This seaside city is one of the four major Hindu pilgrimage centers in India and is famous for its Lord Jagananath Temple. Millions of devotees flock to this holy place every year to take part in the Rath Yatra or ‘Festival of the car’. This annual ritual extends throughout the summer and monsoon seasons, making visiting Puri the most fruitful.
Golden sun, miles of yellow sand, blue waves and white waves… under an umbrella drinking green coconut water… this Puri beach. It is a pleasure to swim here, as the sea is shallow for almost a mile. Very close to the beach, huge waves arrive, ideal for surfing.
Places to visit
jagannath temple – This 65 m high temple has all the richness and plasticity of Kalinga style architecture. It was built in the 12th century during the reign of Chodaganga Deva. In addition to the main temple, the smaller shrines of Vimala, Vishnu and Lakshmi, and Ananda Bazar, the world’s largest food market (all within the compound), are worth a visit.
Gundicha Ghar – Also called Garden House, Gudicha Ghar is near the main temple. It is a much smaller shrine where Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are brought in chariots amid great festivity during the Rath Yatra.
Sakshi Gopal – About 25 km from Puri is this impressive temple with an enchanting life-size image of the child Krishna or Gopal. Legend relates that once Gopal came down from Vrindaban to testify in a dispute between two Brahmins. He fell in love with this beautiful place and stayed.
Athamala Bridge – An engineering marvel, this 85m long bridge was built in the 13th century over the Madupur stream.
According to tradition, Puri was once a thickly wooded hill inhabited by the Subaras (pre-Aryan and pre-Dravidian tribes). The major tourist attractions nearby are Konark and Bhubaneswar. Konark is famous for its Temple of the Sun (Black Pagoda), and for its extinctly carved architectural wonder dating back to the 13th century. It is built in the shape of the chariot of the Sun God, rising dramatically from the sand dunes on the beach. Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa, is also a city of temples and various shrines, built in the lavishly ornate style of this region. Around Bhubaneswar you can find the ancient Edicts of Dhauli (Buddhist), Udaygiri and Khandagiri caves.
Get there:
By air: the nearest airport is in Bhubaneswar (56 km)
By Train: Puri Railway Station is one of the main railway stations connecting to several major cities in India.
By road: well connected by a network of roads with the main cities of Orissa and its surroundings.