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Odiapediaଓଡ଼ିଆପିଡ଼ିଆ
southern Odishaଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ପଢ଼ନ୍ତୁ

Rayagada district

ରାୟଗଡ଼ା ଜିଲ୍ଲା

Rayagada is a tribal-majority district of southern Odisha on the Nagavali river, home to the Dongria Kondh of Niyamgiri and the Majhighariani temple.

Headquarters
Rayagada
Population (2011)
967,911
Area
7,073 sq km
Villages
2,673
Literacy (2011)
49.8%
Towns (2011)
7

Rayagada (ରାୟଗଡ଼ା) is a district in southern Odisha, bordering Andhra Pradesh, with its headquarters at the town of Rayagada on the Nagavali river. Rayagada is known for the Niyamgiri hills and their Dongria Kondh people, for the Majhighariani temple, and for being an industrial and railway centre of southern Odisha.

The district has two sub-divisions, Rayagada and Gunupur, and 11 blocks. The Rayagada sub-division includes the Rayagada, Kashipur, Kalyansingpur and Kolnara blocks; the Gunupur sub-division includes Gunupur, Gudari, Padmapur, Ramanaguda, Bissam Cuttack, Muniguda and Chandrapur.

Rayagada was part of undivided Koraput district until 2 October 1992, when it was made a separate district.

The district covers 7,073 sq km according to the 2011 Census (other sources, including Wikipedia, give about 7,585 sq km). The 2011 Census counted 967,911 people. About 56% belong to Scheduled Tribes, and the 2011 sex ratio was 1,051 females per 1,000 males.

People of Rayagada district

Census 2011 counted 9,67,911 people in 2,26,144 households in Rayagada district. 15.2% lived in towns, and the literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 49.8%. The census recognised 7 towns in the district.

Population
9,67,911
4,71,960 male · 4,95,951 female
Households
2,26,144
about 4.3 people each
Literacy (age 7+)
49.8%
men 61.0% · women 39.2%
Females per 1,000 males
1,051
Girls per 1,000 boys (0–6)
965
People per km²
137
  • Rural8,20,945 (84.8%)
  • Urban1,46,966 (15.2%)
Scheduled Castes
1,39,514 (14.4%)
Scheduled Tribes
5,41,905 (56.0%)

What the 4,67,122 workers did

  • Cultivators75,669 (16.2%)
  • Agricultural labourers67,059 (14.4%)
  • Household industry4,787 (1.0%)
  • Other work80,300 (17.2%)
  • Marginal workers2,39,307 (51.2%)

Marginal workers worked less than six months of the year.

Source: Census of India 2011, Primary Census Abstract (district, sub-district and town level). Figures are from 2011, the most recent census with published district, town and village figures.

Facilities in the villages of Rayagada

How many of the 2,468 inhabited villages of this district had each facility within the village itself, from the Census 2011 Village Directory. Together the 2,664 villages cover 6,699 km², 22% of it sown with crops and 12% forest.

Education

  • Primary school1,885 of 2,468
  • Middle school440 of 2,468
  • Secondary school141 of 2,468
  • Senior secondary school22 of 2,468
  • Degree college10 of 2,468

Health

  • Primary health centre4 of 2,468
  • Health sub-centre186 of 2,468
  • Anganwadi centre1,644 of 2,468

Water & power

  • Treated tap water0 of 2,468
  • Hand pump2,273 of 2,468
  • Electricity for homes708 of 2,468

Roads & transport

  • All-weather road1,000 of 2,468
  • Public bus553 of 2,468
  • Mobile phone coverage1,481 of 2,468

Services

  • Post office or sub post office693 of 2,468
  • Commercial bank1 of 2,468
  • Ration (PDS) shop186 of 2,468
  • Weekly haat67 of 2,468
Primary schools
2,068
Middle schools
474
Secondary schools
183
Degree colleges
11
Primary health centres
7
Health sub-centres
186

Main crops named by villages: Paddy (1,617), Ragi (1,175), Maize (411), Pulses (257), Kandula (138), Alasi (70), Red Grams (61), Cotton (57). Handicrafts: Broomstick (1), Veriety Items Made By Bamboo (1), Bamboo Products (1).

Source: Census of India 2011, District Census Handbook: Village and Town Directory (Odisha). The facilities were recorded for the 2011 census (reference year 2009 for most items); many places have changed since. Facilities in towns are not included.

Towns of Rayagada

3 statutory towns (municipal corporation, municipality, notified area council or industrial township) and 4 census towns — places the census counted as urban but which are governed by gram panchayats.

