Konark is located in East India in the state of Odisha. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometers from the capital of the state Bhubaneswar. The word “Konark” is actually a combination of two Sanskrit words. Kona means corner or angle and arka means the sun. This clearly tells us that this place is the angle at which the sun appears. It is famous for the 13th century Sun temple, also known as the Black Pagoda, built in black granite during the reign of Narsinghadeva-I. The sun temple is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. This temple is famous for its unique architecture, its geometrical patterns and carved wheels used to serve as sundials. 

A trip to Konark cannot be completed without understanding its rich heritage. The art and culture activities in Konark will give you an insight into the city’s history, traditions and artwork. While visiting the cultural attractions in Konark would prove to be informative, attending its artsy events will leave you entertained. From cultural performances to ancient monuments give you the glimpse of the past, present and even the future.

Lets pack our bags! Doesn’t it sound exciting. It definitely does; from youth to elders to professionals to home makers everyone wants to run away from their mundane jobs to take shelter in a peaceful and calm environment. The fast lifestyle has become a habit. People want to be convenient, fast and efficient and the list is endless. Nowadays people are much more fond of intimate contact with nature and enjoy the virgin beauty of the destination.  After being cooped up in the houses or the concrete walls of your work, wide open spaces are needed. 

Spending the mornings waking up slowly, enjoying a hot cup of coffee in the middle of the raw nature or an energizing hike is a bliss everyone wants to experience. Spending time meditating, in recreational activities, reading books, listening to music, doing yoga or even taking a nap this breath of fresh air is bound to have your focus back. The glamping (glamorous camping) experience is one such a lifetime opportunity not to be missed. Solo travel buffs or vacation with the family these glamping sites can be well integrated with nature, they provide every convenience as per your need. Star-filled skies, plush blankets, crackling fires ignite the flame of self love or falling in love with your spouse again. Glamping tent will give you an updated experience for outdoor accommodation. With tents walls painted with Odisha’s art style, comfortable double beds, colorful curtains, insulation cotton, washrooms and much more is available in a small or a large tent according to your preference. Glamping thus provides the best factor of these glamping sites as they are temporary hotel buildings, which is cheaper than concrete construction and quicker procedures. They can be dismantled in one day. Glamping provides you the thrill with the splendors of the outdoors and commune with nature without sacrificing the comfort. 

With most of the tourists wanting to enjoy the uninterrupted tour, technology can be avoided, but you might find some technology useful or necessary to understand the hidden places around the destination. It can be an antique shop or a not so famous spiritual site. Bring things to document a journal to take back the memories. You can also keep a camera or GoPro; smartphone; waterproof cases; laptops; tab; headphones; portable charger. 

Kayaking is a fun water sport. As the word suggests, it simply involves the usage of a kayak, which is essentially a lightweight canoe, for moving over the water. Kayaking is the activity of sailing, yachting, and canoeing. Along with simply being fun or an enjoyable activity, it has several health and physical benefits. It is one of the most invigorating physical recreation activities which are vigorous enough to get your heart beat faster as a form of active recreation. Such activities build our cardiovascular fitness. They are an actively burning fuel for the soul. Kayaking also helps in weight management, increasing upper body strength, toned legs, better endurance, mood boost, improved focus, etc.

Odisha offers many destinations for Kayaking and a growing number of people are exploring the pleasures of this water sport. As the second-largest coastal lagoon in the world and the largest wintering ground for migratory birds in the Indian subcontinent, Chilka Lake has been attracting a considerable number of tourists from all over the world. Long ago, there were only a few takers of this game as they considered it a risky sport. However, with the changing time, Kayaking has emerged as a favorite among adventurous freaks. If you find the lake completely swarmed with people, worry not! Chilika Lake is not the only preferred destination in Odisha for this sport as there are many in the queue which is rapidly attracting a lot of tourists.

Places like Puri Canal, Mahanadi at Cuttack, and Chandrabhaga and Nuanai near Puri have emerged as popular destinations for Kayaking. It is evident with the fast-growing popularity of this sport that people are looking for adventures and they understand that it does not involve any risk. Beginners who don’t know swimming can also enjoy this thrilling experience by putting on their life jackets and getting on the Kayak. Anyone who has done it once is so thrilled with the experience and wishes to do it again and again. Most people weren’t aware of this water sport until recently. Incidentally, kayaking gained popularity after a series of informational events and workshops were organized by Odisha Tourism on “World Tourism day”.

