Odisha Tour Packages

Not the two best known. Only Hindus may go inside Puri's Jagannath Temple, and Odisha Tourism says the same of Bhubaneswar's Lingaraj Temple, where a viewing platform has been built outside the complex so that others can see its architecture. The Konark Sun Temple is open to visitors of every faith, as are the crafts villages and Chilika. If your group is mixed, the specialist plans darshan for some while the others see Konark or the town.

IMD's cyclone centre notes that Bay of Bengal cyclones strike the Odisha and West Bengal coast most often in October, and Bhubaneswar's heaviest day of rain on record, 42.6 cm, fell on 30 October 1999. That does not rule out an autumn trip, because storms are tracked and warned of in advance, but keep a spare day, follow IMD's bulletins, and let the specialist move Konark or Chilika if the weather turns.

On the Chilika lagoon. Odisha Tourism names Satapada, where the lagoon opens to the Bay of Bengal, as one of the most reliable places to see these endangered dolphins, and boats run from there out towards the sea mouth. Satapada is about 50 km from Puri, so it makes a day trip. In winter the same lagoon holds huge numbers of migratory birds, which gather at wetlands such as Mangalajodi.

Yes. Odisha Tourism gives its hours as 6 am to 8 pm, and a light and sound show runs there each evening: from 7.30 to 8.20 pm between March and November, and from 6.30 to 7.20 pm from December to February. Konark is about 35 km from Puri, so the show can close a day trip, with the drive back to Puri afterwards.

From 1 to 5 December every year, according to Odisha Tourism. For five evenings, dancers perform Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam and Manipuri against the floodlit Sun Temple, and the International Sand Art Festival takes place nearby on Chandrabhaga Beach. The cool, dry weather of early December suits a trip that combines the festival with Puri and Bhubaneswar.

At the villages that make them. In Raghurajpur, 14 km from Puri, nearly every household paints Pattachitra or works in palm leaf, stone, wood or masks. Pipili, on the road between Bhubaneswar and Puri, is known for its appliqué, which holds a Geographical Indication, and its shops sell canopies, umbrellas and wall hangings. Each winter Bhubaneswar also hosts the Toshali National Crafts Mela, with craftspeople from across India.