Rayagada’s Nagavali riverfront offers kayaking, village trails and a quiet escape

A different kind of getaway in Rayagada: Kayaking, trails and a river that slows you down

I set out from Visakhapatnam with the misplaced confidence of someone who has only admired adventure sports from a comfortable distance. The road to Rayagada, in southern Odisha, carries no sense of urgency. It moves through farm fields, past Bobbili and Parvathipuram, holding on to a pace that feels measured and familiar. By the time we reach Chollapadam, the last village of Andhra Pradesh bordering Odisha, the landscape begins to thin out. There is less movement, more sky and a quiet shift that marks the crossing into Odisha.

From Chollapadam, a three-kilometre drive leads us into narrower roads that wind through mango, banana and palm trees. There are small, uneven stretches that nudge the vehicle into caution; and fields of paddy and cotton that stretch out on either side. It is along this stretch that Anija, a quaint village in Rayagada, appears, almost unexpectedly.

People enjoying kayaking at river Nagavali near Anija at Rayagada in Odisha. | Photo Credit: KR Deepak

More than two decades ago, this part of Rayagada was defined by mango and cashew plantations and wide swathes of paddy. It was during this time that Visakhapatnam-based construction and hospitality veteran Seshagiri Mantri scoured the State in search of untouched places where he could pursue river sports like kayaking and possibly shape a golf course.

“I used to visit the place often and was taken by its terrain,” he tells me later. “There were fields on either side of the Nagavali River. It felt open and unclaimed. I thought we should build something here.”

That thought turned into a decision in 2012, when he acquired land on the Andhra side of the border and later extended it to the Odisha bank of the river. Today, he is the managing director of Anija Golf Resort, stretched across 30 acres with 37 villas that has grown into its surroundings rather than replacing them. Nearly 500 trees, including mango, guava, cashew and coconut, provide a dense canopy here.