My Scary Excursion to Kapilash

Before I dive into my misadventure during my visit to Kapilash, let me give you a quick introduction to this beautiful town in Odisha. 

So, Kapilash is a tiny part of the Dhenkanal town in Odisha. You will not find much information about this place itself on the web (because even I searched for some details to mention here and I could not). But there are a few famous tourist attractions to visit here. 

As I was posted in Bhubaneswar, a town in Odisha, during the initial days of my job, I took each and every opportunity to explore nearby places. I would literally plan for every weekend to go somewhere or the other. And Kapilash was one of the places that were on my list to travel to.

So, let me take you through my adventure. Or should I say, misadventure?

The Plan (As Usual)

Just as I mentioned, as usual, we planned for a day trip to Kapilash. It is just a 2 hours journey from Bhubaneswar, so a day was enough to explore it. We booked a car from Zoomcar services. Always planning to return early (which we never do), we left our place early in the morning. Like around at 6-ish. There were 2 places that I wanted to and also planned to visit for the day- Kapilash Temple and Kapilash Zoological Park.

Kapilash Zoological Park

Timings: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Entry Fee: INR 10

Kaplish zoo is just like any other zoo. It is home to majorly commonly found birds like eagles, owls, peacocks, and animals like deer, monkeys, wild buffalos, and elephants. Apart from the variety of fauna, this park is filled with various trees and shrubs. 

As the name of this place suggests, it is a zoological park. So, it is not just a zoo where you can expect a wide range of animals to see only. But a good enough place to show your kids around and have some peaceful time with your family. There are many swings and play area for kids to enjoy too.

Kapilash Science Park

Timings: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Entry Fee: INR 10

This place was the highlight of my visit to Kapilash. It is a science park that contains about 49 interactive science exhibits. They are all educational with detailed instructions and results are written for each of them. 

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There were many exhibits that we could not even understand what they were. But it was so much fun. I was literally hopping from one to the other. It is a really great place for kids to play as well as learn. 

Kapilash Temple

Timings: 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM

At a height of 2239 feet from sea level, the main temple is around 60 feet tall. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva but you can also find various other idols in the temple. The marble flooring of the temple feels so cold to the touch. The area around is very peaceful with huge trees and stairs to chill around. Or even better for meditation.

But the only bad thing that I encountered that day were monkeys. 

And not just a few. MANY!!!

While we were parking our car outside the temple, I saw at least 25 monkeys. I am terrified of them. Sometimes I feel that I might not be so scared even if I encounter a wild animal like a lion or a tiger. But monkeys? So scary for me. I didn’t even dare to step out of the car. But thanks to my friends, I was able to enter the temple. They all literally acted like a shield. 

Apart from the monkeys, the temple itself is very worth the visit. As I said, it is very peaceful. But beware of the pandits there. Like any other temple, there are many pandits in the temple and most of them were in the literal business of extorting money from visitors by saying things like “if you do this puja, something good will happen”.

Do not fall for these tricks.

My Final Thoughts

Even though I didn’t mention this place in my list of places to visit in Odisha, it is still worth giving a try. My experience at this place has some bad memories but my friends loved it here. Because, well, it was scary for me only. You might not have the same experience and situation.