Bhubaneswar, Puri & Konark – 4 Days Itinerary

My mom is usually sceptical about driving on foreign lands. She prefers a chauffeur-driven vehicle to a self-driven one. However, this time, while planning my trip, when I asked her, she agreed on taking a Zoomcar. Surprising right! We were at Bhubaneswar to attend my friend’s wedding, another one indeed! Therefore, we decided to extend our visit for four more days to explore nearby cities.

Reaching Bhubaneswar

There are plenty of flights from Delhi to Bhubaneswar, which you can book as per your schedule. Those who stay in the eastern belt can also reach here via train or car.

Here’s how we managed to cover four cities in 4 days:

Day 1: Bhubaneswar

We started our day with an authentic Odia breakfast at my friend’s house. Post, which we headed to collect our Zoomcar, parked at the Yamaha Showroom in Kharabela Nagar. After spending half an hour completing all the formalities, we began our journey. We went to Dhauli, the famous Lingaraj Temple and Odisha State Museum. We ended our day gorging on street food at Unit I & II market. I would recommend having another day for the city to explore Nandankanan Zoological Park and Udayagiri-Khandagiri caves.

Day 2: Puri

Puri is a 1.5-hour drive from Bhubaneswar. We started at 9 a.m from Bhubaneswar, and it was a delight to drive on the Bhubaneswar-Puri Highway. As we reached closer to our hotel, the drive became scenic, with the Bay of Bengal to our left and the bustling city to our right. After check-in, we visited Swargadwar beach right opposite our hotel. We had maggie for lunch from a nearby shaft and headed for sightseeing. We visited the Jagannath Temple and explored the market next to the temple. Next, we went to Puri Beach, explored the beach market and ended our day watching a beautiful sunset at the Golden beach. We stopped by the Ethnic Village Restaurant at Mahodadhi Palace to try out the authentic Odia cuisine for dinner.

Tip: The State Handloom Emporium at Jagannath Temple parking is the best place to buy souvenirs.

Day 3: Chilika Lake, Satpada

Chilika Lake, the world’s second-largest brackish water lagoon, is merely 1.5 hours from Puri. There are many sightseeing spots at Chilika Lake. However, Satpada is closest to Puri and is the only place where you can spot Irrawaddy Dolphins. We started our journey at 8:30 a.m and reached the Chilika Lake jetty ticket counter at 10:00 a.m. They had various packages available from which we chose the 4-hour boat ride that covered the Dolphin sighting point and Sea mouth. Our first stop was the dolphin point, where we had three sightings. From there, it took 1.5 hours to reach the sea mouth. On our way, we saw many birds like seagulls, herons and stork. We spent half an hour exploring the Sea mouth and admiring its beauty. I had some fresh prawns before heading back to the jetty. On our way back, we saw ten sightings, which was a thrilling experience indeed!

We reached Puri at 4 p.m. Post which we explored the Lighthouse next to our hotel. It gave us a mesmerising 360-degree view of the beach city. In the evening, we explored the street food stalls at the beach market. For dinner, we headed to Sholo Ana Bengali to gorge on authentic Bengali food.

Tip: On your way to the Lake, locals selling boat rides at a cheaper cost might chase you. However, ignore them, as their boats don’t follow any safety measures. I recommend booking your boats from Government assigned stalls only.

Day 4: Konark

It was our last day in Odisha. We checked out at 9:30 a.m from our Hotel in Puri and headed to Konark. It was an hour-long drive through the Balukhand Wildlife Sanctuary. On our way, we stopped by the NuaNai Nature camp to see the Olive Ridley Sea Turtles. However, we couldn’t locate the breeding zone, as there was no one to guide us. We then headed to Ramachandi beach, which was our first spot for sightseeing in Konark. From where we went to Chandrabagha beach and Konark beach. We spent some time by the beach, sipping coconut water before heading to the Sun Temple, our last sight for the day. It is the most famous attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage site that attracts millions of tourists every year. We spent 1.5 hours admiring the brilliant architecture of the temple before heading back to Bhubaneswar.

On reaching Bhubaneswar, we dropped our Zoomcar at the same pick-up point. After which we booked our cab to the airport. We were hungry by the time we reached the airport, as we didn’t have lunch. The Bhubaneswar airport is tiny as compared to the Delhi Airport and had limited food outlets with limited options that were expensive. The counter on the first floor serves south Indian delights had a long queue. Therefore, we bought coffee and chicken roll from the outlet on the ground floor to curb our hunger.

Overview

Four days went by so quickly, and not even once we felt tired, bored or unsafe. The roads are beautiful to drive, people are jolly and helpful, and the weather is so pleasing that we felt like staying here forever.

P.S: The best time to visit Odisha is between November to March.