Sightseeing
Mahendragiri Hills
The second-highest peak in Odisha, wrapped in myth and mist. A pilgrimage hill of ancient stone temples, cool forest and long views over Gajapati.
About Mahendragiri Hills
Mahendragiri rises to about 1,500 metres in the southern Eastern Ghats — the second-highest point in Odisha. It is named in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana as the abode of Parashurama, and a cluster of temples on its upper slopes — Kunti, Yudhishthira, Bhima and the Parashurama shrine — are attributed to the Pandavas and built in early Kalinga stone style.
The climb passes through dry deciduous forest that turns semi-evergreen higher up, with relict patches of montane grassland and orchids not found in the plains. The summit ridge gives long views across the Gajapati and Srikakulam hills, and the air is noticeably cooler than the valley.
A large fair draws pilgrims on Shivaratri; for the rest of the year the hill is quiet and best visited early, before the afternoon haze.
What you can do
- Guided temple walk
- Forest birding
- Summit-ridge viewpoint
- Photography
How to reach
- About 35 km from the campus (1 hr 15 min) — take the road to R.Udayagiri, then the marked turn for Mahendragiri.
- The last stretch is a narrow, winding hill road; a car or SUV manages it in the dry season, and reception arranges the vehicle and a driver who knows the route.
- Vehicles park near the base of the temple cluster; reaching the upper shrines is a short, steep walk of 20–30 minutes.
- Nearest railway station: Palasa (about 55 km) on the Howrah–Chennai line. Nearest airports: Visakhapatnam (VTZ, ~150 km) and Bhubaneswar (BBI, ~230 km).
Mahendragiri Hills
Photographs: Subhamsahoo2008, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Vsvlss, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.