Balangir is one of the major commercial towns in the western part of Orissa, famous for its natural beauty and the tribals.
Balangir town was founded by Balaram Deo, the brother of Narasimha Deo, the 12th Raja of Patna (princely state). As Balaram Deo is known to have flourished about the middle of 16th century, the origin of the town of Balangir has also been attributed to that period. It is said that the town being founded by Balaram Deo was named after him as Balaramgarh, from which the present name Balangir has been derived. The capital of Patna (princely state) was Patnagarh, But during the middle of the 16th century Balaram Deo decided to shift the capital to 40 kilometres south of Patnagarh and he choose a Place which was in between two of the great kingdom of South Kosala i.e. Sambalpur and Kalahandi. So due to the accessible roads to Kalahandi, Sambalpur and Sonepur, Balaram Deo decided to built one fort called Balaram fort and subsequently he established the Balangir town then called as Balaram Garh. He then started building a Palace called "Sheesh Mahal" whose ruined can still be found at the Old Palace road in Balangir Town. Balangir is said to be the first planned town of orissa. The planning of Balangir town was done by Pandit Bidyaratna Vidyabhusan in whose name one govt. Sanskrit college also exists.Now Balangir is in the Koshal Movement in full-swing, demanding for a separate state for Koshala region.
Air: The nearest airport is situated at Bhubaneswar .
Rail: Balangir is a railhead on the S.E.Railway.
Road: Balangir is 327 km from Bhubaneswar and has direct road connections to major towns of the State.
HOTELS:
Hotel Rajmahal
Hotel New Paradise
Ashoka Hotel
Hotel Surya
Hotel Old Paradise
Hotel Tara
Sital Sasthi: It is the Marriage Ceremony of Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati. The festival is observed in the month of June with pomp and ceremony at Balangir and is extended for a week. Pilgrims from the neighboring districts and States of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar also participate in the festival. Lakhs of people congregate in this week long festival, mostly in the month of June every year.
Nuakhai: This is the most important social festival of Balangir as well as of whole western orissa. Generally it takes place during the month of August and September. Preliminary preparation of the festival starts 15 days before the occasion. The first grains of the paddy crop, cooked into various dishes are offered to the deities. There after the eldest member of the family distributes new rice to the junior members of the family. All the household articles are cleaned. People greet each other. It is a community festival celebrated by every Hindu family low and high.
Bhaijuntia: It is mostly known only in the region of Western Orissa. Bhaijiutia festival is celebrated on the Mahastami Day of Durga Puja. It is a total fasting undertaken by women for the whole day and night to seek Goddess Durga’s blessing for the long life of their bhais (brothers).
Puajiuntia: It is another fasting Puja of similar austerity for women of the area. The Puajiuntia festival is observed by mothers to invoke the grace of Lord Dutibahana for the long life and prosperity of their sons.