This short tour was a side-product of attending a medical conference for me.
Bhubaneshwar, aptly called The Smart City, or City of Temples, has a lot to offer. Nandan Kanan Zoological Park or Botanical Garden if you with your kids and wanna enjoy a few hours of Safari or bird watching, Or Tribal Musuem of Odisha.
But we opted for vising the ancient caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri. A total of 33 caves situated both side of the road, you need to be able to walk uphill as there's a bit of elevation. The place is crawled with ancient-time (some might date back to 3rd Century BCE) inscriptions. Overall recommended.
The city has a lot of Temples. None of them are as famous and of grandeur as the Lingaraj Temple. Open till 9 pm, ideal time to visit must be at the end of dusk to appreciate the lights and decor.
One must not miss Konark and Puri while visiting Odisha.
Konark is a small outlet famous for its wonderous architecture, the Sun Temple of Konark. Most of it is ruins now, so if you want to indulge yourself one the details of Sun temple including the origin, temple designs of Odisha and other parts of India, and the story behind the unique sculpture, you can visit the Interpretation Centre (musuem) just opposite to the main temple. It is great.
Puri is around 35 kms from Konark and can be easily accessed by road through the magnificent Konark-Puri Marine Drive. Chandrabhaga Beach comes at the conjecture of the Marine drive. It is equally beautiful, if not more so, than the Golden beach of Puri. One can also visit the Jagannath Dham Temple in Puri which we did not for time constraint.
The trip of Bhubaneshwar, Konark and Puri can be easily conducted within a day. Transport within and the roads connecting them are good enough, but for better experience, 2D 1N itinerary for it is encouraged.