Rourkela is a planned city located in the northern part of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest city in Odisha. It is situated about 328 kilometres north of state capital Bhubaneswar and is surrounded by a range of hills covered with forest and encircled by rivers – Koel, Sankha, and Brahmani. The city is also popularly known as Ispat Nagar and also as the Steel City of Odisha. It has one of the largest steel plants of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) known as Rourkela Steel Plant. It also has one of the National Institutes of Technology of the country.
Every year, on 3 March Rourkela Day is celebrated. Rourkela has been declared India’s Fastest Moving City. The name Rourkela originates from the local language of Sadri which means “Your Village”, under Sundergarh district of Odisha. The city is popularly known as the engineering heartland of India. STPI has already set up a dedicated earth station in Rourkela. It is set to welcome the IT entrepreneurs for their uprising destination.
It is truly cosmopolitan in nature and enjoys high-class international infrastructure, modern amenities, and skilled professionals for software development and exports.. Rourkela enjoys the pride of being the knowledge hub in the state due to its academic records making it a important education hub. Well connected by rail, road and air with all cities of India, there are numerous places to visit in and around the city that attracts tourist.
The tourism industry in the city is centered around major attraction like Hanuman Vatika, Ghoghar Temple, Mandira Dam, Kanshbahal Dam, Sarafgarh Dam, Vaishno devi Temple, Shri Chandrashekhar Mahadev Mandir, Shri Ghogareshwara Baba Mandir, Blue Stone Picnic Area, Darjeeng Picnic Spot, Indira Gandhi Park, Ispat Nehru Park, Ispat Jubilee Park, Khandadhar Waterfall, Lagoon Park, Pitamahal Dam, Badalgiri Waterfall, Ramakrishna Mission, Rani Sati Mandir, Shri Jagannath Mandir, Shri Baidyanath Mahadev Mandir, Keshari Rajvansh Palace, Sri Sai Mandir, and Tarkera Dam.
A well planned cty likw other steel cities of India Rourkela is also well planned with the city divided into sectors with each sector well equipped with health centre, market, clubs and other essential; facilities. there are numerous hotels, lodges that provide luxurious as well as budget accommodation to tourist. shopping is centered around the main shopping districts here numerous malls have started to come up in recent years. Although open to tourist throughout the year, the best time to visit is from July to February.
