Mahendragiri Hills – Second Highest Peak Of Eastern Ghat

When we talk about the natural beauty treasures of Odisha, Mahendragiri Hills will be counted as one of the top places on the list. It is located in the Gajapati district of Odisha. Mahendragiri peak is the second highest peak of eastern ghat with 4,925 ft (1,501 mtr) above the sea level. Also, It is the second highest mountain peak of Odisha after Deomali, which is located in the Koraput district.

There are a total of 18 biosphere reserves in India and Odisha’s Similipal is one of them. Recently, Odisha Government has proposed one more place of its southern region, Mahendragiri hills for the biosphere reserves recognition due to its numerous medicinal plants and other species. Also, the place has great spiritual and mythological significance from ancient times.

History Of Mahendragiri Hills

According to Mahabharata and Brahmanda Purana, the great Parashurama, the sixth avatar of God Vishnu, spent his time here in meditation on Lord Shiva to atone for his sin of killing the Kshatriyas. However, he is a Chiranjeevi and blessed to live up to the end of the world. It is believed that he is still staying here on this mountain.  

There is a legend, In Dwapar Yug, Pandav brothers, with their mother Kunti, stayed here for a certain time during their 12 years of Vanvas ( Exile ) and constructed the Shiva Temples for worship at different places on the mountain.

Temples Of Mahendragiri Parvat

The holy place is mainly famous for worshiping Lord Shiva on the mountain and surrounding area. On top of the hill, you will find a statue of lord Parsuram, different temples of Kunti, Yudhistir and Bheema, Arjuna Cave, and Daru Brahma ( Lord Jagannath ) temple. Traditionally the priests in these temples belong to the Savara tribe. The architectural structures of these temples gained the status of protected monuments under Antiquate Monument Archaeological Remains and Sites Act 1958.

Lord Parshuram Statue

After crossing the ghati route, you will reach a small base area on top of the hill, where you will find a statue of sage Parashurama standing within some distance from the Yudhister temple. You can also visit Parshuram Kund before reaching the Mahendragiri peak. You can find it near the Tumba village in Patrapur block on the way to Mahendragiri and 66 km from Berhampur town. It is also a very famous holy place. Many people come here especially to enjoy their picnic.

Kunti Temple

Among all the temples of Mahendragiri, Kunti temple is the best in the form of architectural structure and quite larger than all. In the temple, there is a Gokarneswar Linga (Cow’s ear shaped), in which whatever amount of water poured gets disappear. The place attracts thousands of pilgrims every year, especially during Maha Shivratri. Nowadays people are visiting this place every month on Sankranti also.

We can say Kunti temple is the center place of Mahendragiri hills because every visitor first visits this temple, and after that they make further plans. It is the only place on the mountain where people stay in Ashram Hut or the self-created camp. Also, different kinds of required facilities are available here, like water and wood for cooking and enough space for your vehicle Parking.    

For water, two large wells are available there connecting three to four borewells with it and the whole year you will get water from it. Before two years, people were using the well water for everything but from last year clean borewell water was installed there. Here, I want to share one of my personal experiences about the taste of water near Kunti temple. Believe me the taste of the new borewell water was so amazing. It was so chill and clean, it felt like any divine drink. Definitely you will get thought to bring two to three bottles of water with you from there.

Yudhistir Temple

After visiting the Kunti temple, you can look for Yudhishthira (also called Dharmaraja) temple. It is the point from where the path toward Bhima’s temple begins. The sculpture of the Yudhishthira Temple is quite the same as Kunti temple. 

Its structure resembles the design of some of the other famous temples of the state. In the outer body of the temple, you will find different architectural designs with some sculptural decoration. Inside, it is a very simple structure, with one Shiv Ling in the middle of the temple.

Bhima Temple

After visiting Yudhisthira Temple, from that point, you need to climb towards the top of the hill to reach the famous Bhim Temple. Initially, you might find the climb is a little difficult as there is no particular path visible clearly. So it would be great for you to visit the place with an experienced person who has visited the place before or go with groups.

However, after trekking some distance, you will find the steps made of stone become visible. The size and height of the steps are quite larger than any other normal temple steps. You might get a thought, has lord Bhim made these steps for his comfort only … Hnnn? In the middle of that, I got fully tired, so I took some rest by sitting on the steps and started to collect some long breaths for a few minutes. 

