Over the course of the Big Tree Quest, Vata Foundation has documented 2 significant trees in Odisha. These trees have weathered centuries and now extend shade and calm to countless visitors.
Age: ~500 years
Type: Ficus Benghalensis (Banyan)
Highlight: The tree is a meeting point where elders exchange news and pilgrims rest.
The Sakhibata Banyan stands like a green pavilion, a place where roads narrow into fellowship. Beneath its broad crown, elders exchange news, pilgrims share water and the day’s heat softens into a hush. Aerial roots touch down in slow motion, shaping archways that frame the temple flags beyond. Monsoon after monsoon, the banyan has held this corner together to cool the air and anchor the soil. The tree keeps the village’s time: leaf by leaf, breeze by breeze.
Age: ~200 years
Type: Ficus Benghalensis (Banyan)
Highlight: The tree is a meeting point in more ways than one: of pilgrims and pilgrims-to-be.
Just beyond the temple’s sculpted grandeur, the Konark Temple Banya gathers light and wind under its dense green. The banyan’s aerial roots fall like beaded curtains, turning sun-dappled earth into a natural pavilion for rest and reflection. Here, the human story and the coastal forest meet before the road bends back into the sea. The tree is a witness to processions, monsoons, and winter fairs, a reminder that heritage is both carved and grown.