Lingaraj Temple viewing platform
by Willettsworld
As non-Hindu's are not allowed to visit inside the Lingaraj Temple, there's a viewing platform that can be found on the northern side of the complex. Be warned, though, you may be approached by a "priest" with a donations book. I was! He had a book with values like Rs500 and Rs200 in it that I thought was a bit too much to just view the temple and not to actually visit it but I gave him Rs100 (which looking back and reading Lonely Planet is still a bit too much).
Temple City
by Willettsworld
It is said that there were about 7,000 temple in Bhubaneswar which earned it the coveted title of the 'Temple City of India' although only a few hundred of these remain today. The temples are all located 2-3km south of the modern city centre and are fairly spread out so it's a good idea to hire an auto-rickshaw in order to tour around them. They date from the 7th to the 13th centuries, a period which saw the waning of Buddhism and a revival of Hinduism under the successive dynasties that ruled Orissa. The main temples include the large Lingaraj Temple which is a complex that contains the main temple as well as some 150 smaller temples and shrines but is, unfortunately out of bounds to non-Hindu's. Most of the other temples worth visiting are located to the east of the Lingaraj Temple. These include the Parasurameswar Temple, (the oldest), the Mukteswar Temple with a wonderful arched torana (gateway), the Raja Rani Mandir which is very ornate and the Brahmeswar Mandir.
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A black swan
Raja Rani Mandir