A few minutes later, I saw two to three elder women near about 65 years old, climbing those steps by chanting Hey Bhima …. Hey Bhima. After that, I also chanted the name Hey Bhim within my mind, and believe me, that chant miraculously worked for me. That gave me a lot of mental strength to restart my climb again and helped me to reach the Bhim Temple. Though I was tired but also excited to see the structure of the Bhima temple, and when I reached there, I forgot all my tiredness.

The temple is made up of 18 crudely cut stone blocks of different sizes. They are arranged as the base part, the middle of inside the temple (the Garbha Gruha), and the top comprising two tiers with deep cracks. But the overall structure of the temple is very strong. Inside of the temple, the Shivalinga is located. The temple is also known as the Gokarneswara temple.

The temple has a main entrance and another narrow exit on its opposite side. People who visit here must try to go through that narrow exit. Here, an interesting thing is there about this narrow exit. Sometimes slim and thin people face problems or cannot pass through them, and some healthy and overweight people go through them easily. Especially during Shivaratri, a lot of people gather here and try to pass through the narrow way and go to visit other temples. 

Compared to the Yudhishthira temple, the design of the Bhima temple is less refined and is so simple. It is like placing different stones on one another in a simple architectural manner. However, the centuries-old temple still has enough reasons that will make your jaw break. 

After spending some time there, I observed the temple from all sides. One question that came to my mind was, how could these blocks be set up on top of one another? Because the size of stone blocks is huge and it’s not possible for any human being or by the help of any animal to fix these stones up on top of another. There is a legend that this temple was built by Lord Bhima himself by placing these stone blocks to worship god, Shiva. Because of this kind of several unanswered questions, sometimes we prefer to go with these legends by accepting them.

The Shiva Linga Under The Sky

After Bhim Temple, when you go for the Arjuna Gumpha ( Arjuna Cave ), In the middle of the way, you will find a structure of Shiva Linga with a serpent hood. Where the Shivaling is situated, the place looks so beautiful, especially during sunset time. That place felt like a small green carpet at the height of 4,925 ft (1,501 mtr) above sea level.

Asanas Of Pandav Brothers

On the way to Arjuna Cave, you will find some rectangle stone blocks gathered at one place. There is a saying, Pandav Brothers used those blocks as asanas while they were meeting. Also, one of the stone blocks makes metallic sounds like Bronze when another small stone hits it. That’s why people also called it the Musical Stones of Mahendragiri hills. You will see that in the video which I have shared in the bellow of the article.

Arjuna Gumpha ( Arjuna Cave )

There is a legend about this place when Bhim constructed a temple for worshiping Lord Shiva by placing some stone blocks. Inspired by Bhim, Arjun also decided to make the same kind of temple by himself to worship God, Shiva. 

He made some polished stones as rectangle blocks the size of Bhima’s temple but was unable to place those stones up one on another. So he thought that the job was not his cup of tea and abandoned the work and left all the 3 – 4 stones there with half prepared. And later, those stones were used as their Asanas by the Pandav brothers.

After that, as the story goes, Arjun settled for a cave nearby and carried out his worship of Shiva in the cave itself. There are two ways to the cave, one from the above and another from the west side through thick groves of trees.

Daru Brahma ( Jagannath ) Temple

Daru Brahma temple where Lord Sri Jagannath is worshiped. The temple is located some distance ahead of Arjuna cave on the top of the Mahendragiri mountain. There is a legend that Daru ( The wood from which the idol of Sri Jagannath was made ) was from here. It flowed with the Mahendratanaya stream and dropped at the bank of Mahodadhi ( Puri Beach ) of the Bay of Bengal.

In the daytime, if the weather is good with a clear sky, you will also be able to witness the view of the Bay of Bengal and the Kalinga Dal Reservoir from the top of Mahendragiri hill.

How To Reach Mahendragiri

To visit Mahendragiri, there are no direct bus or train services available because it is the kind of place which is far from the city life. Earlier people who visited here were mostly from the southern part of Odisha or from border areas of Andhra Pradesh. They walked approx 40-50 miles to reach the mountain. But nowadays, due to word of mouth and some welfare steps taken by the state government for the place, especially after suggesting the centre to add this also with the list of biosphere reserves in India. In addition, they worked on road construction and provided basic facilities that attracts more visitors from all over Odisha and from other states also.

