Places to visit nearby destination - Puri
Chilika Lake
 The largest brackish water lake in Asia, the Chilika Lake
is situated at a distance of 121 km from Bhubaneswar. The
lake supports a great variety of aquatic birds which arrive
from as far as the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea, remote
parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and
South East Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas, to feed and breed
in its fertile waters. The shimmering blue waters of the
lake attract large number of tourists to this place year
after year. The shoreline presents some exciting trekking
routes and beach camping facilities. For those in search
of leisure or adventure, Chilika makes for an ideal getaway
from Bhubaneswar.
Konark
 The Sun Temple
at Konark, 65 km away from Bhubaneswar, is a magnificent
13th-century temple. On the shore, Surya, the Sun God, speeding
across the sky in a gorgeous chariot has been captured in
stone. With its 12 pairs of giant, marvellously sculpted
wheels and seven richly caparisoned horses straining their
necks to pull the massive weight, the Sun is often described
as /”an allegory in stone/”—the highest point of achievement
in the Kalinga school of architecture.
Raghurajpur
Raghurajpur, a craftsmen’s village located at a distance
of about 12 kilometres from Puri, is another must visit
to be included in your excursion. It is the birthplace of
the famous Orissa Patta chitra textiles or fabrics decorated
with the art of Orissa. The village is a literally picturesque
place with painters or chitrakars living in it. Raghurajpur
presents the typical picture of an east Indian village with
the river Bhargavi flowing just by its side watering the
green paddy fields, groves of coconut, palm, mango and jackfruit
along with many betel leaf gardens in the backyards of the
villagers. If you want to feel the pulse of the native Oriyas,
you must not miss a visit to this cool and peaceful village.
Sakhi Gopal
Located at a distance of 25 kilometres from Puri, Sakhi
Gopal is another holy place to visit during your excursion
from Puri. According to a legend, Lord Krishna came to this
place as a witness or sakhi (the reason behind the place’s
name Sakhi Gopal, gopal meaning Lord Krishna) to sort out
a dispute of two Brahmans. Later Lord liked this place so
much that he decided to stay here for a while. Sakhi Gopal
has a life size image of the child Krishna to commemorate
the legendary incident.
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