Odisha is the eastern Indian state that has a higher percentage of its population considered tribal peoples than any other state, regions that were the major focus of several days of travel through the state. After entering from Andhra Pradesh state we climbed up into the hills and low mountains, partially forested but very dry looking well into the dry season in February. The first stop for two nights and most of two days was a Paraja tribe village named Gaudaguda, the focus of my two previous blog entries.

We left Gaudaguda early in the morning for a mildly long drive to a village named Chatikona, known among travelers for a weekly market of the Dongiri-Khondh tribe . THe Dongiri-Khodh live in isolated ridge top villages some distance from Chatikona and are considered among the most primitive tribes in the area having practiced human sacrifices unto the 1990s (some say longer). There were a few more tourists in Chatikona than Gaudaguda and some locally made artwork and metal statues clearly designed for the tourist trade. Unfortunately, Chatikona has a very strict no-photography policy so I have no pictures of the Dongiri-Khondh.

We continued onwards a short distance to the New Hope project for the afternoon and overnight. New Hope is a charitable organization partially supported by Dragoman that houses and educates orphaned and disabled children, performs cataract surgeries on needy people in the region, and houses some older victims of leprosy. We toured the facilities and met the residents in the afternoon, had dinner around a campfire, and stayed in little cabins on the grounds.

The next day and a half consisted of driving eastward through the hills and valleys of the tribal regions with a few short stops for snacks and lunch in roadside durbars. Our night was at a small resort named Taptapani near a small temple and hot springs. The resort was originally built for engineers working on a dam built in the area so was quite basic. In the morning it was onwards across the coastal plain to a seaside town named Gopalpur. THe hill country of Odisha was a true experience in off-the-beaten-path travel.