Konark Sun Temple - Tour Experience, How to Reach & More

Summary :This is my first time trip to Odisha and I had planned to visit Puri and its nearest tourist places. This time I had created a 3 days Puri itinerary, and I had included in it one of the famous tourist places and UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Konark Sun Temple or Konark Surya Mandir. In this blog, I shared my visit experience to Konark Sun Temple and talked about my plan and more.

Konark Sun Temple is a very famous destination in odisha and thousands of people visit this place every year. In India, we have 44 UNESCO World Heritage Sites  and Konark Sun Temple is one of them which was declared in 1984. 

Friends, Odisha is a culturally rich state of India and I was thinking of visiting Orissa for a long time and especially wanted to visit the Golden Triangle and planned accordingly and at that time I visited Konark Sun Temple. I want to share with you my experience and the whole tour details that helps you during your planning to visit Konark Sun Temple. Let’s start

History of Konark Sun Temple

Before visiting any tourist place, I always try to know the history behind the destination, therefore I started with the history of Konark Sun Temple and it also helps you during a real time visit if you know some basic history knowledge on it. 

• It was built in the 13th century by King Narasimha Deva-I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty and completed nearly 1250 CE. 
• It is built in Kalinga architecture, which is a famous style of Hindu architecture ,and ancient time its use in Utkal region which is currently known as Odisha.
• The name Konark has two meanings in Sanskrit language which are as follows: The word Kona means corner and Ark means sun.
• Previously is known as Black Pagoda and this name given by European sailor in 1676

Some Important Facts Related To Konark Surya Mandir

• Konark Temple has 4 main architectures which are Shikhara, Jagamohana, Natmandir, Vimana and all of them are built in the form of Kalinga architecture.
• Jagamohana architecture is only present in good condition and the idol of Sun God hangs in the air with the help of  two magnets in this temple.
• Konark Sun Temple looks like a chariot has 24 wheels and is pulled by 7 horses and is called the chariot of Lord Surya. From the distance its visible huge chariot. Also have some meaning of these 24 wheels and 7 horses, 24 is the 24 fortnights in a year and 24 hours of the day and 7 is the 7 days of week. In ancient times, these wheels worked like clocks for laborers who are the actual main architects.

• About 1200 laborers were employed to build the Konark Temple and it took them 12 years.

Friends, these are all the facts that I mainly observed during my tour, but you can check out the details in my full guided video below.

How to reach Konark Sun Temple ?

You can reach Konark Surya Mandir using from two easiest way which are as follow

• First reach the Bhubaneswar city and you can reach here through Train , Airways and by road then you can reach sun temple through local bus or booked cab via NH 316.
• I recommend you first reach Puri through train and book the tour package which is cost effective for you. During my tour I reached Puri by  train from Ahmedabad and the train name is Gandhidham-Puri Superfast Express. After reaching Puri I had booked the Cab for Golden Triangle tour which covered Puri to Konark and Konark to Bhubaneswar tourist places. 

Best time to visit Konark Sun Temple

• Winter is the best season to visit Konark because this time the weather is very pleasant and I recommend the October to February Months, and Early morning or Evening is the best time to visit because this time Sun rays fall on the temple which looks good to appearance.

Things to do at Konark Surya Mandir

• You can know our rich history from the design of Konark temple.
• You can do good photography here through your phone or dslr camera
• You can see a laser light show at 7pm which will explain the whole history of the temple. 

Nearest Tourist Destination from Konark Temple

• You can visit IOC museum where you can see the dummy structure of Konark Temple and its only 500 m far from the temple. Some pictures I captured you can see and know about the place. This place has a 50 rupees entry ticket , so discuss this to your tour operator before visiting here.

• Must visit the Chandrabhaga beach which is a Blue flag certified beach and cleanest beach of India. 

Ticket Price at Konark Sun Temple

• 40 Rupees Entry fees for Indian, BIMSTEC , SAARC people
• 600 rupees for foreigner people
• You can book a professional guide for 500-600 rupees who explain temple history in detail.

Konark Sun Temple Photos

My Tour Experience

Konark is the best place for history lovers and I have lots of interest to know our historical places. This is my first time visiting this destination and I gathered lots of good memories with me, and if I get a second chance then I will visit the Konark temple. I also recommend you to visit this destination and explore our rich history.