Koraput: A
Journey into Another World
1–5 October
2026 | Odisha’s Hidden Tribal Heartland
Deomali • Duduma • Jeypore • Koraput • Tribal Odisha. Treat Kotpad, Kundra and Girla as a separate circuit .
THURSDAY, 1 OCTOBER : Kolkata → Koraput | The Journey Begins
SATURDAY, 3 OCTOBER: Jeypore → Deomali → Talamali → Jeypore Lunch → Kenduguda → Festival → Kotpad → Girla → Jeypore
SUNDAY, 4 OCTOBER : Jeypore → Lamtaput → Gadaba Music & Dance → Duduma → Gupteswar Shiva temple → Jeypore
Some
journeys are about reaching a destination. Others are about entering a
different world.
This
October, we travel to Koraput and the extraordinary tribal belt of southern
Odisha—a region of mountains, forests, waterfalls, traditional agriculture,
handloom, music and communities whose cultural history is very different
from the Odisha most visitors know through Puri, Bhubaneswar and the coastal
plains.
Koraput
lies in the Eastern Ghats, close to the borders of Andhra Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh. More than half of the district’s population is Scheduled Tribe,
with major communities including the Paroja, Kondh, Gadaba, Bhottada/Bhatra,
Bhumia and Omanatya, among others. The district administration describes
Koraput as the heartland of tribal Odisha.
This
is therefore not simply a trip to another Odisha destination. It is a
journey into a very different cultural landscape within Odisha itself.
THURSDAY, 1 OCTOBER
22:10 — Howrah Junction
We board Train
No. 18005, Samaleswari Express, from Howrah.
The Samaleswari is almost
a destination in itself: a long railway journey from eastern India’s great
riverine plains into the Eastern Ghats. The train leaves Howrah at 22:10
and reaches Koraput Junction at 19:15 the following evening.
Overnight — On board
As the train travels
west and south-west, the landscape gradually changes—from the densely settled plains of
Bengal towards the forested and mountainous country of southern Odisha.
FRIDAY, 2 OCTOBER
Arrival in Koraput
— The Hills Begin
19:15 — Koraput Junction
After approximately 21
hours 5 minutes from Howrah, we arrive at Koraput.
Koraput stands at about 870 metres above sea
level and is surrounded by the Eastern Ghats. Its geographical isolation
historically meant that large parts of the region remained relatively distant
from the political and cultural centres of coastal Odisha.
The district formed part
of several historical kingdoms, including the Satavahana, Nala and Ganga
spheres, but its forested hills limited permanent outside control.
19:15–20:00 — Station →
accommodation
Check in, freshen
up and have dinner.
Night
An early night is advisable. The
next two days are going to involve long drives through the Eastern Ghats,
rather than conventional urban sightseeing.
SATURDAY, 3 OCTOBER
Jeypore → Deomali → Talamali → Jeypore Lunch → Kenduguda → Festival → Kotpad → Girla → Jeypore
Time Programme
6:30 AM Leave Jeypore
8:45–9:30 AM Deomali – Odisha's highest peak; views, photographs and short walk
9:30 AM Leave Deomali
10:00–10:30 AM Talamali – hilltop / landscape views
10:30 AM Leave Talamali for Jeypore
12:00–1:00 PM Lunch in Jeypore
1:00 PM Leave Jeypore for Kenduguda
1:30–2:00 PM Kenduguda – village visit
2:00–3:30 PM Festival visit
3:30 PM Leave for Kotpad - Handloom cluster
4:15–5:00 PM Kotpad – handloom / local market / town
5:00 PM Leave for Girla - the village of wood carving artists
5:30–6:15 PM Girla – village and surrounding landscape
6:15 PM Leave Girla for Jeypore
7:15–7:30 PM Back in Jeypore
Time Programme
6:30 AM Leave Jeypore
8:45–9:30 AM Deomali – Odisha's highest peak; views, photographs and short walk
9:30 AM Leave Deomali
10:00–10:30 AM Talamali – hilltop / landscape views
10:30 AM Leave Talamali for Jeypore
12:00–1:00 PM Lunch in Jeypore
1:00 PM Leave Jeypore for Kenduguda
1:30–2:00 PM Kenduguda – village visit
2:00–3:30 PM Festival visit
3:30 PM Leave for Kotpad - Handloom cluster
4:15–5:00 PM Kotpad – handloom / local market / town
5:00 PM Leave for Girla - the village of wood carving artists
5:30–6:15 PM Girla – village and surrounding landscape
6:15 PM Leave Girla for Jeypore
7:15–7:30 PM Back in Jeypore
06:30 AM — Leave Jeypore
Start from Jeypore by car at 6:30 AM. The early departure is important because Deomali is the first major stop and you want to reach there before the day gets too warm.
