Vanishing Tribes of Orissa

(15 Nights & 16 Days in India) Season: Through out the year except April to June

Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive Calcutta; Day 2: Calcutta – Bhubaneswar; Day 3: Baliguda; Day 4: Rayagada;
Day 5: Jeypour; Day 6: Bonda village – Jeypour; Day 7: Jeypour – Koraput- Kunduli – Jeypour;
Day 8: Jeypour - Gupteswar - Ramgiri - Jepyour; Day 9: Rayagyde via Janiguda - Laxmipur;
Day 10: Gopalpur Day 11: Bhubaneswar; Day 12: Bhubaneswar; Day 13: Puri via Konark; Day 14: Puri;
Day 15: Puri – Kolkotta (night train) ; Day 16: Calcutta night transfer; Day 17: Kolkotta – Home.

Orissa is one of the eastern coastal States in India. Though it is rarely known to the tourist it has a vast tribal population, belonging to diverse races & cultures which are difficult to find any where else. It has the second largest concentration of tribal people & constitutes an impressive 23 percent of the total population of the state with 62 different tribal groups. Some of these groups are still primitive & though their “tradition of human sacrifice has been replaced by the animals” but they still maintain their culture despite the government continuous efforts to bring them in the mainstream of modernity. Among them are the Bonda, Gadaba, Dhuruwa, Paraja, Dongria Kondh & Kutia Kondh, Etc. although the practice of using money has been introduced to them & they know the value of it, but the barter system is also not yet completely forgotten. They still practice barter system in some cases.

The visit of colourful Bonda Market & other hill tribe’s villages with a knowledgeable guide will be extremely interesting; the success of this tour depends completely on local knowledge of the guide. As these tribal people are very timid & they will not tolerate the invasion of tourist or others fellow humans. It is very normal to see them disappear when they see you! So the guide will establish the relationship between you & them through communication.. It is very important that guide should be able to speak or understand most of these tribal dialects. The scenery in this tribal region is magnificent, the villages & hamlets are fascinating. Other than the tribal villages, a visit to Puri &Bhubaneswar is also arranged where you will see some of the marvellous Hindu temple of India. The 13century “Surya” the Sun god temple of Konarak, & 2B.C.E Jains caves temples of Udayagiri & Khandagiri to name a few.