Orissa temples are extremely popular for their brilliant architectural build and style. Many temples in Orissa are ancient and mostly built during the 7th and 13th century AD. All famous temples Orissa are found mostly in and around the capital city Bhubaneswar, which is also called as the ‘Temple Town of Orissa’; where out of almost 7000 temples that once surrounded the sacred lake, only 500 remain preserved today.
The most famous of the temples in Orissa is the Jagannath temple at Puri which is a famous pilgrimage center and visited by thousands of devotees throughout the year. Height of this temple in Orissa is measured around 215 feet and is visible across the town of Puri
Out of the world famous Orissa temples the Sun temple of Konark is the most visited temples in Orissa, especially by tourists from other countries. The stupendous temple is a monumental marvel and a class apart among the temples in Orissa.
The Mukteshwara temple at Bhubaneshwar is also another of the famous Orissa temples that pulls scores of devotees all through the year. Other Orissa temples in Bhubanashwar that are popular among the devotees are the Rajarani Temple, Brahmeswar Temple, Sureswar and Gowri Temple, Bhavanshankar Temple, Ananta Vasudeva Temple, Shatrugneshwar Temple, Swarnajaleswar Temple, Sari Deul Temple, Yameswar Temple, Bhaskareswar Temple among many others.
The leaning temple of Huma in Sambalpur is another famous Orissa temples that bring lot of visitors to its magnificent temple structure and offers a panoramic view of its surroundings.
Orissa with a glorious past abound in temples. It is the home to rich cultural and traditional values. The area of Orissa is around 155820 square kilometers with population approximately equaling to 38,000,000. The climate in Orissa is tropical and the best time to visit Orissa is during the months of October to March.
The major tourist attractions include popular temples in Orissa the Sun Temple at Konark and Jagannath Temple at Puri. The pristine beaches at Puri and Chandipur are also the most visited tourist destinations, besides the sites of Buddhist influence like Dhauli, Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri, Udaygiri. There are quite a few wildlife sanctuaries in Orissa such as the Bhitar Kanika, Simlipal and Nandan Kanan that attract lots of tourists.
For those loving history and archeology, the Udaygiri and Khandgiri caves are the ideal and excellent sites of archaeological importance. The most famous and beautiful Chilka Lake is considered to be the largest lake in Asia. Other places of interest are the Balighai Beach, Satyabadi, Brahmagiri, Raghurajpur and Sakhigopal.