08:45–09:30 AM — Deomali
Reach Deomali, Odisha's highest peak, after roughly 2–2½ hours of driving.
Spend around 45 minutes here for the mountain scenery, photographs and a short walk. There is no need to attempt a lengthy trek—the objective is to enjoy the landscape and then continue with the day's circuit.
This is the major landscape experience of the morning.
09:30 AM — Leave Deomali
Drive towards Talamali.
10:00–10:30 AM — Talamali
Spend about 30 minutes at Talamali, taking in the hilltop views and surrounding Eastern Ghats landscape.
I would keep this stop relatively short because Deomali has already provided the principal mountain experience of the morning.
10:30 AM — Talamali → Jeypore
Instead of stopping for lunch somewhere on the road, return towards Jeypore.
This adds some backtracking, but gives you a much more predictable lunch break and avoids wasting time searching for food later in the rural part of the circuit.
12:00–1:00 PM — Lunch in Jeypore
Have a proper lunch in Jeypore.
Keep the lunch break to around one hour. The idea is to eat comfortably without allowing lunch to derail the afternoon programme.
Practical approach: choose a restaurant in or close to the town centre so that you can get back on the road quickly.
01:00 PM — Leave Jeypore for Kenduguda
After lunch, leave Jeypore by car for Kenduguda.
The afternoon now becomes the cultural part of the journey rather than another mountain excursion.
01:30–02:00 PM — Kenduguda
Reach Kenduguda and spend a short time looking around the village and its surroundings.
If the festival is being held at or close to Kenduguda, do not spend too much time sightseeing separately here—the festival should be the main experience.
02:00–03:30 PM — Festival Visit
This is the main cultural block of the afternoon.
Allow around 1½ hours to experience the festival rather than simply dropping in for a few photographs.
For your blog, this is likely to be one of the most interesting portions of the day: the people, traditional dress, music, dance, local food, crafts and general atmosphere will provide much more material than a quick roadside stop.
Photography note: ask before photographing individuals, particularly during rituals or community activities.
03:30 PM — Leave for Kotpad
After the festival, start towards Kotpad.
04:15–05:00 PM — Kotpad
Spend around 45 minutes in Kotpad.
Kotpad is particularly interesting for its traditional handloom and naturally dyed textiles. This is a good place to look for local weaving activity and, if available, speak to weavers or visit a cooperative/local outlet.
Deomali's mountains → tribal festival → Kotpad's handloom tradition.
05:00 PM — Leave Kotpad for Girla
Continue towards Girla.
05:30–06:15 PM — Girla
Spend around 45 minutes in Girla.
This should be a quieter village experience after the more active festival and Kotpad visit. Look at the surrounding countryside, village life, houses and agricultural landscape.
Again, be respectful about photographing people and private homes.
06:15 PM — Girla → Jeypore
Start the return journey to Jeypore.
07:15–07:30 PM — Back in Jeypore
The major tribal communities of Koraput
The
Paroja are among the largest tribal communities in the district. They
are widely distributed across Koraput, Jeypore, Kundra, Borigumma, Boipariguda,
Semiliguda and neighbouring areas. Their traditional cultural expressions
include Dhemsa dance, Dungdunga and folk songs.