Sonapur, also known as the Subarnapur district, is a small town in Odisha. It is popularly known as the second Varanasi of India for its historical cluster of temples and also the second Allahabad for the meeting point (Sangam) of two rivers Mahanadi and Tel just like Allahabad. It is famous for silk, handloom, prawns and terracotta etc. Once this place was a melting pot of various religious creeds like Jainism, Buddhism, Saivism, Somavamisis, Telugu Chodas, Gangas and Chouhans who had ruled the state.

It is also the place that holds the 10th Century treasures buried and later found in the form of gold, silver and bronze coins which belong to the Ganga Dynasty. The best tourist places of Sonepur are Patali srikhetra, Maa Sureswari Temple, Thengo Dam and Hima Bhoi Samadhi Pitha. Sonapur is famous for its ancient Suvarnameru Temple, Metakani Temple and Kosaleswar Temple.

While traveling to these places one can savor local oriya delicacies which are rich and varied and rely on local ingredients. Rice, both sun dried and par-boiled, is the staple food of the people in this state. However the eating patterns have slightly changed in the urban setups. Oriya food is prominent and well known for their exceptionally mouth watering and finger licking vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies. Mudhi is a famous snack mostly served at breakfast. Lunch includes Macha Ghanta, Bhendi Bhaja, Crab Kalia, vegetables and pickles; Dinner can be typical breads served with Fish/Crab dishes; Lentils and rice are also served. Famous sweets are Rasgulla, Rasmalai, Khirmohan, Rasabali, Kalakand. Other traditional sweets are Chhena Poda, pittha, Endura Pittha and Chittau Pitha, malpua.

One can also devour Luchi, the most popular cuisine which is served with curries or gravies.

Khecede (Khichdi) , a popular dish made with rice and lentils cooked together in ghee, is offered as Prasad.

One can also enjoy Chungdi Malai (Prawn Malai Curry) which is both delicious and mild prepared in coconut milk and adds nutrition value to the dish. It is served with Basmati Rice.

There are a number of local hotels, Restaurants, and 5 star cafes you can visit with your friends, loved ones, or even on your own and enjoy the food.

Overall you can have an experience of a lifetime by just exploring Sonapur, the ancient city of Odisha. With its flavor of cultural temple vibes which soothe the soul from within, blue clean beaches and lush green forests,the  untouched raw nature of the place is a treat to one’s eyes and provides comfort to one’s inner self.

Odisha, situated in the eastern seaboard of Indian Subcontinent, is favored with a stunning range of magnificent tourism products. Traditionally famous as a cultural destination with amazing temples and monuments, it has today emerged as one of the most beautiful states on all fronts including tourism. 

It has a serene beauty dotted around in the city and countryside with minimum vehicular traffic, and the friendly people make it an ideal destination for bike/bicycle riders. When you are on a motorcycle, you have the freedom to go anywhere. It gives an explorer the opportunity to experience raw nature in its purest form. With long coastline of 480 Kms, 35% of dense forest cover, a buddhist heritage, varied ethnic tribes, shining classical dance of Odissi, largest brackish water lake of Asia-Chillika, the criss crossed Mangroves forest of Bhitarkanika, so many and so forth it is an eye candy for the tourists.

Simlipal National Park, Baripada is the largest National Park of Odisha. It is one of the principal tiger projects in India. The area is plentiful of dense forests, electrifying meadows, breathtaking waterfalls and beautiful rivers. Simlipal Reserve has more than 1000 varieties of plants and a great variety of wildlife.

Similarly, the Bhitarkanika National Park, Cuttack is considered as the one of its kind in entire Asia because of one of the rarest species of flora and fauna. This place also attracts a myriad of migrant species like the Olive Ridley, Sea Turtles, Asian OpenBill, Black Lbis and many other species. 

Tikarpada Wildlife Sanctuary attracts the tourists with its overwhelming beauty and lush green surroundings. 

Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, Jeypore is located in the valleys of the Koraput region, the place has lush valleys which is the great attractive feature with natural landscape. The national highway 43 which runs over the mountains offers an unforgettable experience while traveling in Sunabeda.

