With the temple the image of the Sun God stirs to life with the first rays of the sun that fall on his face. The afternoon sun's rays show him at wakefulness. And in the evening his eyes droop. As Rabindranath Tagore said, this is where the language of stone defeats the language of man.

How To Reach

Road
All roads that lead to Konark are in good shape (locals call them 'all weather roads') so the journey from Puri or Bhubhaneshwar is comfortable and picturesque. It is 35 km from Puri on the Marine Drive and 85 km via Pipli. There is a regular bus service from Puri (Rs 8, one hour). The buses and mini-buses are in bad shape and always packed but you can hire a jeep instead. As it's a short journey you can do a round trip in one day. The last bus out of Konark leaves at 6.30 pm and usually carries on towards Bhubhaneshwar.

Since the bus service from Bhubhaneshwar is not as frequent, you may have to change buses at Pipli, and the journey is much longer (65 km, 3-4 hours). There is one direct express tourist bus, which leaves from the Bhubhaneshwar town stand at 10 am.

Sights to Visit

Sun Temple
It was the European sailors, travelling along the coast of Orissa who first called this temple of the sun the 'Black Pagoda'. Though the sea has moved 2 km away from the mighty temple of Surya and ancient mariners have ceased to sail by, it still stands tall (the main tower is 128 feet high), an incredible architectural feat – rediscovered and magnificent.

The Konark temple is now protected as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. Entry fees to the monument are Rs 50 for Indian tourists and rs 460 for foreign tourists.


Nine planets' Shrine
Originally positioned above the main entrance of the Jagmohan, this 6 m chlorite slab is now in the northeast corner of the enclosure. The figures (seated) in this shrine are supposed to represent the Navagrahas (nine planet deities)--Surya, Chandra (the moon), Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu (the ascending and descending nodes of the eclipse). The second shrine in the south-west corner was formerly dedicated to Surya's wife -- the Shadow Goddess.


Archaeological Museum
Has many sculptures and carvings that were retrieved from the site during excavations. You can also buy a copy of the Archaeological Survey of India's Konark. (9 am to 5 pm, Friday closed).


Konark Beach
The beach (2 km from the temple) is fairly clean, though the currents can be a bit strong so be careful.

Your Itinerary for Konark
(CALCUTTA-BHUVANESHWAR-PURI-KONARK (8 DAYS))

Day 01: Arrive Calcutta - Meet at the airport and transfer to Hotel Quality Inn or similar. Dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 02: Calcutta-After breakfast, full-day sight-seeing tour visiting Indian Museum - housing a brilliant collection of Buddhist and Gupta art; Victoria Memorial Museum - an imposing white marble construction displaying paintings of the British Raj; Fort William and Eden Gardens, lunch, dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 03: Calcutta/Bhuvaneshwar - After breakfast, transfer to airport to board flight for Bhuvaneshwar, the capital of Orissa, which lakes its name from one of the titles of lord Shiva, 'Bhuvaneshwar' - the lord of Creation. On arrival, transfer to Hotel Oberoi or similar, lunch, dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 04: Bhuvaneshwar/Konark/Puri - After breakfast leave by car/coach for Konark (64kms/2hrs) visiting the world famous, Sun Temple. Also known as Black Pagoda, standing in solitary splendor amongst the sand dunes, the temple is the most striking example of Kalinga architecture. At this exact spot on our planet the solar eclipse took place in 1980, to the utter amazement of modern astronomers and scientists. Proceed to Puri (30kms/1 hr), one of the four most holy Hindu Dhams (abodes). A place with many names over the centuries - Nilgiri, Niladari, Nilanchal, Jagannath Dham. Jagannath Puri. etc - Puri is dominated by two great forces, one created by God and the other by man. On arrival at Puri, transfer to Hotel Toshali Sands or similar, lunch, dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 05: Puri - After breakfast, full-day sight-seeing tour of Puri, where the main attractions are the temples and the Mathas (monasteries), lunch at local restaurant and visit the lord Jagonnath Temple, loknath Temple, Indradyumna Tank, Garden House & beach. Dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 06: Puri/Bhuvaneshwar-After breakfast, leave by car/coach for Bhuvaneshwar (94kms/3hrs). On arrival, transfer to Hotel Oberoi or similar. After lunch, city tour visiting the great temples of lord Shiva - the Lingraj Temple / Tribhuvaneshwar Temple, Parusurameshwara Temple, Bindusagar and Raja Rani Temple. There were around 10,000 temples at one time in the city. A hundred still survive - some of them superb examples of great Orissa temple architecture. Dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 07: Bhuvaneshwar/Calcutta - After breakfast, transfer to airport for flight to Calcutta. On arrival, transfer to Hotel Quality Inn or similar, lunch, Dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 08: Calcutta/Back Home - After breakfast, transfer to airport to board flight for onward journey/bock home.

Tour Ends.