TownTypePopulationLiteracyWards
RayagadaMunicipality71,20878.6%24
GunupurNotified Area Council24,16276.5%19
ChandiliCensus town18,55276.4%–
BishamakatakCensus town8,39985.5%–
TikarpadaCensus town8,34678.4%–
GudariNotified Area Council6,93181.2%11
KalyanasingpurCensus town4,66064.2%–

Population of the town itself; for towns with outgrowths, the town page also gives the figure including them. Ward counts are the census wards of 2011.

Census sub-districts: town and country

Sub-districtPopulationRuralUrbanLiteracy
Ambadala54,51454,514040.1%
Muniguda55,23346,8878,34655.7%
Chandrapur28,95228,952038.9%
Bishamakatak87,89579,4968,39947.0%
Kalyanasingpur66,02961,3694,66037.8%
Kashipur70,54270,542037.8%
Andirakanch15,25815,258035.5%
Tikiri35,37635,376042.8%
Doraguda19,45719,457032.1%
Rayagada2,22,5181,32,75889,76059.9%
Seskhal47,58647,586037.8%
Gunupur1,14,85685,98628,87058.5%
Gudari65,52658,5956,93153.9%
Padmapur44,77944,779058.1%
Puttasing39,39039,390042.0%

Odisha's census sub-districts are police-station areas, not revenue tahasils.

History

Early history. Rayagada lay within the ancient region of Kalinga. A 7th-century inscription at the Nilakantheswar temple of Padmapur indicates that the nearby Jagamanda hill once housed the monastery of the Buddhist logician Dharmakirti.

Founding of Rayagada. According to tradition recorded by Odisha Tourism and Wikipedia, Vishwanath Dev Gajapati of the Suryavamsi kings of Nandapur (who ruled in the 16th century; sources give his reign as beginning in 1527) built a fort and capital on the bank of the Nagavali and named it Rayagada. He is also credited with building the Majhighariani temple inside his palace, which gave the goddess her name, "the one seated in the central room".

Jeypore and British rule. The area remained part of the Jeypore kingdom, which became a feudatory of the Golconda sultans in 1571. The Nabarangpur district administration's history records that the British officer Captain Richard Mathews captured Rayagada on 15 January 1775. Under British rule Rayagada was part of the Jeypore estate in the Madras Presidency and joined the new province of Orissa as part of Koraput district in 1936.

Railways and industry. The Parvatipuram–Raipur railway through Rayagada was completed in December 1931, and the Koraput–Rayagada rail link followed on 31 December 1998.

Niyamgiri. From the late 1990s a proposal to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills for Vedanta's refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi met strong opposition from the Dongria Kondh. In 2013 the Supreme Court of India ordered that the local village councils be consulted; all twelve councils consulted rejected mining, and the Union environment ministry refused clearance in January 2014.

Places to visit

Maa Majhighariani temple

The temple of Maa Majhighariani, on the bank of the Nagavali in Rayagada town, is the guardian shrine of the area. The district administration notes that devotees come from across southern Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, and from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Odisha Tourism names Chaitra Parba, Durga Puja and Shivaratri as its main festivals. According to local belief, the goddess rides a horse at night to protect the town.

Chatikona

Chatikona, about 48 km from Rayagada, lies at the foot of the Niyamgiri hills, which surround it on three sides. It has a temple of Lord Shiva (Pataleswar) and a waterfall fed by streams from the hills. Maha Shivaratri draws large crowds.

Minajhola

Minajhola, about 134 km from Rayagada, is a Shiva shrine at the meeting of the Vamsadhara, Chauladhua and Phalaphalia rivers, surrounded by dense forest. Odisha Tourism notes that Maha Shivaratri brings many pilgrims.

Hanging bridge at Chekaguda

This 151 m suspension bridge across the Nagavali at Chekaguda was built in 2011–2012 to connect tribal villages to Rayagada town, cutting a 25 km detour to about 5 km. Odisha Tourism lists it among the district's picturesque attractions.

Laxminarayan temple, Therubali

At Therubali, about 21 km from Rayagada, the Laxminarayan temple stands in the township of the IMFA ferro-alloy plant and houses Laxminarayan, Hanuman and the Jagannath trinity.

Padmapur

Padmapur, about 67 km from Rayagada, has the hilltop Nilakantheswar temple, with its 7th-century inscription linking the area to the Buddhist philosopher Dharmakirti.

Other sites

Odisha Tourism also lists the Hatipathar waterfall. The Wikipedia district article mentions the Maa Markama temple at Bissam Cuttack and the Pataleswar temple at Paikapada.

