Only 15 kms. north of Sambalpur, the longest earthen dam of the world stands in its lone majesty across the great river Mahanadi, which drains an area of 1,33,090 Sq.Kms., more than twice the area of Shrilanka. The bulk of Hirakud dam contains earth, concrete and masonry materials sufficient to make a road 8 metres wide and pave it from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Amritsar to Dibrugarh in Assam. From horizon to horizon the resorvoir forms the largest artificial lake in Asia with an area of 746 Sq.Kms. and a shore line over 640 Kms. A twenty-one Kilometres drive on the dyke offers a unique experience of calm serenity and majesty of nature. One can enjoy the sight of mighty Hirakud dam and the fantastic expanse of water from the top of the revolving minarate called Gandhi Minar.
How to Reach:
By Air
The Nearest airports are Swami Vivekananda International Airport, Raipur (265 K.M) and Biju Pattnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar (300 K.M). A new airport is being constructed at the industrial township of Jharsuguda (50 K.M) & Nearest Air strip is at Jamadarpali (10 K.M)
Sambalpur is one of the divisional headquarters of East Cost Railways. There are four Railway Station namely Sambalpur(Khetrajpur, Rambalpur Road(Fatak), Sambalpur City and Hirakud in Sambalpur. There are direct train connections to all the metros and prominent cities across India.
By Road
National Highway 6 connecting Mumbai to Kolkata passes through Sambalpur. Sambalpur is connecting to Bhubaneswar Through National Highway 42.
