The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c16.14

v2.c16.14

**Routes to the hills :**—The usaul route to the Khaṇḍagiri Hills is *via* Bhuvaneśvara. The traveller, starting from Cuttack, has to perform two stages on the Puri road, first eight miles to Bālkāti, thence seven miles to Bālihantā, then about five miles across country to Bhuvaneśvara, crossing the rivulets Bhārgavī and the Balabhadrā in the way, and lastly five miles from the latter place to the hills. Some bearers prefer to go down the Puri Road three miles from Bālihantā to Tankapāni, thence two and a half miles across the fields to Bhuvaneśvara. There is a small Government bungalow opposite Khaṇḍagiri, at the foot of the hill, and, close by, a modern *maṭh* set up by a *byrāgi*, who earns a precarious subsistence from the few pilgrims who from time to time visit the place. The ground around the bungalow is skirted by some shady trees; but as no eatebles of any kind are available there, and water of good quality is also scarce, the usual practice with tourists and pilgrims is to pitch their tents, or hire lodgings, at Bhuvaneśara, and thence to visit the place after an early breakfast. For persons travelling by the Madras Trunk Road, the village of Mendāsal offers a convenient starting point for a short cut to Khaṇḍagiri; but the whole distance, about seven miles, has to be done across hills, and rocks, and arid plains without any road or beaten track. I am not aware if there is any approach to the place accessible to travellers from the west side.