Puri also known as the land of lord Jagannath is located along the Bay of Bengal in a beautiful state called Odisha. Puri is the heart of Odisha. It is one of the char dham cities for Hindus. Puri was earlier called Jagannath Dham, shrikhetra, and many more.
The main attraction of Puri is Jagannath temple and its mysteries which are not solved to date. Not only is Puri famous for Jagannath temple but also famous for their food other different temples, sea beaches and many more.
There are over 10 main places to visit in Puri Odisha. According to our research, 2000 to 200000 People from all over the world visit Puri, according to these numbers you may imagine what a beautiful place it would be to visit on holidays or vacation.
Puri is an ancient place of Odisha that was ruled by kings, And the fact is that this place is still now ruled by Dibyasingha Deba the king of Puri. Puri holds a lot of history and mysteries that are yet to be solved, like the flying of the flag in the opposite direction of the wind, no shadows formed of the Jagannath temple, and many more.
Taking about history the Jagannath temple has been invaded 18 times by various attackers for looting the temple but was unsuccessful. The different places of Puri hold different histories which we think every people should come and explore.
There are various places to visit in Puri Orissa and many tourists from all over the world visit Puri. people are more likely to visit Puri during the festival of Rath Yatra where lord Jagannath travels on a Rath to her aunt’s house.
People from all over the world travel to Puri for this auspicious occasion. most people visit Puri to see lord Jagannath, eat 56 bhog, visit the beach, and many more temples present in Puri.
Best Time To Visit Puri:
Talking about Puri tourist attraction, people who travel to Odisha without visiting Puri don’t leave Odisha, this shows how much craze Puri has. Talking about the best time for traveling Puri there is no particular time or season to travel Puri people can travel at any point of time during the year.
People mostly like to visit Puri during New Year’s, in any festival so that they can get the blessing from lord Jagannath so that their new year or the festival becomes joyful.
Best Way to Travel to Puri:
If you a living in India but not in Odisha you can take a flight from your nearest airport to Bhubaneswar Airport and from there you can go by car about 60 km from Bhubaneswar. Or else you can take a bus from the same route and you can also travel by train for a better experience, you can go to Bhubaneswar railway station and get a ticket for puri and you can easily travel to puri.
If you are not living in India you need to go to your nearest Airport and land on Bhubaneswar Airport and then follow the above procedure. With this, you can now easily reach Puri and enjoy your vacation.
Top places to visit in Puri Odisha:
In Puri, tourist spots are many you will never feel tired or bored while visiting them, the positivity and the history of the places will keep you energetic and you will never get bored. There are many things to visit in Puri but you need to have patience and time to visit all of them.
The places mentioned below are the best tourist places to visit in Puri:
1. Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri
When someone says Puri the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind is the Jagannath temple. This beautiful holy temple is dedicated to lord Jagganath his brother lord Bala Bhadra and his sister Subhadra. Inside the temple many more gods and goddesses are present.
Although the shrine was initially constructed in the twelfth century, numerous additions were made to it until the sixteenth. It is currently elevated on a platform and encircled by Kuruma Bheda, the inner wall, and Meghnad Pachira, the outside wall. The main gate, known as Singhadwara, is located in the east of the four gates that run along the cardinal directions.
2. Puri Sea Beach – Places to Visit in Puri Orissa
Puri is located along the Bay of Bengal so there is a beach prest in Puri which attracts many visitors the evening view and the soothing sound of the waves will not let you out of that place so easily. The beach is super clean and many food and different stalls are available on the beach. You will find camels and horses to ride.
The main thing that attracts the visitors are the sunrise and the sunset it will be worth waiting for the sun to rise or set.
3. Raghurajpur Artist Village – Puri Tourist Places
The most well-known art form practiced by the more than 120 artisans living in Raghurajpur, a village steeped in traditional crafts, is Pattachitra. Combining the words patta, which means fabric, with Chitra, which means painting, results in the term “Pattachitra,” which refers to painting on cloth. With a focus on the sacred trio of Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balabhadra, and his sister Goddess Subhadra, these paintings combine religious themes.
Except for Pattachitra, you can also look for paintings done on palm leaves, coconut, and betel nuts. Here in this village, you can even purchase wooden and stone toys and papier-mâché masks as gifts for loved ones.