These tourist places in Odisha are a treat to one’s eyes and soulful experience to one’s inner world. One can visit this place and return with a bag full of wonderful memories, the raw natural beauty and simplicity will remain etched in one’s mind. You can visit the places listed simply on a bike and explore them fully, to further enhance your own experience of the place!

Odisha, the hidden state of India, is a state confounded with vast diversity in terms of history, legacy, spirituality and natural beauty. It is riddled with pristine beaches, lakes, rivers, heritage landmarks, hill stations and biological diversity. Making it top in the list of environment friendly places, Odisha’s preserved aura is paving the way for eco-retreats in India.  

The glamping sites for Eco Retreats, therefore, are meticulously arranged in order to reveal the state’s diversity and abundance in terms of travel services to tourists from all across the globe. Odisha Tourism has exercised considerable caution when building retreats in ecologically vulnerable places, ensuring that tourists at these locations have no negative impact on the natural ecosystem of the area.

Satkosia, which is home to a well-known wildlife sanctuary, allows you to get close and personal with nature. This place is located at the confluence of both the Deccan Peninsula as well as the Eastern Ghats, is rich in vegetation and fauna. It is a great place for environment enthusiasts and bird watchers to explore the nearby Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary. On a river safari, you get the opportunity to see wildlife in its natural habitat. You might see sights such as howling deer, hedgehogs, antelope, tiger, Malabar Giant Squirrels and many more. During evenings you can engage yourself in playing volleyball, rifle shooting, archery with your pals to make the most out of your time with them!

How to reach this beautiful place
By Air: Cuttack or Bhubaneshwar Airports; 

By Train: the nearest railway stations are Sagadapata, Tangiriapal, Nilakantheswar;
By Road: you can board the bus or the private cab from Bhubaneshwar to reach. 

Eco means ecological, lodge suggests accommodation. Eco-lodge is a type of tourist accommodation designed to have the minimum possible impact on the natural environment where it has been built. They are crafted particularly for the people who travel and stay away from home for more than a day and thus, need a proper lodging for sleep, rest, food, safety, shelter from cold temperatures or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions. Lodge is a form of the sharing economy. Eco Lodge accommodation must meet the three basic principles of ecotourism, namely; be based in a natural environment; benefit the local population; provide awareness education programs, and most importantly, be environmentally friendly.

With more and more lodgings adopting green habitats in their natural form, you have an unlimited amount of available options to choose from around the globe. Being the home to almost all physical divisions like numerous mountains, beautiful rivers, lakes, deserts, islands, and oceans our country promises numerous such destinations. Via green cottages, eco-hotels, eco-friendly hostels, or homestays, sustainable lodging offers rapid growth and is a boon for the tourism sector.

It is located in a natural or rural area within a short distance of a natural area. It is unkempt and unaffected by urban development and is usually located far away from traffic noise, smog or even pollution. You can sleep under a clear sky shining with trillions of stars twinkling at night. It preserves the local flora and fauna and gives you a truly serene experience.

It uses systems that protect the environment from pollution and degradation and makes use of energy-saving systems and possibly renewable energy technologies. It has access to nature interpretation guides who have excellent local knowledge of the natural habitat.

It also provides books, posters, maps, photographs, orientation presentations or other means of informing guests and visitors about the region and other close spots. It also helps to educate guests, staff and visitors about the importance and value of a healthy ecosystem and describes how best to enjoy the area without affecting it. Eco-lodges offer a safe space and teach you how to maintain that safety.

The most important attribute of these eco-lodges is to contribute to the local economy and helps to demonstrate that ecotourism is a more sustainable way to earn income in the long term than destroying or modifying habitats for short term gains.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of our busy schedule, daily city life does not provide us any solace or peace. Everyone wants to take a small break from their mundane jobs and find themselves looking forward to holidays or days or two weekly offs to rejuvenate themselves in a holistic manner. For this reason alone, coming with promises of a refreshing break, weekends excite us in different ways. For some, binging on old movies confided in the comfort of their houses is a top activity on their bucket list, few zoom out to discos with their friends for entertainment but the diehard travelers want to explore, regardless of the amount of time they have on their hands. We all have that traveler in us who wishes to always reach out to new places and explore new dimensions and physical zones of different parts of the world.

