Bhubaneswar

Admission is technically free at many of the temples except those under the care of the Archaelogy Survey of India. Temples are usually open from sunrise to sunset (entrance to the inner sanctums may be restricted for half an hour or so during offering times—early morning, around noon, and late afternoon). Upon entering any one of them, however, you may be harassed for money by the panda (priest), beggars, or an enterprising local, who will follow you around with a phony donation register scribbled with the names of foreign tourists and the amounts they've allegedly donated—with an extra zero tacked onto the end of each figure. The money is usually pocketed rather than used for the preservation of the temple, but it may be worth giving Rs. 10 or so just to avoid being tailed.

Since Orissa isn't really on the way to or from any other prime tourist destination—the nearest major city to Bhubaneswar is Calcutta, at 480 km (298 mi), and the others are more than 1,000 km (621 mi) away—you'll probably want to get your money's worth out of a visit. Besides seeing Bhubaneswar's temples, there are other enjoyable ways to spend time while based in one of the town's good hotels. The textile and handicrafts shopping is excellent and there are interesting museums, a decent zoo, and several worthwhile day trips.

Bhubaneswar is divided in two by its rail line. On the southeastern side is Old Town, with higgledy-piggedly streets, most of them unpaved, winding between residential areas and the main temples. On the northwestern side is New Town, with wider streets and buildings spread out over a large area. There's no downtown, but Station Square, just west of the railway station, is a gathering spot for auto-rickshaws and taxis. Two main streets, Janpath and Sachivalaya Marg, run north-south through New Town; these are crossed by the east-west road Rajpath, which goes west from Station Square out to NH-5, the trunk road heading north to Calcutta and south to Hyderabad.