Barabati Fort in Cuttack was built in the 13th and 14th centuries by the Eastern Ganga kings on the bank of the Mahanadi. Once a nine-storeyed palace stood within; today a carved stone gateway, the moat and earthen mounds remain. The Barabati cricket stadium stands beside it. The fort is linked to the Bali Yatra fair held nearby each November.

The Netaji Birth Place Museum in Cuttack occupies Janakinath Bhawan, the house where Subhas Chandra Bose was born in 1897. The two-storey family home has been preserved with original furniture, and its galleries display his letters, photographs, uniforms and personal belongings, tracing his life from childhood to the Indian National Army. It is closed on Mondays.

Dhabaleswar Temple stands on an island in the Mahanadi River, about 27 km from Cuttack. Dedicated to Shiva, it dates from around the 10th or 11th century. The island is reached by a long suspension footbridge or by boat. Legend tells of the god turning a black bull white to save a thief. A big fair is held on Bada Osha in the month of Kartik.

Lalitgiri is the oldest of the Buddhist sites of Odisha's Diamond Triangle, occupied from the 2nd century BCE to the 13th century. A hilltop stupa here yielded stone caskets holding sacred bone relics, thought by some to be of the Buddha, now displayed in the site museum. The ruins include monasteries and a prayer hall, with wide views over the paddy plains.

Ratnagiri, in Jajpur district, was a great Buddhist monastic centre from about the 5th to the 13th century, and with Lalitgiri and Udayagiri forms the Diamond Triangle of Odisha. Excavations revealed two large monasteries, a main stupa and hundreds of small votive stupas. The carved green stone doorway of the first monastery is exceptional. A site museum is nearby.

Udayagiri is the largest Buddhist complex in Odisha, spread at the foot of a horseshoe of hills in Jajpur district. Excavations have uncovered a brick stupa with four seated Buddhas, two monasteries, a stepped stone well with an inscription and many sculptures. It was active between the 7th and 12th centuries. The site is quiet and scenic.

Biraja Temple at Jajpur is one of the major Shakti Peethas, where the navel of Sati is said to have fallen. The goddess is worshipped as a two-armed Durga slaying the buffalo demon. The present temple dates from the 13th century. Jajpur was the ancient capital of Odisha, and the town is also a place for ancestral rites. Navratri is celebrated with a chariot festival.

Chandipur, about 16 km from Balasore, is famous for a beach where the sea retreats up to five kilometres at low tide and returns at high tide, twice a day. Visitors can walk far out on the wet sand among shells and red crabs. Casuarina trees line the shore. Check the tide times before visiting. A missile test range lies nearby.