4. Loaknath Temple – Places to Visit in Puri Odisha
This temple is dedicated to lord Shiva and it it lies nearly about 5 km from the Jagannath temple. According to the history of the temple, the Shiva linga was established by lord Ram. One important feature of it is that the Linga is always submerged in water, supporting the myth that the Goddess Ganga runs through the top of the statue like a stream. On Shivaratri, many devotees visit this place.
5. Jambeswara Temple – Places to Roam in Puri
According to people, Puri in the past was a center of Shiva devotion, and Jambeswara Temple is one of the city’s most well-known Shiva shrines. This underrated temple was built in the late 10th century. Yameswar Temple is another name for the shrine since the deity is worshipped here as Yameswara. Even though all Hindu holidays are observed here with great enthusiasm, Shivaratri is the one that draws the most number of devotees to this historic Jambeswara temple.
6. Narendra Sarovar – Places to Visit in Puri Odisha
Narendra Sarovar is considered the largest holy tank in Puri. This Sarover, sometimes referred to as Narendra Pokhari features an island with a temple where the statues of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra are present.
Here is where the most famous summer festival, popularly known as Chandan Yatra is held. People gather here to enjoy the festival with their families. This is the festival where lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra sit on a boat and start the yatra in the Narendra Sarovar. On Akshaya Tritiya, a 42-day celebration starts, and work on building the chariot, or rath, for the famous Puri Rath Yatra or Car Festival, also gets started.
7. Gundicha Temple – Sightseeing in Puri
It is the garden house of lord Jagannath. This temple is 3 km away from the Jagannath temple. This shrine is thought to have been the holy triad’s summer garden retreat.
This temple, which was constructed in the traditional Kalinga architectural style out of light-grey sandstone, is divided into four main sections: the sanctum-containing tower structure called Vimana, the assembly hall known as Jagamohana, the venue for all festivals, and the offerings hall known as Bhogamandapa. The deities enter it at the west entrance and exit it through the east gate (Nakachana). It is situated at the end of Bada Danda, the major route of Puri Rath Yatra.
8. Markandeshwar Temple – Best Places to Visit in Puri Odisha
This is another temple in Puri that is dedicated to lord shiva. The name Markandeshwar is taken from a sage Markandeya who once was saved by lord Shiva, so he built this temple naming it Markandeshwar Mahadev temple. Here a tank is also present named Markandeshwar tank. Both the temple and tank are said to have been built in the 12 century AD.
Many auspicious festivals like Chandan Yatra, Shital Sasthi, Shiva Ratri, and others are celebrated. These festivals make the temple more attractive.
9. Sudarshan Crafts Museum – Puri Visiting Spot
If you are an art and craft lover and have traveled to Puri, you should check this place. This is a handicraft museum in Puri where you can learn about how people used to do arts and crafts in Odisha in the past before modernization. This museum also sells craft materials that you can buy for home decor. This art museum is 4 km away from the Jagannath temple. This museum was created by a great craftsman Shri Sudarshan Sahoo in 1977 and his motive was to employ people who have talent in stone crafting to earn and live a peaceful life. So if you are an art lover you should check this beautiful place out.
10. Pancha Tirtha – Puri Tourist Spot
The name Pancha Tirtha refers to the 5 holy tanks in Puri. And people say if you are visiting Puri without taking a bath here your journey isn’t complete. The 5 tanks name are Markandeya, Swetaganga, Rohini and Mahodadhi. People believed that lord Bishnu resides as a neem tree in Pancha Tirtha. While Indradyumna is near Gundicha Temple, Rohini Kund is located on the grounds of Jagannath Temple. The location of Swetaganga Tank is to the south of Lord Jagannath’s residence, Niladri. In Swargadwar, Mahodadhi is a bathing place where devotees bathe to achieve moksha or salvation.
At last, we would like to say that Puri is such a place that you will remember it for your whole life. This place has so much positivity and happiness that a depressed person can be cured. In this blog, you get to learn about the history of Puri, different places of Puri, how to reach Puri, what modes of transportation are available, and many more things related to Puri. And we would like to suggest that if you are visiting Puri for 1 day then you can explore these 10 places but if you staying in Puri for 2 to 3 days then you can explore some other places like Konark, Pipili, Sakhigopal, and many more places.
If you are interested in other best places to visit in Puri Odisha feel free to comment and in the future, we will write a blog about it too.
If you liked our blog do check out our other blog on the website “Namastey Puri”.