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Travel India guide provides you with detailed information on Orissa. This rural riverine land of great Hindu and Jain Temples, of Hindu culture and colourful festivals for the fervent faithful, is slowly stepping out of its historic past into a more exciting but, perhaps, less colourful present. Industrial leviathans today sprout from the earth as part of a landscape which once was dotted only with beautifully sculptured buildings. But even the new giants have not been able to mar the quiet and calm of the holiday beaches and the thick forests of a timeless land that still remains true to its past. Situated on the coast along the Bay of Bengal, Orissa stands for its ancient glory and modern endeavour. Endowed with nature's bounty, a 482 km stretch of coastline with virgin beaches, serpentine rivers, mighty waterfalls, forest-clad blue hills of Eastern Ghats with rich wild life, Orissa is dotted with exquisite temples, historic monuments as well as pieces of modern engineering feat. The land, while retaining its pristine glory, also offers the visitors modern amenities.

Bhubaneswar is a great religious place that house around 500 temples like the Lingaraj temple, Parashurameswar Temple, Mukteswar Temple etc. The place including Konark and Puri form a holy Golden Triangle that is a favorite among the tourists in the eastern part of India. The largest rose garden that is the Regional Plant Resource Center is another attraction here. Bhubaneswar has all types of entertainment like beaches, waterfalls, lakes, parks and gardens along with zoos are important places that visitors need to visit. Bindu Sagar Lake is a sacred lake that is situated to the north side of Lingraj temple. Atri is a small village that is full of greenery and is famous for its hot sulphur water spring. The water has medicinal properties and is therefore visited by many tourists. Tourist can also visit the Orissa state Museum, State Handicrafts Museum, Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves, Tribal museum etc.

From the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. till the end of 9th century, Pallavas held sway over this region. The region was brought under Chola rule when the Pallavas were defeated by Aditya-I by about 879 A.D. Jatavarman Sundara Pandya rose to power and the region was brought under Pandya rule in 1264 A.D. followed by Bahmini kingdom and Delhi Sultanate under Khilji dynasty. During 1361, the son of Vijayanagar King, (Kumara Kampana II) conquered and established Vijayanagar rule in Tondaimandalam - as the province was then called. Venkatapathy Nayak, one of the chieftain (Nayaks) of the Vijayanagar ruler who was in-charge of the area of present Chennai city offered a piece of land to the English in 1639. Fort St. George was founded on this piece of waste land as a trading post. The settlement which grew up around the Fort was named as Chennapatanam in honour of Chennappa Nayak, father of Venkatapathy Nayak. The intervening space between the older area which was called Madraspatnam and Chennapatanam came to be quickly built over with houses of new settlers and gradually the two villages virtually became a single town. Chennai boasts of rich historical legacy which lends an inexplicable charm to the city. The Portuguese arrived here in the 16th century and were followed by the Dutch, and the East India Company. The British were able to establish their undisputed supremacy in the city and the Fort St. George became the nucleus around which the British authority grew and expanded. Slowly, the city became a major naval base as well as central administrative centre for the British in South India. After Indian independence in 1947, it became the capital city of Madras state, which was later renamed as Tamil Nadu. The city which was known as Madras was officially renamed as Chennai on 17 July 1996.