Copious greenery and ornamental ancient temples are the drawcards of Odisha which are best illustrated by its capital city, Bhubaneswar. Dubbed as the ‘City of Temples’, it is a hidden treasure of well-preserved Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Kalinga temples. Some of the temples date back to as old as the 3rd century BCE. Apart from temples, it lets you see through its history with interesting museums and noteworthy historic caves.
See the largest and one of the oldest temples of Bhubaneswar, Lingaraj Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is for its grandeur that makes it the most iconic landmark of the city. The structure is a quintessential Kalinga architecture with a central tower measuring 55 m tall. Shiva is worshipped as Harihara, a combined form of Vishnu and Shiva. Besides this, you can also see over 50 other shrines. Pilgrims also visit nearby Bindusagar Tank for taking a holy dip. The tank is believed to have water with magical healing properties.
Formerly called Kattaka caves, these are partially artificial caves carved out from two adjacent hills, Udaygiri and Khandagiri. Their construction is believed during the reign of Kharavela for the residence of Jain ascetics. Udaygiri has 18 caves while Khandagiri has 15 caves. The most fascinating caves you should see in Udaygiri are Ranigumpha (cave 1), Hathigumpha (cave14) and Ganeshgumpha (cave 10) known for their art rich sculptures and reliefs.
Dive in the historical glory of Bhubaneswar by visiting this 10th-century Shiva temple. Its magnificent beauty and age-old charm make it one of the prominent city’s attractions. Witness this symbolic Kalinga architecture enclosed within an octagonal embellished compound. Take a walk in the complex and explore its eye-catching features like fine incised paintings, sculptures, Jagamohana temple and arched gateway showing the influence of Buddhist architecture.
It is an 11th-century Hindu temple built in the pancharatha style with two structures: a sanctum and its viewing hall called Jagamohana. The name of the temple is derived from the use of dull red and yellow sandstone which is locally called 'Rajarani'. You will encounter the walls adorned with several sculptors depicting scenes from the wedding of Lord Shiva, images of birds and more.
Drive towards Dhauli, a small hill located 8 km from the city to see the major edicts of Ashoka engraved on a massive rock. The hill is presumed to be the battlefield of Kalinga War. The edicts include I-X, XIV and two separate Kalinga Edicts. A rock-cut face of the elephant is also present above the edicts.
By Air- Biju Patnaik International Airport is the prime airport in Bhubaneswar and the only international airport in Odisha.
By Rail- Bhubaneswar Railway station is the main railway station. Besides, the city has five more railheads offering trains to all major Indian cities.
By Road- Baramunda Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) is the major bus terminus in the city from where you can find a bus to all parts of Odisha and its neighboring cities.
MarcoFrance1965
UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE !
I just came back from a 12 days Rajasthan tour. It was just myself and my 14 year olde daughter. I found Caper surfing the web and had non suggestion from friends and had never read comments or reviews about it. Totally "blind-choice". I was very lucky. The organization was really excellent. The agent that followed us, Mr. Praveen Juyal did a great job. I decided our itinerary and he punctually gave me suggestions on the best management of my choices. The hotel choice was fine and confirmed expectations. We had tour guides in every site seeing location and they were all extremely professional, very punctual and really kind and polite.
But I must say that what made the trip even better was our driver; Mr. Deshraj.
One of those persons that you really wish you could meet once in your life. Not only an excellent driver but always helpful, respectful and friendly. He explained us many things about Indian life along the journey and sometimes stopped for short breaks in beautiful places on the road that were not even mentioned in the guide books. My only regret is that at the end of the trip I didn't have much money left and I left a tip probably not adeguate for the kind of service but I will definitely send him try to sort this maybe in a next trip. Thank you very much Caper and Deshraj.
Dreamer802943
A Memorable Trip
We recently concluded a 12 day driving tour of New Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan with Caper Travel. It was most enjoyable !! The logistics arrangements were excellent - from tour planning , hotel selection , vehicle condition to driver. Mr Alok handled the planning, and Mr Vikram was our Tempo driver throughout the journey. Mr Vikram was very helpful , accommodating and patient throughout the tour, despite long hours of driving on the roads ( not to mention India traffic}. We would not hesitate to recommend Caper to our fellow travellers who are thinking of visiting India. Thank You Caper !
goochie33, London, United Kingdom
Golden triangle goa and mumbia
Just come back from an amazing 2 week trip to India. First we done the golden triangle which we chose to do the train trip from Delhi to Agra a must you have to do if not just for the experience. All the cities were wonderful but be prepared to see lots of temple one seems to run into another but wow the taj was my highlight along with the Hindu temple in Delhi. The driving the cows the dogs are everywhere are all an experience. Goa was beautiful we stayed at the taj exotica. In mumbia we done a city tour and ended our trip in the taj for afternoon tea another must. It is a exhilarating trip but one I will never forget. From booking with Manika to all the drivers and guides they were always there to meet us from the airport and hotels on time. They really looked after us thank you all.
Aileen M
Wonderful trip
We have just returned from our first trip to India and we must say it was absolutely fascinating. The itinerary was first class and covered everything we could have wished for. On arrival we were met by a very nice rep and driver who took us to our hotel and sorted out the necessary paperwork with us. We had our driver Vishan for our time in the north and he was terrific, kept the vehicle spotless and kept us supplied with water. We then flew to the south of India and met up with our driver Suhdeer who again was very nice and very informative about things as we drove along. The guides we had on all our trips were excellent and again very informative.
The only down side to it all was that in our package we paid for the drivers accommodation, food and allowance only to find out that the drivers don’t receive this money and if they want accommodation they have to pay for it themselves. We ended up paying one of our drivers an amount for the nights that we had him for him to get somewhere to sleep and food as we were concerned that if he slept in his car he wouldn’t be rested enough to take on the next day driving for 4-5 hours.
All in all Caper Travel are excellent in their planning and can’t fault them for that.
Urquiola, New York City, New York
Caper travel
Recently traveled to India on a private guided tour with Caper Travel. Ms. Mumtaz Khan worked with me on arranging my itinerary.
She was always available to answer all my concerns immediately. On my arrival in Delhi I was welcome with warm smile at the airport by a young gentleman name Kapol Joshi . My experience with the company was amazing and I would highly recommend to anyone traveling to India.
I would also like to mention the personal attention I received at Amritsar by Aman Shara and his lovely wife who welcomed me and my son to their home
and soon to open their beautiful hotel.
Any Query? Please write us at info@india-travel-packages.in