While Visiting From Berhampur (Odisha)

Traveling from Bhubaneswar to Mahendragiri direct would cost you a very long drive. The distance from Bhubaneswar to Mahendragiri is approximately 275 km by road. You need to start your journey quite early and, if possible, travel by four-wheelers. Here bike journey would make you tired. So if possible, then stay one night at Berhampur and restart your journey in the early morning.

If you visit Mahendragiri from Berhampur, then the total distance by road is nearly 97 KM. Currently, there are no direct bus services available from Berhampur to Mahendragiri, but you will get some buses upto Tumbagada only. That’s why people visit here by their bikes or by reserve four-wheelers. It takes nearly 3 to 3.5 hours by bike, and four-wheelers will approximate 2.5 to 3 hours.

From Berhampur, just go straight with NH-5 road towards the southern part and take a right turn from the Surala Junction. From here, you need to go up to Dhanaghar Square via Pitatali road. Here you can take some fruits and vegetables if you have plans for cooking there. After that, restart your journey to Tumbagada via Patrapur road. 

From Tumbagada to Mahendragiri, the road is now already constructed fully. But because of rain, sometimes there are some small landslides you might find on your way, which could make the journey a little slower. When you reach Bhurakhat, the base area of Mahendragiri mountain, you will see from here the Ghati route starts. So please drive slowly and safely from there.

While Visiting From Mandasa ( Andhra Pradesh )

If you are visiting from Mandasa via the Kainpur route, the distance will be about 30 kms to the Bhurakhat place. You may come from Odisha or from Andhra Pradesh; you have to reach the base area Bhurakhat, from where the journey towards the top of hill starts. 

Best Time To Visit

About this mountain, wherever you go, your experience will be awesome. During the rainy time here you will find the weather will change quickly. You will see clouds floating in front of you. But that time on the mountain, the graces grew rapidly; you might face difficulty finding the exact paths. It would be best if you went with an experienced person or with the locals.

For me, the winter season is the best option for exploring this Place from October to March. With a clear sky, you will experience the golden rays of Sun Rise and Sun Set views from the top of the hills. Also, roads are safe and fixed after the rain period.

Where To Stay

Currently, there are no such great facilities available like hotels and restaurants to stay. Only you will find some Ashrams there, and you can also take your tents with you. The awareness among the people about the holy place is spreading rapidly. So there is a chance that some hotels might be built in the Bhurakhat area in the upcoming time. If this happens, there would be a great favor to the visitors and great for Odisha tourism. But at the same time, the government should keep in mind some points when it talks about development that wouldn’t affect the ecosystem of the place.

Despite that, people are still coming here to explore the beauty of nature. They bring their ready-made camps and stay nights also to enjoy the Sun Rise moment. 

About My Journey

Twelve years ago, from 2008 to 2016, there were no roads or proper paths to Mahendragiri Parvat. Especially During Maha Shivaratri, people were coming to this place in huge numbers. They used to travel by bus upto Tumba Village only. After that, they were reached the mountain by walking approx 30 to 40 miles.

You might be thinking, how did I know all this? Actually, from 2008 to 2014 in that period my parents visited there 3 times during the Maha Shivaratri with some friends and relatives. And every time after they returned, they shared their experience, especially my mother, with full of excitement. Her excitement and those stories motivated me, and I thought that one day for sure, I would witness this beauty of nature.

Few months ago, I finally got an opportunity with my elder brother and some of local friends to visit this place. Believe me, that day was a memorable day for me. We started our journey from Berhampur around 9:30 AM and reached at 1:30 PM. I think the journey should have to take hardly 3 hours but though we stopped in 3 to 4 places on the way for our breakfast, shopping and for photos it took us 4 hours to reach the mountain. 

When we reached the top, we first visited Kunti Temple, and near the temple, we cooked and finished our lunch. Then we started to explore these amazing places. Though my brother had already visited this place 2 to 3 times, he guided us in every step. I experienced a lot of things from this place. Even whatever I have described above is not enough to justify the place and the beauty of nature. While writing this, I already made up my mind to go for another time, and this time, I would also spend a night. Lastly, If somebody ask me about the holy mountain to describe in a few words, I would say, Mahendragiri – The Garden of Clouds!

Dear Reader, If you like the article, then kindly share your thoughts here. Also, if you have visited this place before, share your experience. If I have missed something to mention here and need to update within this list, please let me know below in the comment section. – Odisha Darsan