Kanakeswar :
72 km from Dhenkanal, 45 km from Angul and 25 km from Talcher town, Kualo is famous for housing a plethora of temples dedicated to Lord Kanakeswar, Baidyanath, Paschimeswar, Balunkeswar and Kapileswar. In its ruined form, the temple of Kanakeswar is about 24 meters high and preserves some of the earliest specimens of sculptures representing ancient temple building activities in Orissa.

Vishnu :
Sixty-seven kms from Dhenkanal, 23 kms from Angul and 3 kms from Talcher, is the Anantasyi image of Lord Vishnu, on the rocky bed of the river Brahmani at Saranga. The hoods of Ananta, the serpent king spreads over the head of Lord Vishnu as the crown and cover. The primal lotus, housing Brahma, the creator, originates from Vishnu ’ s navel, the Supreme Being enjoying deep delight of his cosmic sleep in the waters of the river Brahmani.

Joranda :
Famous as the religious headquarters of ‘Mahima Dharma’, Joranda houses the samadhi of Mahima Gosain, the preacherpropounder of the Mahima Cult, The other sacred temples are the ‘Sunya Mandira’, ‘Dhuni Mandira’ and ‘Gadi Mandira’ Pilgrims in large numbers pour forth to Joranda fair held on full-moon day of Magha which falls in January-February every year.

Kapilas :
It is one of the famous Saiva Pitha of Odisha and also a well-known tourist place . This place is allegedly known as Second Kailash. The Kapilas is situated above 2239 feet above sea level. The way to the temple consists of 1352 steps.

The temple was constructed in 1246 AD by King Narasinghdeva-I. Marichi kunda & Payamruta kunda exists on right and left side respectively of the main temple. Apart from the holy shrine linga of Shiva one can found the sculptures of other Gods and Goddess like Ganesha, Kartikeya, Gangadevi etc. Jagannath Temple, Viswanath Temple and Parsva Deva Temple is also situated in Kapilas. A number of festivals are celebrated here at Kapilas. But celebration of Maha Shivaratri is a festival to watch. People of different parts of Odisha as well as India is coming to offer a prayer here on the day Maha Shivaratri.

Saptasajya :
A place of scenic beauty, Saptasajya is situated at a distance of about 11 km to the south of Dhenkanal town. According to legends, ’ Pandavas ’ spent some days of their incognito life (Agnuata vasa) in these hills. The temple of Raghunath, built in honor of Lord Rama, Laxman and Sita by Rani Ratnaprava Devi of Dhenkanal attracts large crowds every year on the day of Ramanavami, in the month of March-April. A small spring flowing close by enhances the beauty of the place. It is an ideal place for picnic and relaxation.

Naganatheswar temple:
Naganatheswar temple belongs to Sri Sri Naganatheswar Shiva and it is at village ’Nagena ’, about 20 kms from Dhenkanal. It is the most ancient Saiva temple and was constructed during the reign of the Keshari dynasty. According to scholar Pandit Nagendranath Mohapatra ’s Naganath Satakam, it is one of the 12 Yotir Lingas. In the Shotras of the ’Awashyotirlinga ’, one of the Yotir Linga is in the Daruka-Vana or Neem forest.
This Neem forest is still there in the premises. The sloka of Dwadasha Yotir Linga says that Naganath temple is situated in the southernmost part of Anga Kingdom. It shows that during some time in history, that part of Kalinga touched Anga border. However, nearer to it, there is the debris of a fort which is still unidentified. Here, the river Brahmani turns to north and is as holy as the Ganges.

Dhenkanal district is one of the centrally located district in Orissa. It lies between Longitude 85° 58' to 86° 2' East and Latitude 20° 29' to 21° 11' North. It is the District which touches the boundary of Keonjhar in the North, Jajpur in the East, Cuttack in the South and Angul in the West. Geographical area of Dhenkanal district is 4595 sq kms. Total population of this district as per 1991 census was 9,47,870 which has been increased by 12.46 percent in 2001census ( provisional ). As per 2001 census total population of this district is 10,65,983 (provisional).

When sunrays caress the face of Paniohala hills, the chiming of temple bells fill the air, monkeys chatter away busily on treetops and the fragrance of ripened plums from the plum groves float into your room through the window, you know you have woken up in the remote hamlet of Dhenkanal.