The problem
Odisha’s most beautiful places rarely show up in search results or guidebooks.
With ZipsWay
A curated guide to hidden Odisha
Places sorted by region and season, with photos and tips from people who live there.
Places · Maps · Local guides · Stays — one app
Discover the Odisha few travellers have seen.
Mangrove creeks, hilltop meadows and painted craft villages that rarely make the guidebooks — with maps, local guides, how to get there and what’s nearby, all in one app.
- Verified hosts & drivers
- Village homestays
- 24/7 support
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ZipsWay
Discover Odisha
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Deomali, Koraput
Southern hills · Best Oct – Feb
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Deomali
1,672 m
Odisha’s highest peak · Koraput
See
Getting there
Eat
Nearby
- Pickup · Koraput station With a local driver
- Deomali viewpoint ~60 km by road
Book ride + homestay
travel_exploreExplore
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Live tracking
Updated 15s ago
Village homestay
Meals with the family
Why ZipsWay
Odisha’s best places are hard to find. We fix that.
The problem
Details on transport, food and basics are scattered, or out of date.
With ZipsWay
One page per place
What to see, how to get there, what to eat, and where the nearest fuel, ATM and hospital are.
The problem
Village homestays, cooks and local drivers can’t reach the travellers looking for them.
With ZipsWay
Local hosts, booked directly
Homestays, food vendors, guides and drivers list on ZipsWay and are paid straight to their wallet.
All in one place
Everything for the trip, in a single app.
ZipsWay brings travel information, maps and local guides together, so planning an Odisha trip takes minutes instead of days.
Planning today
- Guidebooks that skip the offbeat places
- A map app, a forum thread and a weather site
- Phone calls to find a driver or a room
- No idea where the next ATM or hospital is
With ZipsWay
- Hidden places, mapped and explained
- Routes, seasons and local food on one page
- Ride, homestay and guide in one checkout
- Fuel, cash, medical care and network nearby
Places, map, getting there, food, stays, local guides, essentials and seasons, all inside the ZipsWay app.
Hidden Odisha
Ten places worth the detour.
Tap a pin or a card for what to see, how to get there, what to eat, who can guide you and what’s nearby.
Filter by region
- Tap a pin to open the place
- Add places to your trip as you go
- Your trip builds itself below
Taste of Odisha
Eat where it’s made.
Every destination lists its local dishes, and the homestays and vendors who cook them.
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StatewidePakhala bhata
Rice soaked overnight in water, eaten with fried fish, greens and badi. Odisha celebrates it every 20 March.
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StatewideDalma
Lentils simmered with vegetables and finished with cumin and chilli. Everyday food and temple food alike.
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CoastMachha besara
Fish in a sharp mustard paste — the signature of the coastal kitchen.
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NayagarhChhena poda
“Burnt cheese”: fresh chhena and sugar, baked until the outside caramelises.
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Pahala & PuriRasagola
Odisha’s own GI-tagged rasagola. The roadside stalls at Pahala sell it by the pot.
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NimaparaChhena jhili
Fried chhena dumplings soaked in syrup, from a small town near Puri.
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MayurbhanjKai chutney
A tangy, fiery chutney of red weaver ants, made in the villages around Similipal. GI-tagged.
When to go
Odisha, month by month.
Birds, turtles, waterfalls and festivals — what’s on, and where to be.
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January
- Peak bird season at Chilika and Mangalajodi
- Frosty mornings in Daringbadi
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February
- Olive ridley turtles start mass nesting at Rushikulya and Gahirmatha
- The last of the winter birds
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March
- Turtle nesting continues on the southern beaches
- Pakhala Dibasa, 20 March
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April
- Dry-season sightings near water in Similipal
- Cooler air in the Koraput hills
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May
- Hot on the plains — head for the hills
- Bhitarkanika closes for crocodile breeding (May – Jul)
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June
- Raja Parba welcomes the monsoon
- Rath Yatra in Puri (June or July)
- Similipal closes in mid-June
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July
- Monsoon green everywhere
- Rath Yatra in some years
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August
- Duduma and the Koraput waterfalls at full strength
- Hirakud’s sluice gates open after heavy rain
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September
- Nuakhai harvest festival in Western Odisha
- Waterfalls still in full flow
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October
- Durga Puja in Cuttack, with silver-filigree pandals
- Calm water returns to Chilika
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November
- Similipal reopens on 1 November
- Bali Jatra on the Mahanadi in Cuttack
- Migratory birds arrive
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December
- Konark Dance Festival, 1–5 December
- Riverside camping season at Satkosia
Stay local
Sleep in a village, not a lobby.
Family-run homestays near every destination, booked in the same checkout as your ride.
Coast & plains
Coconut-grove villages
Courtyard homes in the shade of palms, an easy drive from Chilika, Puri and the delta.
Mayurbhanj
Forest-edge homes near Similipal
Mud-walled homes kept cool by thick walls and tiled roofs, close to the reserve gates.
Rayagada & Koraput
Hill villages of the south
High villages in the Eastern Ghats, with terraced fields and weekly markets.
Every homestay is a family home checked by our team, and hosts are paid straight to their ZipsWay wallet.
Local guides
See it with someone who grew up there.
Boatmen, trekkers, forest guides and artist families — booked in the same checkout as your ride and stay.
Birding boatmen
Dawn boat rides through Chilika’s reed channels and out to the dolphin waters.
Hill and trek guides
Deomali summit walks, village trails and weekly haats in the Eastern Ghats.
Forest and safari guides
Forest drives, creek safaris and gorge boat rides, registered with the forest department where parks require it.
Craft-village hosts
Studio visits with pattachitra painters and palm-leaf engravers, and demonstrations of their work.