The
Kondh/Kandha are another major community of the Eastern Ghats,
particularly in the hill blocks around Koraput. Their traditional life is
strongly associated with agriculture, forests and hill landscapes.
The
Gadaba, concentrated particularly around Lamtaput, Similiguda and
Pottangi, are famous for Dhemsa dance and music. They traditionally
cultivate millets, pulses and niger seed and have a strong connection with
shifting cultivation.
The
Bhottada/Bhatra, Bhumia, Omanatya, Dharua, Parenga,
Pentia, Kondadora and Saora are among the other
communities that contribute to the extraordinary ethnic mosaic of the district.
The 2011 Census-based district profile lists Paroja, Kondh, Bhottada, Gadaba,
Bhumia and Omanatya among the larger tribal populations.
A NOTE ABOUT KOTPAD
Kotpad is a
separate destination, approximately 50 km from
Jeypore and roughly 60–70 km from Koraput depending on the road reference.
Kotpad is famous for
its vegetable-dyed handloom, produced traditionally by the Mirgan
weaving community. The distinctive colours come from natural dyes, particularly
the roots of the aul tree and other plant materials. Kotpad Handloom
became the first Odisha handloom product to receive a Geographical
Indication tag, in 2005.
The textiles were
traditionally made for neighbouring tribal communities including the Bhatra,
Dharua and Paroja.
SUNDAY, 4 OCTOBER
Jeypore → Lamtaput → Gadaba Music & Dance → Duduma → Gupteswar Shiva temple → Jeypore
Time Programme 05:30 AM Leave Jeypore 06:30 AM Reach Lamtaput 06:30–07:00 Lamtaput / festival venue 07:00–08:30 Gadaba tribal music & dance 08:30 AM Leave Lamtaput 10:00–11:30 Duduma Waterfall / Machkund 11:30 AM Leave Duduma 01:00–01:45 PM Simple lunch en route 02:00–03:30 Gupteswar Shiva Temple & Cave 03:30 PM Leave Gupteswar 05:30–06:00 PM Back in Jeypore
| Time | Programme |
|---|---|
| 05:30 AM | Leave Jeypore |
| 06:30 AM | Reach Lamtaput |
| 06:30–07:00 | Lamtaput / festival venue |
| 07:00–08:30 | Gadaba tribal music & dance |
| 08:30 AM | Leave Lamtaput |
| 10:00–11:30 | Duduma Waterfall / Machkund |
| 11:30 AM | Leave Duduma |
| 01:00–01:45 PM | Simple lunch en route |
| 02:00–03:30 | Gupteswar Shiva Temple & Cave |
| 03:30 PM | Leave Gupteswar |
| 05:30–06:00 PM | Back in Jeypore |
05:30 AM — Leave Jeypore
Start early from Jeypore by car.
Lamtaput is roughly 41 km from Jeypore by road, although online route sources give varying distances depending on the precise starting point and route.
The early start is worthwhile because the day's principal cultural event is the Gadaba tribal music and dance programme, and you don't want to reach Lamtaput late.
06:30–08:30 AM — Lamtaput
Reach Lamtaput and spend the morning around the town and the festival/cultural venue.
Lamtaput is particularly associated with the Gadaba tribal community. The Odisha State Tribal Museum identifies Lamtaput, along with Similiguda, Pottangi and Khairiput, as an important Gadaba area. The Gadaba are known for their music and dance traditions, including Dhemsa, performed particularly during festivals and social occasions.
07:00–08:30 AM — Gadaba Tribal Music & Dance
Make this the main event of the morning.
The Gadaba Dhemsa tradition is particularly visual: women dance in a semi-circle while the men provide the instrumental accompaniment. Traditional instruments include the tamudibaja, madal, tamak and mahuri.
For your blog, this is likely to be one of the strongest cultural experiences of the entire Koraput trip.
Photography: ask permission before photographing individuals, especially during a ritual or community performance.
08:30 AM — Leave Lamtaput
Now begin the drive towards Duduma / Machkund.
