Bhubaneswar: the city of a thousand temples

Capital of Odisha, Bhubaneswar traditionally housed over a thousand Hindu temples built over more than a thousand years of history.

The centre is best visited by car or taxi, temple by temple.

The Lingaraj Temple, standing over fifty-five meters tall and still in active use, remains the most important and best-preserved among the hundreds of temples in the old city.

Just minutes away, the Mukteshvara Temple from the tenth century is considered a jewel of Kalinga temple architecture for the richness of its carved decorations.

Continuing on, one visits the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, carved into rock two thousand years ago by Jain monks as places of meditation and refuge.

Toward evening, the Odisha State Museum displays sculptures, textiles, and ancient manuscripts from the region.

Only a tiny fraction of Bhubaneswar's original temples have survived to the present day: most were destroyed or abandoned over the centuries, yet those that remain are among the best-preserved temples in all of India.

The Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves contain ancient inscriptions that rank among the most important historical sources for reconstructing the life of the ruler Kharavela, who lived in the second century B.C.