Tarini-Ghatagaon | Keonjhar

Maa Tarini temple is situated in a small place, Ghatagaon, Keonjhar. You can approach Ghatagaon several ways. I will recommend two routes for those coming from outside Odisha. One is from Jajpur Road and the other is from  Rourkela. Jajpur road is a railhead (Kolkata-Chennai route)which has stoppage for most of the  express trains. Rourkela is a major Railway station on Kolkata-Mumbai route. Ghatagaon is about 235 kilometer from Rourkela and about 80 km from Jajpur Road by road. Bhubaneswar is the nearest airport.

The tourists coming to Ghatagaon usually combine their visit with other tourist places of Keonjhar. Other major tourist places are, Sana Ghagara, Bada Ghagara, Gonasika, Murga Mahadev and Jagannath temple at Keonjhar town. You can visit the Tarini temple at any time of the year. But remember that the peak winter temperature of the area may goes below 5 degrees.

Ghatagaon is well known for Tarini temple.  It is said that the goddess Tarini was originally brought by the Oriya king Purushottam from Kanchi of South India. The rituals are still performed in South Indian style.

Sana Ghagara - Keonjhar

San Ghagara(Sana Ghagara) is a beautiful place situated at about 8 km from Keonjhar. Keonjhar town is  situated at a distance of about 200 km from Bhubaneswar. One can follow several routes to Keonjhar. Currently daily there is only once or twice direct train service between Bhubaneswar and Keonjhar. There is bus service to Keonjhar from the important towns like Baripada, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur Road, Rourkela and Sambalpur. Except Baripada all these places are directly connected by trains to most of the major cities of India. However there are many buses plying between Baripada and Keonjhar. Bhubaneswar is the nearest Airport. You can visit Keonjhar at any time of the year although the best period is from November to March. Remember that in winter the minimum temperature of Keonjhar goes below 5 degrees for considerable period in December/January.

San Ghaghara is one of the most exquisite place in india. It is famous for the waterfall situated inside the forest. It's scenic beauty attracts many tourists and travelers. San Ghagara  is a main picnic spot in north Odisha.

There are many other tourist spots at or near Keonjhar town. Some main spots are Maa Tarini temple at Ghata Gaon, Jagannath temple at Keonjhar town, Gonasika, Bada Ghagara and Murga Mahadev.


  

Chandipur

Chandipur is a small place on the bay of Bengal situated 15 kilometers from Balasore railway station. Balasore itself is located at about 220 km from Bhubaneswar and 240 km from Kolkata. Balasore is well connected by rail and road to most of the important cities of India.  You can visit Chandipur at any time of the year. Avoid visiting Chandipur on stormy seasons. There are many hotels and lodges at Chandipur. Of course you have the option of staying at Balasore.

The Chandipur sea beach is unique in India. Here the sea recedes more than four kilometers at low tide. You can find people playing football and driving vehicles/cycles upto 2 or 3 kilometer into the sea at the time of low tide . The casuarina trees on the sea shore, the golden sand, crabs, shells, mussels, conches, shells and star fishes are about to leave permanent imprint in your memory.

The mouth of river Budha Balanga is a place known as Balaramgadi situated at about 3 km from Chandipur. It is one of the main fishing harbors of Eastern India. You can find fishing boats and trawlers  venturing into the sea or returning with full-boat fishes.

Chandipur is also famous for Integrated Test Range (ITR) of India Government. Proof and Experimental Establishment is another large government organisation located here.

Bhubaneswar Tourist Spots

Bhubaneswar is the capital town of Odisha and one of the important cities of India. Bhubaneswar is well connected to all the major towns and cities of India by road, rail and air. Bhubaneswar became the capital of Odisha in the year 1948 on 13th April. Its population is more than one million.

A Street in Mid-Summer

The three places Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar form a triangle which is well known as the Golden Triangle. There are several thousands of temples, both big and small located within the golden triangle. Perhaps it is the only place on earth having so many numbers of old magnificent temples located within such a small area. Naturally this Golden Triangle is the tourist's heaven. Bhubaneswar is known as the city of temples.

Lingaraja temple is the largest temple in Bhubaneswar which was built by the king Jajati Keshari towards 11th century. The height of the Lingaraja temple is about 150 feet. Lord Shiva is worshipped in Lingaraja Temple. Surrounding Lingaraja Temple there are several smaller temples.

Orissan Style Temples

The other main temples in Bhubaneswar are Rajarani, Mukteswar, Ananta Vasudeva and Kedareswar temples. There are many other temples in and around Bhubaneswar. As calculated by the historians, once there were more than four thousand temples alone in Bhubaneswar.

Other important tourist places are Dhauli Shanti Stupa, Khandagiri and Udayagiri. There are  15 caves in Khandagiri and 18 caves in Udayagiri. Rani Gumpha and Hati Gumpha are important caves having inscriptions that reveal facts on Buddhism, Jainism and the administration of that era.

Bhubaneswar has revealed a lot about its rich ancient civilization. The Modern Bhubaneswar is not any less. It is the city having all the infrastructure and facilities of a modern society.

All the important offices of Odisha Government are located at Bhubaneswar. Odisha being very rich in mineral and forest resources, many private companies has established their office at Bhubaneswar. Many IT companies has established production centres at Bhubaneswar.

Bhubaneswar has more than 40 engineering colleges and other institutes of higher learning. Bhubaneswar has one Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), a branch of AIIMS and an Institute of Mathematics among others. Nandan Kanan a Zoological park is another attraction situated nearly 15 kilometer from Bhubaneswar Railway station. One can visit Bhubaneswar or the golden triangle at any time of the year. You may avoid stormy season unless you intentionally want to face one.

Konark

Konark temple is located at a distance of about 35 kilometer from Puri and 60 km from Bhubaneswar. You can approach Konark from Puri or from Bhubaneswar. Puri is the nearest railway station and Bhubaneswar is the nearest airport. These three prime tourist spots are together  known as Golden Triangle. Usually tourists coming to this Golden Triangle visit all the major tourist places in this area. There are many lodges, hotels and a pathaniwas near Konark. Konark is about 3 km from the Chandrabhaga sea beach.

Konark temple is dedicated to Sun God and built towards the 13th century by King Narasimhadeva. It is also known as Black Pagoda, built by sand stone.

Exquisite stone carvings

The temple is in the form of a chariot having 24 wheels. The temple was built by 1200 carpenters headed by Bishu Maharana. The beauty of the rare exquisite stone carvings and sculptures throughout the temple wall attracts huge numbers of visitors around the world.

Towards December/January, the Konark beach festival and Konark dance festival are held each year (for actual date please contact the respective organizers). One can visit Konark at any time of the year.