Popularly known as the ‘Temple City of India’, the city of Bhubaneswar is one of the best heritage cities to visit in India. This city is located in the state of Orissa on the banks of river Mahanadi. Apart from the temples, this city is well known for its parks and bazaars that sell finest handicraft products. According to the residents of Bhubaneswar, the best time to visit this city is from October to March. A number of tourists prefer visiting this city during the festival of Shiva Ratri, which falls in the month of February or March.Given below is a list of best places to visit in Bhubaneswar:
- Lingaraja Temple
The Lingaraja Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is believed to be built in the 11th century and is one of the oldest temples of Bhubaneswar. Thousands of Shiva devotees visit this temple every year during Shiva Ratri.
- Mukteswara Temple
Like the Lingaraja Temple, this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva as well. Experts state that this temple was built during 970 A.D. Mukteswara Temple is an epitome of Kalinga architecture.Apart from these two temples, some other ancient and ‘must see’ temples in Bhubaneswar are:Laxmaneswar TempleBharateswar TempleBrahmeswar TempleParsurameswar TempleVaital TempleBhubaneswar has a number of other tourist landmarks. These are as listed below:
- Orissa State Museum
This government owned museum was launched in the year 1938. This museum holds credit for having ancient collection of materials like: stone, animal skin, gold, silver, ivory, wood, copper, brass, cane, bamboo, cow dung, etc.
- Nandankanan Zoo
Spread over a total area of 900 acres, Nandankanan Zoo is a resident to several species of animals. This zoo is well known for its white tigers, black panthers and gharials. This zoo also holds credit for having a botanical garden, a reptile park, an orchid and so on. This is a favourite tourist spot among children.
- Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves
These caves are situated on two adjacent hills- Udayagiri and Khandagiri. Udayagiri has 18 caves and Khandagiri has 15 caves. These caves are well known for their ancient inscriptions and are visited by a large number of foreign tourists every year. Apart from the places mentioned above, some other tourist hotspots in Bhubaneswar are:
- Pathani Samanta Planetarium
- Museum of Tribal Art and Artefacts
- Cactus Garden
- Biju Patnaik Park
- Bindu Sarovara and Ocean Drop Tank
- Ekamra Kanan
- Nicco Park
- Regional Science Centre
- Indira Gandhi Park