Incredible India
7 Things to Do in Konark, Home to India's Great Stone Chariot
A 13th-century temple built in the shape of a colossal stone chariot for the sun god Surya, Konark's UNESCO-listed complex anchors a compact stretch of Odisha coast easily paired with Puri.
Sep 24, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Konark sits on Odisha's coast, about 35 kilometres northeast of Puri, and is built almost entirely around a single monument: the Sun Temple, constructed in the 13th century under King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty and shaped as a colossal stone chariot for the sun god Surya, complete with 24 carved wheels and a team of seven horses. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, the temple remains the clear centrepiece of a visit, but the surrounding stretch of coast holds enough else to fill a full day. Here are seven things to do.
1. The Sun Temple's chariot form
The temple's main structure is designed as a chariot for Surya, raised on a base carved into 24 elaborately decorated stone wheels, each roughly three metres across and doubling as a working sundial, with a team of seven straining horses carved at the entrance said to represent the days of the week.
2. The carved wheels up close
Each of the temple's 24 wheels carries its own set of carvings around the spokes and hub, and walking the base slowly to compare them is one of the more rewarding ways to take in the level of detail across the structure, easily missed on a first, wider look at the building.
3. The Natya Mandir
A separate raised hall standing just in front of the main temple, the Natya Mandir, or dance pavilion, was built for ritual dance performances and is covered in its own set of relief carvings, including musicians and dancers, distinct in style from the main sanctuary.
4. Konark Archaeological Museum
Run by the Archaeological Survey of India a short walk from the temple, the site museum holds sculptures and architectural fragments recovered during excavation and restoration work, useful context for understanding sections of the temple that have collapsed or been removed over the centuries.
5. Chandrabhaga Beach
A quiet stretch of coast a few kilometres from the temple complex, Chandrabhaga Beach offers an easy, uncrowded contrast to the temple crowds, and is the venue each December for the Konark Festival, a week of classical Indian dance performed against the temple's floodlit backdrop.
6. Ramachandi Temple
A short drive from Konark, this temple to the goddess Ramachandi sits at the mouth of the Kushabhadra river where it meets the sea, a peaceful, far less visited site popular with local pilgrims and a reasonable stop on the way to or from Chandrabhaga.
7. Puri's Jagannath Temple, a short trip away
Konark is commonly paired with Puri as part of Odisha's Golden Triangle circuit alongside Bhubaneswar, and the Jagannath Temple there, one of India's most significant Vaishnavite pilgrimage sites and the origin of the annual Rath Yatra chariot festival, makes a natural extension to a Konark day trip; note that, unlike Konark's Sun Temple, entry to Jagannath Temple's inner precincts is restricted to Hindus, though the surrounding old town is open to all.
Traveller tips
- Konark is roughly an hour's drive from Bhubaneswar, the nearest airport, and about 35 kilometres from Puri.
- The main sanctuary tower collapsed centuries ago and the surviving structure is largely the assembly hall and porch; a visit to the on-site museum helps make sense of the layout.
- The Konark Dance Festival runs for about a week each December on the open-air stage at Chandrabhaga Beach and draws leading classical dancers from across India.
- Winter months, November to February, bring the most comfortable weather for walking the temple grounds; summers on this stretch of Odisha coast are hot and humid.
Where this is
Konark, Odisha