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.

Orissa is an attractive treasure house of cultures and customs, religions and traditions, languages and literature, art and architecture, scenic beauties and wildlife .

Orissa lies on the eastern coast along the Bay of Bengal . The state once formed a part of Kalinga kingdom which is best known in ancient history for its brave resistance against the invasion of the Mauryan King Ashoka in the 3^rd century B.C., who ultimately conquered it .That the emperor turned to Buddhism and peace after witnessing the bloodshed in this war is well known. This also formed the turning point in the history of Orissa giving a boost to art and architecture in the ancient kingdom.

The ancient state rose to prominance as a kingdom under Kharavela, a great conqueror and patron of Jainism, in the second half of the 1^st centure B.C. Other great rulers were the kings of the Kesari dynesty and the Eastern Ganga dynasty who were also great builders.

Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa, is also popularly known as the "Temple City of India". Being the seat of Tribhubaneswar or 'Lord Lingaraj', Bhubaneswar is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. Hundreds of temples dot the landscape of the Old Town, which once boasted of more than 2000 temples. Bhubaneswar is the place where temple building activities of Orissan style flowered from its very inception to its fullest culmination extending over a period of over one thousand years.

The new Bhubaneswar with its modern buildings and extensive infrastructure perfectly complements its historic surroundings. With facilities to cater to every type of visitor, Bhubaneswar makes an ideal tourist destination.

In Orissa one out of every four persons is an Adivasi or Tribal. These tribals are heavily concentrated in the hilly tracts of Western Orissa. In the coastal regions they constitute a small percentage. They live there in a certain degree of seclusion and prestine form. They must have settled there in obscure past long before the coming of the Aryans.

Orissa is also noted for its classical dance Odissi and many folk forms like Chhau, Chaiti Ghoda, Patua Jatra and tribal forms. Orissa is also famous for its traditional handicrafts which include glass beads, stone carvings, silver filigree, horn-work, wood carvings, lacquer and bamboo wares, toys, sea-shell work, banana fibre works, tassar fabrics, lustrous handloom silks and curtains.