Konark Sun Temple and the Marine Drive
Puri · 7 hrs · Cab included · Pickup from your stay
From ₹2990 for the whole vehicle, up to 8 people. The price is per car, not per person.
Vehicles
- Swift Dzire: Sedan. Best for a couple or a small family. ₹2990 for the vehicle.
- Tata Sumo: Rugged 8-seater. The most room for the money. ₹3490 for the vehicle.
- Innova or Ertiga: The comfortable one on a long hill day. ₹4990 for the vehicle.
Thirty-five kilometres of coast and the chariot at the end of it
Konark is 35 km up the coast from Puri, and the road there is the best part of the trip that most people sleep through on a coach. The Marine Drive runs through casuarina forest along an almost empty shore, past the Ramachandi temple at the mouth of the Kushabhadra, and arrives at the Sun Temple from the sea side.
The temple opens early and fills from mid-morning, when the coaches from Bhubaneswar arrive and the stone starts throwing back the heat. That is why this day leaves at half past seven and goes to the temple before anything else at the far end. The museum next door holds the carvings that have come off it over the years. It is shut on Fridays, and we tell you that now rather than at the gate.
You book the car and driver for the day, so the price is flat for two of you or eight, and the car waits at the temple car park while you take as long as you like inside. Coming back down the same coast road in the early afternoon, with the beach stops in the order they come, is how the day should end.
Your day, stop by stop
1. The Marine Drive and the casuarina belt
The coast road out of Puri runs through the Balukhand-Konark sanctuary, a long strip of casuarina between the road and the sea. There is no single sight here; the point is pulling over where the trees open onto an empty beach.
2. Ramachandi Temple
A small temple to the goddess locals call the presiding deity of Konark, on the bank where the Kushabhadra river runs into the Bay of Bengal. The river mouth beside it is the reason to stop as much as the shrine.
3. Konark Sun Temple
The thirteenth-century temple built as the chariot of the sun god, twenty-four carved wheels and seven horses in sandstone, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The great tower fell long ago; what stands is the porch, and it is enormous.
Entry ticket at the ASI counter, and a guide if you want one
4. ASI Archaeological Museum, Konark
The sculptures that came off the temple, at eye level and out of the sun, a few minutes' walk from the gate. Closed on Fridays, so on a Friday this stop simply drops out.
Entry ticket at the museum
5. Chandrabhaga Beach
The beach three kilometres from the temple where the old river once met the sea, wide and windy, with fishing boats drawn up on the sand. Good for a walk. The surf is rough and this is not a swimming beach.
In your price
- Private vehicle with driver for the day
- Pickup and drop at your stay in Puri
- Fuel, tolls, driver allowance and parking at every stop
- The temple first, before the crowds and the heat
- GoExplorer support number for the day
Not included
- Entry tickets at the temple and museum
- A temple guide
- Meals
- Anything personal
What you pay on the day
- Entry ticket at the Konark Sun Temple
- Entry ticket at the ASI museum, on any day but Friday
- A guide at the temple, if you want one, agreed at the gate
- Lunch and anything personal
Who this suits
Everyone. The walking is flat, the temple courtyard is a few hundred metres across and the car parks close to each stop. The one real hazard is the sun on the stone in summer, which is the other reason this day starts early. The sedan seats four, the Sumo eight and the Innova six, each at one flat price for the car.
What to bring
A hat, sunglasses and water, the Konark courtyard has almost no shade. Comfortable shoes you can walk in on hot stone, and cash for the ticket counters.
Heat, rain and cyclone warnings
Heat and showers are normal here and are not a cancellation. If a cyclone warning or heavy-rain alert closes the coast road or the monument, you get a full refund or a free reschedule.
Cancellation
- More than 24 hrs before: Full refund
- Within 24 hrs: 50% refund, or reschedule free once
- No show: No refund
Safety and the operator
Run by a licensed local ground operator, one driver per vehicle, commercially registered and insured. The sea along this coast has strong currents and steep shelving sand; paddle at Chandrabhaga if you like, but do not swim. Climbing on the temple is not allowed.
Questions
Is the price per person?
No. It is one price for the whole vehicle for the day. Eight of you in the Tata Sumo pay ₹3,490 between you, not each.
Is the Sun Temple open every day?
The temple itself is open daily. The ASI museum next to it is closed on Fridays, so on a Friday the day runs without that stop. Occasional closures for festivals or VIP visits do happen and we tell you if we hear of one.
Can we add the Jagannath Temple?
Not on this booking. The Jagannath Temple admits Hindus only, phones and leather are not allowed inside, and cars are stopped well short of it, so it is done on foot from your stay. Non-Hindus traditionally see it from the roof of the Raghunandan Library opposite, for a small donation.
Can we go for sunrise at Chandrabhaga?
Ask when you book. An earlier start is possible for a sunrise at the beach, and the temple then comes straight after it.