Rourkela, a place with natural settings, marked a new era in the steel industry of the country with the setting up of massive industries. The town now also houses a renowned Regional Engineering College offering undergraduate and a few postgraduate engineering degree programmes.

The town's most popular landmarks are the Indira Gandhi Park, housing a zoo and a lake, and the Hanuman Batika enshrining the highest statue of the monkey-god Hanuman ever built in India.