Koraput–Kalahandi Uplands · Central Highlands & Forest Belt
How to reach
By air
- Visakhapatnam (VTZ) — The practical airport for the Koraput plateau — roughly 200 km by the ghat road through Araku.
- Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar (BBI) — For Kalahandi, Rayagada and the Bolangir lowland; long road or overnight train onwards.
- Raipur (RPR) — The nearest approach to Nuapada and western Kalahandi.
- Jeypore airstrip — Has seen intermittent regional service; check the current schedule before planning around it.
By rail
- Koraput (KRPU) — On the Kottavalasa–Kirandul line, which climbs the ghat in a sequence of tunnels and loops.
- Jeypore (JYP)
- Rayagada (RGDA) — The main railhead for Niyamgiri, Bissamcuttack and Muniguda.
- Kesinga (KSNG) — The railhead for Bhawanipatna and Kalahandi.
- Titlagarh (TIG) — A major junction on the lowland lines and the usual change for Balangir.
- Balangir (BLGR)
By road
The ghat road from Visakhapatnam through Araku and Sunki to Koraput and JeyporeJeypore to Jagdalpur, the direct link into Bastar, passing KotpadRayagada to Bhawanipatna via Kesinga, along the foot of the Niyamgiri rangeBhawanipatna to Balangir via Junagarh and TitlagarhRaipur to Nuapada and Khariar for the western approach
By water
Launch services across the Balimela reservoir from Chitrakonda to Janbai and the villages on its far armsBoating on the Kolab reservoir above Koraput
Getting around
Buses between district towns, shared jeeps to the haats on market days and very little else — a jeep and a driver who knows the market calendar is the only sensible way to work the plateau. Distances look short and take twice as long as the map suggests, because the roads follow the contour.
How to reach Koraput–Kalahandi Uplands by air, rail, road and water, and how to get around once there. (10)