When most people travel to Bhubaneswar for the very first time, they expect Bhubaneswar to be a quiet, conservative temple town frozen in time, along the lines of Varanasi or Ayodhya (formerly known as Faizabad). This is what we at unstumbled, too, believed. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Along with housing more than 700 historic shrines, Odisha’s capital is a sleek, planned, green metropolis that effortlessly bridges 3rd-century BCE history with 21st-century Smart City infrastructure. On unstumbled’s recent visit to this well-planned hub, there were certain features of the city that, despite our research, caught us by surprise! They are as follows.
Things You Don’t Realize About Bhubaneswar Until You Visit
1. The City Is Surprisingly Green And Clean
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You may have heard that Bhubaneswar has consistently ranked among the top smart cities in the country; however, when you’re there in the flesh, you understand why that has been the case. This marvelous city has all the amenities, from extensive tree cover and automated waste collection systems to solar-powered public transit shelters. It also has massive green lungs in the form of parks such as Biju Patnaik Park, Jayadev Vatika, and Ekamra Kanan. These botanical sanctuaries offer peace, quiet, and fresh air right in the middle of the urban capital.
2. Bhubaneswar Was One of Modern India’s Very First Planned Cities
Chandigarh is known for its organized planning, and the fame it gets is, granted, well-deserved. However, Bhubaneswar deserves no less. It was designed in 1948 by a German architect, Otto Königsberger, and has wide grid-based avenues called “Units”, expansive green buffers, and wide pedestrian corridors like Smart Janpath that bypass traffic bottlenecks. The city also has spacious pedestrian walkways lined with benches, as well as cycling lanes. Such a distinct layout helps in keeping the modern commercial sector neatly separated from the labyrinthine ancient streets of Ekamra Kshetra or the Old Town.
3. Heat In Odisha Is Intense
The one thing that we weren’t prepared for was the heat. For those visiting the city for the first time, the importance of sunscreen and covering up cannot be overstated. This goes doubly if you’re traveling during warmer months. Carry an umbrella and a water bottle with you at all times.
Also Read: Inside Odisha’s 2,300-Year-Old Elephant Statue Find
4. Wide Roads Without Potholes
As mentioned previously, the city is very well-planned. As such, the width of the roads here really took us by surprise. What was even more surprising to us was the utter lack of potholes on the road. Road journeys here felt as smooth as a warm knife on butter!
5. Culinary Experience Here Is Diverse, Underrated And Mind-Blowing
Odia food is an entire cuisine unto itself, and nowhere is it more evident than in Bhubaneswar. The culinary soul of the city centers around Mahaprasad and Abhada that are cooked daily in traditional earthen pots known as Kudua. Unlike the temples in other parts of India where prasad is just a small bite, the Ananta Vasudeva temple near Bindusagar Lake serves full-fledged cooked feasts. The bhog typically includes rice, dalma, besara, and khiri cooked purely over firewood without onion or garlic. Apart from the temple food, street food and Odia thalis are also must-haves here. There is a legendary local breakfast, Dahibara Aloodum that still haunts our dreams. It is basically lentil dumplings soaked in spiced buttermilk, which is then topped with fiery potato curry and ghugni. Are you hungry yet?
6. Wide Availability Of Liquor Despite Being A Temple City
Many temple towns in India are completely dry. Given the abundance of religious shrines in Bhubaneswar, we were expecting the same here as well. However, that is not the case at all. In fact, far from it, liquor shops are very ubiquitous throughout the city. Regular drinking laws do apply, but nothing beyond that. As a matter of fact, in Odisha, you can even order alcohol on Swiggy Instamart!
7. Sun Rises Earlier Here Than In Rest Of India
Since Odisha is on the East Coast, the sun rises here much earlier than in the rest of the country. We were quite surprised to see how high the sun had risen by 6:30 in the morning! It looked and felt (heat-wise) more like 8:30 AM or 9 AM!
Also Read: Chilika Lake: Discover Asia’s Largest Brackish Water Lagoon
Summing Up
Visiting Bhubaneswar was certainly an educational experience for us. The infrastructure and the hygienic facilities, as well as the wide and smooth roads, were all way better than in Tier 1 cities of the country such as Mumbai and Delhi. If you, too, are interested in exploring the city, make sure you visit between October and March, and for at least two to three days. This will allow you to escape the sweltering heat of Odisha, and you’ll be able to explore the city in peace. Once you visit, you will understand that this city, and Odisha in general as well, is very underrated.