10:00–11:30 AM — Duduma Waterfall
Duduma Waterfall
Duduma, also known as Matsya Tirtha, is formed by the Machkund River and lies in the dramatic Eastern Ghats landscape on the Odisha–Andhra Pradesh border. The waterfall is variously described as around 157–175 metres, depending on the source and measurement used.
The Machhkund River plunges through the Eastern Ghats. The waterfall is surrounded by rugged hills and dense greenery and lies close to the tribal belt of southern Koraput and neighbouring Malkangiri
Allow about 1½ hours here.
I would not attempt the full descent to the bottom on this itinerary. The official tourism description notes a roughly 1,000-step staircase to the base; with Gupteswar still to come, the viewpoint is the sensible choice for this particular day.
The Machkund gorge, the waterfall and the forested Eastern Ghats make this your major natural-landscape stop.
11:30 AM — Leave Duduma
Start towards Gupteswar.
This is where the day becomes a little more relaxed: you have already done the major waterfall visit and can use the drive to enjoy the changing hill-and-forest landscape.
01:00–01:45 PM — Lunch en route
Have a simple lunch on the way, rather than returning to Jeypore for lunch.
I would keep this to 45 minutes maximum. The objective is to preserve enough time for Gupteswar.
If the Lamtaput programme runs late, make lunch even simpler—this is not the day for a leisurely restaurant lunch.
02:00–03:30 PM — Gupteswar Shiva Temple
Reach Gupteswar, the famous cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The temple is inside a natural limestone cave, reached by a climb of roughly 200 steps.
Allow about 1½ hours for:
- the climb to the cave;
- darshan at the Shiva shrine;
- seeing the cave formations;
- the surrounding forest landscape.
This is a very different experience from Duduma: waterfall and wilderness in the morning, cave temple and mythology in the afternoon.
03:30 PM — Leave Gupteswar
Start the return journey to Jeypore.
05:30–06:00 PM — Back in Jeypore
Depending on road conditions and the time spent at the stops, aim to reach Jeypore around 5:30–6:00 PM.
WHY THIS PART OF ODISHA FEELS SO DIFFERENT
For
a traveller accustomed to Bhubaneswar–Puri–Konark–Cuttack, southern
Koraput can feel almost like another geographical and cultural world.
Coastal
Odisha is dominated by the great temple cities, deltaic plains, classical Odia culture and
long-established urban settlements.
Koraput is an Eastern
Ghats landscape: mountains, forests, dispersed settlements, shifting and
settled cultivation, weekly markets, oral traditions, tribal languages and
community-based cultural practices.
The
district administration records more than 50% of Koraput’s population as
tribal, with numerous distinct communities.
The
difference is therefore not merely scenic. It is historical, linguistic,
social and economic.
THE BONDA —
ONE OF INDIA’S MOST DISTINCTIVE TRIBES
A
special mention must be made of the Bonda (Bondo/Remo)—although strictly
speaking their main homeland is in the Bondo Hills of neighbouring Malkangiri district,
rather than the Koraput town area.
The
Bonda are one of Odisha’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups/PVTGs.
Their traditional homeland is a remote mountainous area around Khairput in
Malkangiri. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs describes them as speakers of Remo,
a Munda/Austro-Asiatic language.
They
are particularly famous for the distinctive appearance and traditional dress of
Bonda women: shaved heads, colourful bead necklaces, metal ornaments and the traditional ringa
garment. Their cultural isolation historically helped preserve
distinctive traditions.
Their
traditional economy combines cultivation, forest produce, hunting and wage
labour. Crops include rice, black gram, maize, minor millets and oilseeds.
Palm
wine has traditionally played an important role in Bonda life and is
specifically documented in government ethnographic material.
An important
clarification about their appearance
The
Bonda are an indigenous South Asian tribal community whose language belongs to
the Munda branch of the Austro-Asiatic family. Some older ethnographic
descriptions have drawn attention to physical characteristics that observers
considered distinctive, but resemblance in some physical features should not be
confused with African ancestry. They come to visit the Onkadeli marke on Thrusday only. If you are a fan of photography, this is the time to visit the Onkadeli market.
https://maverickbird.com/india/onkadeli-tribal-market/
There
is another community in the Koraput area—the Dharua/Durua—for which the
Koraput district’s own older ethnographic material uses a comparison with
African populations. That terminology is dated and should be treated as
an historical ethnographic description, not as a statement of ancestry.
