Sirpur and Barnawapara: Chhattisgarh's Brick Temples and Dry Forest in Two Stops

Sirpur sits on the Mahanadi's south bank, about 78 kilometres east of Raipur on the NH-30 spur. The Lakshmana Temple is the reason to come. Built in the early seventh century under the Somavamshi dynasty, it is one of the oldest surviving brick temples in India, not a reconstruction, not a replica, but the original laterite-brick structure, its terracotta panels still showing Vaishnava iconography in detail that has not been smoothed by restoration. The shikhara rises clean against the tree line. Arrive before nine in the morning and you will have it almost to yourself.

The ASI excavation site spreads across several hectares. Beyond the Lakshmana Temple there are Buddhist monasteries, the Anand Prabha Vihara and Swastika Vihara, whose brick foundations date to roughly the same period, pointing to Sirpur's role as a multi-faith centre on the Dakshin Kosala trade route. A small site museum holds copper plates, sculpture fragments, and coins recovered from the dig. The museum opens at ten; the temples are accessible from sunrise. Budget three hours minimum. The site is not heavily signposted, so the museum staff will walk you through the layout if you ask.


Raipur is the base. From Raipur railway station, Sirpur is a 90-minute drive. Shared cabs run from the Pandri bus stand to Mahasamund, from where local transport covers the final stretch; a direct hire is simpler and costs in the range of ₹1,200 to ₹1,500 return. There is no hotel of consequence in Sirpur itself. The Chhattisgarh Tourism Board operates a rest house at Sirpur that takes advance bookings and is clean if basic; otherwise stay in Raipur and make it a day trip. If you are combining the route into a single overnight loop, the Barnawapara forest rest house is the better place to sleep.


Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary is roughly 120 kilometres from Sirpur, about two hours by road via Mahasamund. The sanctuary covers 245 square kilometres of southern tropical dry deciduous forest: teak, sal, and tendu, with grass clearings that open up in the dry months between November and May. The wildlife list includes gaur, leopard, wild dog, and a recovering population of chital and sambar. Gaur sightings at the salt licks are reliable in the early morning. Sloth bear have been recorded but are uncommon to spot. The forest department runs jeep safaris from the Barnawapara gate; book through the Chhattisgarh Forest Department office in Raipur or at the gate the evening before. Safari slots fill on weekends in January and February. The rest house inside the sanctuary is the right place to stay, simple rooms, a cook who will make dal and rice, and the kind of quiet that makes the 5 a.m. gate opening feel worth it.


October through February is the window. The monsoon clears by late September and the forest track at Barnawapara is passable from October; by March the heat starts to close the day down early. The ideal schedule is two nights: night one in Raipur, day one at Sirpur, drive to Barnawapara in the afternoon, night two at the forest rest house, morning safari, drive back to Raipur for an afternoon or evening departure. Raipur has good rail connections to Mumbai, Nagpur, Bhopal, and Kolkata, so the route fits cleanly around a long weekend without requiring a flight. The two sites share almost no visitors. Sirpur draws a modest crowd of pilgrims and history-minded travellers from Chhattisgarh; Barnawapara draws birders and a handful of wildlife regulars. Between them, on the road through Mahasamund, the landscape is flat agricultural country with occasional cashew orchards, unremarkable but easy driving. The route works precisely because it does not ask you to choose between the carved stone and the forest. The brick temple in the morning and the gaur at the salt lick at dawn are two versions of the same patience.