any room was vacant. There were no sea facing rooms available so I decided to search for accommodation in other hotels. After searching many hotels, at last I found a room in Hotel Swarg. That day we took rest. In the afternoon we went to Quality Restaurant to have lunch. The quality of the food was terrible. In the evening we went for a stroll in the marine drive. We also spent some time on the sea shore. The breeze cooled our minds and body. After that we went to Parijat Restaurant for dinner. The food was better than the previous one but it was not too good.

Jagannath Temple

The next day we went to the Jagannath Temple. Our panda told us that we had to buy tickets worth Rs. 25/- in order to get darshan of Lord Jagannath. Inside the temple complex we saw the temple kitchen. After offering puja to Lord Jagannath we came back to the marine drive. There we had breakfast at Sargam Restaurant. Then we went for a sea bath. The waves are bigger than what we saw in our previous visit at Puri. Then we came back to our hotel. That day too we had lunch at the Parijat Restaurant. In the evening we went for shopping. We bought some towels and clothes for our relatives and also for us. Then as we were walking in the marine drive enjoying the sea breeze, I noticed the OTDC (Odisha Tourism Development Corporation) Booking Counter. It was located in front of Fort Mahodadhi Hotel beside Vithal Kamats Restaurant. We went inside the counter. We were given a list of conducted sightseeing tours. OTDC conducts 3 sightseeing tours. The first tour comprises of Lingaraj Temple, Nandankanan, Bhubaneswar, Konark temple and back. This tour costs Rs. 350/- per head. Another tour is the Trip to Satapada (Chilika Lake). It costs Rs. 250/- per head. And the third tour comprises of Kalijai Temple on Chilika Lake, Narayani temple and back. It costs Rs. 450/- per head. All coaches were A/C. We booked the first package tour. Then we went to Parijat Restaurant and had dinner.

Sea Beach

The day after we woke up early in the morning and went to the sea. After spending three hours at the beach we went to Sargam Restaurant to have breakfast. Then we went back to our hotel. In the afternoon we went to Ruchira restaurant. The food served here was quite good and the quality of the rice was fine. After that we went back to our hotel and dozed off to sleep. In the evening we went to Lord Jagannath Temple again. Amazingly, inside the temple complex  wind was blowing at such a speed that I felt that it was even more than that at the sea shore. As we were walking inside the complex suddenly all lights went out. Darkness everywhere. We could not see anything. But within a few seconds it came back and we heaved a sigh of relief. But not for very long as it went again. But this time too it came back after sometime. This power interruption repeated many times. After that we came out of the temple. Then we took an auto rickshaw and went straight to the restaurant where we had ate in the afternoon. After dinner we came back to our hotel.

Sea Beach

Next morning we woke up early as we had booked seats for the OTDC package sightseeing tour on that day. The tour was scheduled to commence at 06:30 am and reporting time was 06:20. Our pickup point was Hotel Panthanivas. We packed up potato chips, biscuits, water bottle etc. and came out of the hotel. Then we took an auto rickshaw and went to Panthanivas. After reaching there we saw the guide checking the tickets and passenger list.After that the door of the bus opened. We entered the coach and got ourselves seated according to the seat number mentioned on the ticket. The tour commenced exactly at 06:30 am. After travelling for sometime our coach guide entered. Firstly he welcomed all of us on the tour. Then he started telling us the rules of the tour. Our first destination was the Lingaraj Temple at Bhubaneswar. On the way we saw River Daya. It is said that the famous Kalinga war was fought between emperor Ashok and the state of Kalinga. We reached Lingaraj Temple at 08:10 am. The guide told us that we would be given 50 minutes time for seeing the temple and having breakfast. We had to walk for 5-10 minutes in order to reach the temple from the bus. We kept our shoes at the shoe stand. Then we entered the temple. After seeing the main temple we came out and had sambar idli as breakfast at a food stall. Then we went back to the place where our bus was standing.

Sidheswar Temple

Our bus started at 09:00 am. The guide told us that our next stop was at Sidheswar, Mukteswar and Kedar Gouri. These three temples of Lord Shiva is situated in one complex only. A little later we reached there. Our bus was parked on the National Highway. Our guide told us that on entering the complex we would see Sidheswar and Mukteswar on the right and Kedar Gouri on the left. There was also a pay-to-use toilet beside the Kedar Gouri temple. Time given was 25 minutes. We entered the complex and went to Sidheswar temple. After that we went to Mukteswar temple. Then after seeing both the temples we walked a little and reached the Kedar Gouri temple. Though photography was allowed in Sidheswar and Mukteswar but it was prohibited in Kedar Gouri temple. After visiting the temple one of our fellow passenger went to the toilet. I slowly started walking towards the bus. I had nearly reached the bus when I saw the bus started to move. I started running and shouting in order to attract the attention of the driver or the guide.

Continued to Visit to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Chilika (Part - 2)

How to Reach :

From Howrah station, 12837 Howrah-Puri Express departs from Howrah at 22:50 hrs and reaches Puri at 07:30 hrs. 18409 Howrah Puri Sri Jagannath Express leaves Howrah at 19:00 hrs and reaches Puri at 04:50 hrs. 12821 Dhauli Express leaves Howrah at 06:00 hrs and reaches Puri at 14:30 hrs.

Nearest Airport - Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneswar

Where to Stay :

There are many hotels and holiday homes in Puri. Some of the hotels are listed below.
1. Puri Hotel
2. Pulin Puri Hotel
3. Hotel Sonali
4. Hotel Park
5. Hotel Swapnapuri
6. Toshali Sands
7. Hotel Swarg
8. Fort Mahodadhi

Places of Interest :

The main attraction of Puri is the Jagannath temple. It is also famous for its sea beach. Other attractions include the Gundicha mandir, Chakra Tirtha temple and Shri Lokenath temple. You can also visit the Lingaraj Temple, Konark Temple, Nandankanan Zoo, Chilika lake and Bhubaneswar.

For more information, please contact :

The Managing Director
OTDC Head Office
Panthanivas (Old Block)
Lewis Road, Bhubaneswar-751014
Odisha, India