Coast and estuary walks
Low-tide walks across Chandipur’s flats and along the river mouth, timed to the tides.
Every guide is verified
Guides complete ID checks before they can take bookings, and every trip is covered by 24/7 support.
Guide with ZipsWayPlan your trip
Pick the places. We’ll do the planning.
Add places from the map or the guide, and ZipsWay works out how long to stay, when to go and where to start.
Your trip
Add places from the map or the guide to start a trip.
Or try a sample trip:
Tourism that stays local
Growth that Odisha’s villages share in.
At Mangalajodi, former bird poachers became guides and the wetland recovered. ZipsWay is built to grow more tourism like that.
Money stays in the village
Homestays, cooks, guides and drivers are paid straight to their ZipsWay wallet.
Spreading the visitors
Offbeat places and season guidance ease the pressure on crowded hotspots.
Protected places, protected
Park seasons and rules are built into every destination, so trips fit around wildlife.
Travel lightly
Ask before photographing people, keep plastic out of forests and lagoons, and follow park rules.
What we measure
- Bookings in rural areas
- Earnings paid to local hosts
- Share of trips taken off-peak
How it works
From idea to trip in four stops.
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1
Discover
Browse hidden places by region and season, with photos and local tips.
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2
Plan
See how to get there, what to eat, and where the nearest fuel, ATM and hospital are.
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3
Book
Book a vehicle — self-drive or with a driver — and a homestay in one checkout.
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4
Go
Set off with the trip tracked live and a local host expecting you.
Getting around
Your ride, from the nearest town.
Rent from verified local shops near each destination. Drive yourself, or bring a driver who knows the roads.
- Cars
- Bikes
- Scooters
- Vans
- Trucks
Self-drive or with a driver
Take the wheel yourself, or add a verified local driver who knows the ghat roads. Same search, same checkout.
Only female drivers, if you prefer
Women booking with a driver can choose to be matched only with female drivers.
By the hour or by the day
A few hours for a waterfall, or a week across the state. Pick exact pickup and drop-off times.
Delivered to your door
Where the host offers it, have the vehicle dropped at your hotel or railway station.
Live trip tracking
Every active trip shows up live on the map, refreshed every few seconds — even on remote roads.
The whole price, up front
Fare, GST and any extras are itemised before you confirm, and the security deposit is shown separately — it’s refundable.
Example breakdown
- Base fare · 2 days
- ₹3,798.00
- GST (18%)
- ₹683.64
- Child seat
- ₹150.00
- Total
- ₹4,631.64
+ ₹3,798 refundable deposit, collected at pickup
Extras when you need them
Add what the trip calls for at checkout.
The ZipsWay Promise
Safe journeys. Happy villages.
Every host, vehicle and driver is reviewed by our team before they can take a booking — and help is always a tap away.
Verified listings
Homestays and vehicles are checked and approved before they appear in search.
Trusted hosts & drivers
Hosts complete KYC, and drivers submit their licence for review before they can accept rides.
24/7 support
Ask the in-app help assistant, or raise a ticket straight from any booking.
Grow with ZipsWay
Bring travellers to your village.
Homestay owners, cooks, guides and drivers list directly on ZipsWay. You set the price — we bring the bookings.
- List what you offer A room, a kitchen, a guided walk or a vehicle — add photos and set your price.
- Get verified Our team checks your details before you go live.
- Host travellers Bookings arrive in the app, with the guest’s trip details.
- Get paid Earnings land securely in your ZipsWay wallet.
Homestay owners
Turn a spare room into income, with guests who want the real village.
Food vendors & home cooks
Get your stall or kitchen onto the destination pages travellers read.
Local guides
Offer treks, boat rides, birdwatching and craft walks.
Drivers & rental shops
List your vehicles or drive with ZipsWay, and serve travellers from your town.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Anything else? Our support team is in the app, around the clock.
Is it safe to travel to remote parts of Odisha?
Every host, driver and vehicle on ZipsWay is verified before it can take a booking, trips are tracked live, and support is available 24/7. Women booking with a driver can choose to be matched only with female drivers.
Will my phone work in the hills and forests?
Not everywhere. Coverage is patchy or absent in places like Similipal, the Satkosia gorge and around Deomali. Each destination’s Nearby tab notes the network situation, so you know when to save details ahead and carry cash.
How do I book a local guide?
Open a destination and check its Guides tab for the kinds of guide available there, with what they offer and the languages they speak. Add a guide when you book your ride or stay — it’s all one checkout.
Can I save a trip and finish it later?
Yes. Places you add to a trip stay saved on your device, so you can come back, reorder stops and book when you’re ready.
How accurate is the map?
Pins show roughly where each place is, to help you see how a trip fits together. Use the Getting there tab for stations, airports and road distances, and check routes locally before you set off.
How do homestays work?
Pick a family-run homestay near your destination and book it in the same checkout as your ride. Meals with the family are usually included, and you pay in the app.
Can I hire a local guide or a driver who knows the area?
Yes. Add a local guide for treks, boat rides or village walks, or book your vehicle with a driver from a rental shop near the destination.
Do national parks have fixed seasons?
Several do. Bhitarkanika closes from May to July for crocodile breeding, and Similipal is open from November to mid-June. Each destination lists its season — check locally before you go.
What’s included in a rental price?
The breakdown lists the base fare, 18% GST, any extras and the delivery fee if you choose doorstep delivery. A refundable security deposit is shown separately and collected at pickup.
What happens if I cancel?
The app shows your estimated refund before you confirm. Cancellation charges are set per listing, so check before you book. Once a trip has started it can no longer be refunded.
Your Odisha trip starts in the app.
Find a place, plan the route, book the ride and the stay — all from your phone.