Interestingly, the winter season brings out the best of our appetites. With the smoothness of the cold breeze, pleasure encourages us to pursue it near a sea coast, listening to the melodious water waves or some devotional songs sung by the priest in some local tiny temple in an unknown destination. We know these experiences will remain etched in our memory lane for quite a long time. There is an old saying that says you must never underestimate the knowledge of an explorer. The long coastline of Odisha boasts of its rich traditions, awe-inspiring art heritage, ancient temples, pristine beaches, and century-old tribal cultures. With more than 2000 years old history, Odisha reveals a blend of historical and cultural ancestry.

Odisha presents varied kinds of attractions suitable for winter. A ramble along these beaches or just an evening short trip to namely Rushikulya beach, Puri beach, Chandipur Beach, Astaranga Beach, and Ramchandi Beach can shower you with a peaceful and calm mind. You can also visit other sites like Dhauli, Buddhist sites, Chilika Lake the largest lagoon in India popular for its wide range of ecosystems, and Nandankanan Zoo. Nalabana Bird Sanctuary serves as a homeland to a vast ecosystem, the fusion of sweet river water, and salty seawater provides the perfect home for diverse aquatic life and birds.

Ever since the pandemic left businesses at a halt and they had to come back by beginning remote work, work from home has become the new normal and was like a distant dream only decades ago. Most of us have been stuck at home for 3 years now and even though the very process of working has become a lot easier to manage and accomplish, it has also started to feel monotonous and boring if anything else. Enveloped by an endless amount of online meetings, the constant buzz of zoom and google meet and yet the remnants of a loneliness that refuses to leave, the world is in a forever revolving cycle of stress. There is only so much work you can do before completely burning out and breaking down or losing yourself entirely.

If any of this hits home and you too are bored by sitting inside the confines of your home, no matter how warm or comforting it is and have caught yourself looking for sustainable vacations without negatively affecting your budget and going beyond your salary, there is a way.

The Campsites are set in many picturesque locations showcasing Odisha’s natural bounty on river beds and sand bars, virgin beaches, mangrove forests and hill stations. You can live here comfortably and have as much space as you need to put in full focus on your work at hand. The place has always been less crowded. It would be an awesome experience working from this venue with an enchantingly breathtaking backdrop of unique cuisines, culture and the empowering energy of silence. The peaceful and refreshing destination will bring out your best, most focused self which will directly reflect in the quality of the work that you get done here.

Eco retreat Odisha offers you a great deal of time to spend close to nature while providing you your basic needs. It will also directly enhance your productivity by bringing your mind comfort and putting it at a much-needed sense of ease.

If you have caught yourself daydreaming about sun-lit palm trees, crystal blue oceans freely flowing on sandy beaches and can feel the juicy warmth of seafood melting in your mouth or stay places that will leave your heart beating on the cheerful rhythms of joy and utmost happiness, you have been thinking about Konark Eco Retreat. Located on the very laps of nature, Konark is Odisha’s most beloved place to visit and is covered in the prettiest shades of life. It is home to not only nature at its supreme but also to the most picturesque beaches and multicolored skies.

The Konark eco retreat is an experience of its own. With its multi cuisine specialities, openness to the wild, closeness to nature and a collection of the most soul-winning elements of nature, the eco retreat is subtly dipped in luxury and perfumed with comfort to make you live a lavish dream that you had only visioned for yourself in a limited percentage. It is located alongside the Ramchandi beach and is perfectly equipped with 60 plush tents for a truly luxurious and holistic glamping experience.

Konark eco retreat has India’s most talented chefs ever who are led by Chef Kshitij, a known name in the culinary world for his years of experience in the field and natural talent towards the assortment of flavors that he so easily creates. You can try out the natural and authentically delicious Odiya cuisine which has more focus on the individual flavors of its ingredients than on spice and oil, or Asian, Indian and other special cuisines that vary according to the days. Personally, we would highly recommend that you try out the Odiya cuisine first, instead of tasting the dishes you are already familiar with, to truly complete your experience of the place. The chefs also carry out outdoor grilling events sometimes and come up with the most scrumptious meals laden with a wide variety of seafood. If you are non-vegetarian but have not had the opportunity to try out seafood just yet, this is your chance. Odiya seafood is unlike any other and is widely loved as a result of the same. In fact, many people come to Odisha just to have its cuisine, prepared authentically on Odiyan soil.