Harishankar, a popular pilgrimage town, sees a large no. of tourists flocking over the year. Sri Sri Harishankar Devasthana is on the slopes of the admirable Gandhamardhan hills, Odisha. It is crowd-pleasing for its sight of nature and presence of two Hindu lords, Vishnu and Shiva. As a holy place, along with a enticing watercourse passing on the granite bed, it has given some visitors a feeling of peace. Harishankara temple is not only well-known for its antiquity and design on the outer walls but also as it is the rarest temple where both Vishnu and Shiva are worshiped together.
The deity of Harisankar was discovered by a Chauhan Dynasty king of Western Orissa, during 14th century. From that time, the deity has been worshiped and A dancing Ganesha image has been found, which can be traced to the early 12th century. The godly place was fabricated by the royal order of the queen Durlabha Devi of Maharaja Vaijjal Dev Chauhan. The temple is visited by thousands of devotees every year. Thus, it is considered among the most visited Hindu worship places in the district of Bolangir. According to local folk story, once a saint called Uttamocharya worshiped Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu at this place and performed his attrition. It is said that he was granted Moksha.
Harishankar is located in Bolangir. So one can look up all other beautiful traveler places nearby. Some of them are Pataneswari Temple, Jai Mahadev Temple, Ranipur Jharial, Saintala, Jogisarda, Gaikhai MIP, Tenttulikhunti, and Sri Nrusinghanath Temple etc.
By Air: By using air-transportation, travellers or pilgrims can get direct flights to nearest Rajpur airport which is located only 210 km distance from the district.
By Rail: Harishankar is about 70km from Bolangir. So one can reach Bolangir by train from Cuttack, Bhubaneswar. After reaching Bolangir either you have to hire taxi or you have to travel by bus to Harishankar.
Bolangir district has also tropical climate condition. Hence, the max temperature has been recorded 45 degree Celsius in summer while the min recorded temperature in 8 degree Celsius in winter. So, the best time to visit at Harishankar temple is from the month of March to October.
