Just the place to witness and take part in colorful festivals round the year, Puri is famous for its celebrated  annual festival of chariots , the Ratha Yatra, which is held in the beginning of the monsoon and has been attracting pilgrims and tourists for centuries.

Abode of Lord Jagannatha, literally Lord of the World , Puri is one of the four holy place in India. Located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, it has on of the finest beaches in the world. This pilgrimage town is also the abode of artisans and craftsmen who produce a wide range of unique handicrafts.

SRI JAGANNATHA TEMPLE

      The main temple, a majestic structure of 65 meters, stands on an elevated platform in the heart of the city, its swirling pinnacle commanding the landscape for miles around. It is monument  from the 12 the century A.D .with all the richness and plasticity of the Kalinga style of architecture .A part from the main temple one should see within its precincts the smaller temples of Goddess Vimala.Laxmi and Vishnu and Ananda Bazar,the biggest food  market of the world .Entry is restricted to Hindus only.
FESTIVALS: The festival of chariots known as the Ratha Yatra, an annual ritual spreading over the entire summer and monsoon months, makes Puri  attractive and enjoyable for tourists during this season . The Hindu new year beginning in mid-April heralds the summer and is the season for the famous Chandan Yatra at Puri in which the Chalanti Pratima or the moving images of the deities take a ritual ride after a refreshing bath in fragrant sandal wood scented water. This is followed by Snana Yatra, literally the festival of bath, in which the main images are installed on their bathing , platform and given a ceremonial bath. The Lords then convalesce inside the sanctum sanctorum, closed to public view, during which time the devotees have to be satisfied with a darshan by images of the Lords on cloth paintings or Pattachitra especially made for the purpose. Then comes the annual sojourn of the three deities riding three grand chariots to their garden house, greeting on the way their aunt who feeds them with podapitha (specially baked rice cakes). The deities then assume new attires (Vesha) every day and after a lapse of 8 days, they return to the main temple riding their chariots.

Lords of the temple- Balabhadra, Subhdra and

Puri offers tourists the rare opportunity of witnessing the colorful sunrise and sunset on the same beach where they can bathe and laze for hours on  its golden sands. One can also see and enjoy traditional fishermen in hundreds ,plying their catamarans and sail boats and  drawing into their nets a rich catch of prawn, pomfret and other fish on this long and wide beach extending for miles.
BADA DANDA
 The grand road, as it is called, is ideal for a leisurely stroll and shopping for souvenirs and mementoes. Typical Puri handicrafts include miniature stone sculptures, wood carvings, sea shell items, patta - paintings on cloth canvas and colorful applique work . One can also pick up these pieces from the small shops at the southern end of the beach at Swargadwara, literally, Gateway to Heaven.

Balabhadra, Subhdra and Lords Jagannataha.