THE FOOD OF TRIBAL
SOUTHERN ODISHA
Food
is another reason this region feels different.
The
traditional diet is closely linked to agriculture and the forest.
Common
staples include:
·
Rice
·
Millets
·
Maize
·
Black gram and other pulses
·
Niger seed
·
Seasonal vegetables and leafy
greens
·
Forest produce
·
Fish and locally available meat
in communities where these form part of the traditional diet
·
Traditional fermented drinks,
including mahua/palm-based preparations in different communities
The
region also has its own agricultural treasures. Koraput Kalajeera rice,
a fragrant black-coloured aromatic rice traditionally cultivated in the
district, has received a GI tag.
So
this is not merely a place to photograph tribal villages. The food itself
tells the story of a mountain agricultural civilisation.
Forest Foraged & Botanical Delicacies
Karadi & Hendua (Fermented Bamboo Shoots): Tender bamboo shoots harvested from Eastern Ghat forests, prepared either fresh (Karadi) into spicy, mustard-infused curries or sun-dried and fermented (Hendua) to add an intense earthy, umami funk to stews.
Wild Indigenous Mushrooms (Boda & Balisiriya Chhatu) : Rare wild mushrooms foraged from termite mounds and forest leaf-litter, cooked over firewood with wild herbs and mustard paste.
Kai Chutney (Red Ant Chutney): A pungent, sharp paste ground with wild red weaver ants and their eggs, crushed together with garlic, ginger, and fiery native green chilies.
Wild Forest Tubers (Mati Alu & Bano Alu): Foraged jungle roots and yam varieties roasted directly in wood embers or slow-cooked into hearty seasonal curries.
Slow-Cooked Meats & Country Preparations
Patrapoda Mangsa (Leaf-Wrapped Roasted Meat): Country chicken (desi kukuda), mutton, or freshwater catch marinated in crushed wild spices, wrapped tightly in sal or banana leaves, and slow-roasted over burning cow-dung cakes or charcoal embers.
Kandula & Jhata Meat Curries: Smoked or fresh meats simmered alongside indigenous hillside pulses like pigeon peas (Kandula) and local lima beans.
Traditional Millet & Rice Staples
Mandia Pej / Mandia Jau: A sour, earthy porridge made from fermented finger millet (ragi) and rice starch water, served in sal-leaf bowls.
Alsi & Mandia Pitha: Traditional steamed or griddled flat cakes made with millet flours and roasted flaxseeds (alsi), traditionally sweetened with wild date palm or sugarcane jaggery.
Machhakanta & Kalajeera Rice: Festive native heirloom aromatic rice cooked with rustic village lentils and leafy forest greens (Muniga and wild water saags).
Traditional Tribal Brews
Salap / Tadi: Freshly tapped, naturally effervescent sap from the Caryota urens (fishtail palm) tree, sweet and mildly bubbly when fresh, turning sour and boozy as the day warms.
Landa: A thick, sour, cloudy beer brewed from fermented ragi (millet) and rice.
Mahulo (Fresh Mahua): Floral, distilled spirit made from fermented sweet mahua blossoms, served universally across community feasts.
Monday, 5 October — 12:30
18006/Samaleswari Exp at 6.20 am
TUESDAY, 6 OCTOBER
06:30 AM— Howrah
Arrival in Kolkata.
This is where
the journey formally ends.
Four days in southern Odisha
will not reveal everything. In fact, it will probably do the opposite: it
will reveal how much there is still to discover.
The great attraction of Koraput
is not a single monument. It is the combination of mountains, forests,
tribal cultures, food, textiles, music, roads, markets and communities that
together create a part of India that feels remarkably distant from the Odisha
of the coast.
And perhaps that is the real reason to come here.
