Ekamra Kshetra

Ekamra Kshetra is easily overlooked because of its name which doesn’t give a clue to outsiders about what it represents. Translated from the Sanskrit it means “place with mango trees” and it comprises the temple city quarter of Bhubaneswar. The site has numerous temples and ponds, all part of a geomantic Hindu city plan which is shaped like a mandala. The well-written Tentative Site description lists being "a complete Hindu city" and "a living site" as its Unique Selling Points. It compares itself to Varanasi, which is unique in its own right of course, but the people from Bhubaneswar say Ekamra Kshetra is much better managed.

To prepare for a visit, I recommend consulting the Wikivoyage page on Bhubaneswar: it has a very good and recent overview of most temples and other places of interest in this area. There are on-site information panels as well at every temple of some significance.

I started my exploration at the Rajarani temple. It lies across the road from the other main temples (BTW: use the Maps.me location, the one on Google Maps is wrong). This is a single temple surrounded by a manicured lawn with flower beds, a set-up clearly recognizable as directed by the ASI. There’s an entrance fee as well, the usual 300rs for a Tentative Site. I asked whether this would give me access to all temples in Ekamra Kshetra, but that wasn’t the case! Fortunately, most of the other temples are managed by religious caretakers …

This wonderful temple city complex. esp. after the recent cleanup by the provincial Government of Odisha ; unfolds in an array of majestic structures that one can go back 1200 years to visualize how life was back then ! 

Very Ornate group of temples, ponds , cultural stages, etc

Its an inexcusable miss either by UNESCO to not have it listed , or a case not well presented by the government to the World body! 

It's older (800 AD) than the nearby Shri Jagannath temple in Puri, (about 1000 AD) which itself older than UNESCO listed Konark Sun temple (1200 AD).

Ekamra Kshetra is the old town of Bubhaneswar. It contains nearly a hundred temples according to the map I saw on one of the buildings, with the offices document stating 199 and there used to be 700. Getting around is easy on foot if you want but be prepared to take the whole day. I found that most of them are very, very similar but maybe I'm just ignorant. I had a driver/guide for half a day which would be continue to then Sun Temple and end at Chiliak lake mid-evening. I also went to Dhauli up on a hill on the outskirts and its popularity was even more than the town. I think it is part of the nomination as well and has a fancy Ashuka pillar nearby as well.

In most temples the people are inviting to enter freely. It often takes more effort to wear/remove shoes than look at the temple structures because they can be so small. It being sandstone they have eroded a lot and the simple gates aren't exactly security, but I believe the locals really respect their heritage. Some of the better temples are Rajarani and Muktesvara (which the guide kept pronouncing differently for some reason). There is, however, one temple that stands out.

Lingaraj is the biggest temple at Bubhaneswar smack in the middle of old town. I'll come right to be main problem: chances are you can't go inside. It is only for Hindu. Security will smell tourists from …

Ekamra Kshetra - Bhubaneswar is unique in the sense that its monuments are not restricted to one large temple complex. Rather, the temples and caves are spread over a large part of the city and there are people living all around. Yet, the monuments are beautifully preserved. Unlike many other temples and pilgrimage sites, Bhubaneswar is extremely clean. What is more, even in the modern central city, the heritage of the state is clearly visible