Odisha Finds Place in Buddhist State Circuits

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Buddhist sites in Odisha are yet to catch the fancy of international visitors despite huge potential, the Tourism Ministry has decided to include the State in its new travel project, ‘Buddhist Heritage Trails’, also known as ‘State Circuits’.

Despite promotion, both within the country and abroad, Odisha has not been getting enough international Buddhist tourists unlike States such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

Apparently, Buddhist tourism and eco-tourism are the new buzz words in the sector.

The Ministry has decided to develop three Buddhist tourism clusters in the country - ‘Sacred Circuit’, ‘Extended Sacred Circuit’ and ‘Buddhist Heritage Trails’ - in its bid to attract more international Buddhist tourists. Odisha has been included in ‘Buddhist Heritage Trails’ along with 10 other States comprising Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra and Sikkim.

The ‘Buddhist Heritage Trails’ will be a 10 to 15 days’ travel and would include visits for foreign travellers to Buddhist sites in the above mentioned destinations.

In Odisha, the trail will cover the Diamond Triangle of Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udaygiri, Dhauli Shanti Stupa, Langudi Hills and Khandagiri caves. 

This is the first time Odisha’s Buddhist sites have figured in the Ministry’s travel map. The State has 300 Buddhist sites and 405 Buddhist remains.

Last year, while Lalitgiri received 25,054 domestic tourists, only 305 foreign visitors came to the site. Similarly, 35,644 domestic travellers came to Ratnagiri and Udaygiri in 2013.