How to reach

ModeDetails
AirThe nearest large airport is Visakhapatnam, roughly 170 km away (Odisha Tourism). Jeypore Airport in Koraput district has regional flights to Bhubaneswar
RailRayagada is a junction on the Jharsuguda–Vizianagaram line with a branch to Koraput, and has direct trains to Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Raipur, Bengaluru and New Delhi. Gunupur and Bissam Cuttack also have stations
RoadNH 326 links Rayagada with Koraput via Laxmipur; Odisha Tourism notes that Rayagada is well connected by state and national highways

Odisha Tourism lists the OTDC Panthanivas in Rayagada among places to stay. See how to reach Odisha for more.

Temples (6)

  • Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga (Dakinyam), Bhimpur · ଭୀମଶଙ୍କର ଜ୍ୟୋତିର୍ଲିଙ୍ଗ(ଡାକିନ୍ୟାଂ), ଭୀମପୁର
  • Jagannath Temple, Gunupur · ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ ମନ୍ଦିର, ଗୁଣପୁର
  • Jagannath Temple, Rayagada · ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ ମନ୍ଦିର
  • Ma Mangala Ma Temple, Rayagada · ମା ମଙ୍ଗଳା ମା ମନ୍ଦିର, ରାୟଗଡ଼ା
  • Mallikesvara Temple
  • Patalesvara Temple

Photos and map links in the temple directory. Today's tithi, sunrise and Rahu Kala here.

Railway stations

17 stations and 0 halts inside the district, as mapped on OpenStreetMap; some on new lines may not yet have regular trains.

Culture and festivals

Rayagada's population is largely Adivasi. The main communities are the Kondh (including the Dongria Kondh and Kutia Kondh) and the Saora (Sora). In the 2011 Census, about 42% of people spoke Odia as their first language, about 33% Kui, about 10% Telugu and about 8% Sora.

Dongria Kondh. About 8,000 Dongria Kondh live in some 100 villages of the Niyamgiri hills, which span Rayagada and Kalahandi. They practise horticulture and shifting cultivation and revere Niyam Raja, the god of the hills. Odisha Tourism notes that Dongria women are recognisable by their facial tattoos, multiple ear-rings, a trio of nose rings and silver neck bands. They are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, so visitors should travel with licensed guides, ask before photographing anyone, and respect local rules.

GI-registered crafts. In January 2024 two crafts from Rayagada received Geographical Indication tags:

CraftMakersDescription
Kapadaganda shawlDongria Kondh womenHand-embroidered shawl gifted as a mark of respect and affection
Lanjia Saura painting (idital)Lanjia Saura communityWhite wall paintings on a red-brown background, traditionally on house walls

See GI tags of Odisha for the full list.

Festivals. Major religious festivals include Chaitra Parba at the Majhighariani temple, Durga Puja, Maha Shivaratri at Chatikona and Minajhola, and Rath Yatra, which the town of Kashipur celebrates on a large scale.

Food

Rice and finger millet (mandia) are the staples of rural Rayagada. Mandia peja, a gruel of ragi and rice, is a daily food of Adivasi households in Rayagada and the neighbouring districts of southern Odisha. Salap, a palm sap, is drunk fresh or fermented in many tribal villages.

Geography and climate

Rayagada lies in the Eastern Ghats in the south of Odisha. Its neighbours include Koraput, Kalahandi and Gajapati districts and the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Rivers. The Nagavali flows past Rayagada town and on into Andhra Pradesh. The Vamsadhara is the district's other major river; at Minajhola it is joined by the Chauladhua and Phalaphalia streams.

Hills and forests. The Niyamgiri range lies about 40 km from Rayagada according to Odisha Tourism, and continues into Kalahandi. Much of the district is forested; Wikipedia gives about 4,785 sq km of forest area.

Climate. Like the rest of southern Odisha, Rayagada receives most of its rain from the south-west monsoon. Odisha Tourism recommends visiting from October to March.

Economy

Agriculture. The main crops are paddy, ragi, maize, pulses such as green gram and black gram, groundnut and sweet potato. Forest produce supports many Adivasi families.

Industry and minerals. The district has deposits of bauxite. Major industrial units include:

  • JK Paper at Jaykaypur near Rayagada.
  • Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys (IMFA), whose main ferro-alloy plant is at Therubali.
  • Utkal Alumina International (Hindalco) at Doraguda in Kashipur block, an alumina refinery near Kucheipadar village; the project faced local protests, notably in 2004.

Railways. On 1 June 2026 the new Rayagada railway division of East Coast Railway began operations, with Rayagada as its headquarters, covering lines in Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts.

Climate of Rayagada

In Rayagada district (at 19.17°N, 83.42°E), the hottest month is May (average highs of 38°C) and the coolest nights come in Dec (16°C). About 1410 mm of rain falls in a year, most of it in the monsoon; Jul is the wettest month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Average high (°C)283235373834313030302927
Average low (°C)161822242626252524221916
Rainfall (mm)18132542712023383092291142923
Rainy days21356162222181032

Averages for 1995–2024 at that point (222 m above sea level), from the Open-Meteo historical weather API (ERA5 reanalysis by ECMWF/Copernicus, CC BY 4.0) — modelled values on a ~25 km grid, not station readings from the India Meteorological Department. A rainy day has 2.5 mm or more.

Notable people

  • Giridhar Gamang (born 1943): born at Dibirisingi in Rayagada district; Chief Minister of Odisha in 1999 and long-serving Lok Sabha member for Koraput.
  • Raghunath Panigrahi (1932–2013): Odissi vocalist from Gunupur, famous for singing the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva; Padma Shri 2010.
  • Tapan Misra (born 1961): ISRO scientist born in Rayagada; Director of the Space Applications Centre (2015–2018), known for the RISAT-1 radar.
  • Ritesh Agarwal (born 1993): entrepreneur born at Bissam Cuttack; founder of OYO.

Blocks, sub-districts, panchayats & villages

Choose a block, sub-district or town to see its details and its gram panchayats and villages. Open any village for its own page.

Counts below: Local Government Directory, December 2022 snapshot (LGD villages, which can differ from the district administration's revenue-village count).

Blocks
11
Sub-districts
15
GPs
182
LGD villages
2,673

Community development block

Bissamcuttack

Gram panchayats
21
Villages
316
LGD block code
3547
District
Rayagada
Open full block page

Villages (…)

All blocks in Rayagada

BlockGPsVillagesVillage pop.LiteracyST share
Bissamcuttack2131684,81444.5%65.7%
Chandrapur821140,11040.1%71.3%
Gudari915842,06247.9%73.4%
Gunupur1912875,94646.8%76.8%
Kalyansingpur1425559,09336.0%66.9%
Kasipur244451,39,78638.0%60.1%
Kolnara1720273,98248.8%71.0%
Muniguda1741385,92444.1%33.2%
Padmapur1312957,48957.4%51.0%
Ramanaguda1211752,47953.5%65.5%
Rayagada282991,09,26041.2%73.6%

GPs and villages: Local Government Directory (Dec 2022). Village population, literacy and Scheduled Tribe share: sum of the block's villages in Census of India 2011, Primary Census Abstract (village level).

All census sub-districts

Towns (urban local bodies)

Assembly constituencies in Rayagada

Source: Local Government Directory (lgdirectory.gov.in), Government of India — data dump of December 2022 via github.com/planemad/india-local-government-directory. Sub-districts follow the Local Government Directory, which for Odisha uses the Census sub-districts (police-station areas) — these are not the same as revenue tahasils. Boundaries and names change over time; check the district administration for current status.

Frequently asked questions

When was Rayagada district formed?

Rayagada became a separate district on 2 October 1992, when undivided Koraput district was divided into four districts.

Who are the Dongria Kondh?

The Dongria Kondh are an Adivasi community of the Niyamgiri hills in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. They revere Niyam Raja, the deity of the hills, and their women embroider the Kapadaganda shawl, which received a GI tag in January 2024.

What are the main places to visit in Rayagada?

Popular sites include the Majhighariani temple in Rayagada town, Chatikona with its waterfall and Shiva temple, Minajhola at the meeting of three rivers, the hanging bridge at Chekaguda and the Laxminarayan temple at Therubali.

How do I reach Rayagada?

Rayagada is a major railway junction with direct trains to Bhubaneswar and many Indian cities, and since June 2026 it has been the headquarters of a railway division. The nearest large airport is Visakhapatnam, roughly 170 km away according to Odisha Tourism.

Sources & references

  1. 1Tourist Places | Rayagada District — District Administration, Rayagada, Government of Odisha
  2. 2Rayagada — Odisha Tourism, Government of Odisha
  3. 3The form of shakti: Maa Majhighariani — Odisha Tourism, Government of Odisha
  4. 4Rayagada District: Census 2011 data — Census2011.co.in (compiled from Census of India 2011)
  5. 57 Tribal-linked Odisha Products Get GI Tag — The Indian Tribal
  6. 6Rayagada Railway Division begins operations — OrissaPOST
  7. 7Rayagada district — Wikipedia
  8. 8Dongria Kondh — Wikipedia

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