Puri Sightseeings: Museums, Local tours, Forts, Monuments, Historical places, Temples, Amusement Parks, Beaches. A complete Puri sightseeing guide.
Beaches, Lakes & Falls
Puri Beach
Golden sands, amazing sceneries of sunrise and sunset, soothing effect of sunbath and seclusion in tranquility, Puri Beach offers all these to her most privileged guests. A favorite tourist spot, Puri beach is very lengthy and quite wide. This place offers physical and spiritual calmness for the body and soul. The seashore breasts famous pilgrim centers including Jagannath temple.
Good and varied accommodations are available in the beach for the visitors. The Puri beach festival held during November every year attracts many tourists. The festival includes road shows, fashion shows, shopping facilities and many other fun assisted celebrations. It provides an exclusive chance for the tourists to interact with the local people and take pleasure in the magnificence of Puri.
Swargadwar Beach
Swargadwar, literally means the door to heaven is a secluded beach and a holy place in Puri. This beach is unaffected by the modern cultural offing and still maintains the sacred nature. Many Hindu devotees visit this beach to have a dip at sea. Legends claim that this was the bathing place of Sri Chaithanyadev who attained the state of Brahma stands for the divine soul.
This pilgrim place is attracted by many Hindu pilgrims and they take bath here in the beach at a place named ‘Mahadadhi’ at the beach. Presently the beach and the nearby beach road are busy with tourists and many shopping centers here provide quality and decorative clothes and other items made locally. Many tourists take this shopping opportunity with great interest.
Chilika Lake
Chilika Lake, the Asia’s the biggest inland salt-water lagoon, is separated from the waters of Bay of Bengal by a narrow neck of land. The Lake extends across the three districts of Puri, Ganjam and Khordha in Orissa.
The lake is a tourist attraction with many small islands of lusting emerald green and natural beauty. The lake is a winter hub of many spectacular migratory birds. The view of sunset and sunrise are memorable experiences here. The sanctuary in Nalbana Island houses many different kinds of flora and fauna.
One can venture out for water sports activities, at the water sports complex at Barakul, like boating and fishing here in this lake. The fish fauna, crabs, prawns and mackerel provides nice scenery for the visitors.
Markandesvara Tank
Markandeyesvara Temple, placed near the Bindu Sagar and assumed to be constructed during 13th century, is a well known Shiva temple. The temple resembles the other two famous Shiva temples in Orisaa, Vaital Deul Temple and Sisiresvara Temple. The slight difference with the Sisiresvara temple is in the ornamentation of the doorframe, in which ‘graha’ (Planet) Ketu is absent and the figures of other eight ‘Grahas’ are only represented.
The frontage of the temple is adorned with a Chaitya window, showcasing a figure of Nataraja with ten arms. The elegantly engraved images of Goddess Parvati, Lord Muruga and Lord Ganesh are placed nicely in the niches of the main sanctum. The corner areas are carved with different forms of Lord Shiva, which includes Aja-Ekapada and Ardhanarishwar. It is worth to visit this temple, to add the attraction there is a carved image of Mahishasuramardini adorned with four arms, which is magnificent.
Narendra Tank
The Narendra Tank, one of the largest tanks in Orissa and believed to be built in the 15th century, is located at Mauza Dandimala Sahi, near Puri. This is a holy tank in which the famed Chandana Yatra of Lord Jagannath, known as ‘Chandana Pushkarini’ is celebrated annually. There are many small and big temples surrounding this tank. The water level of the tank with 16 ‘ghatas’ (bathing places), is about 10 feet below the present road level. The main ghata has a flight of steps made of Khondalite leading to it.
There is an island in the center of the lake, with a small temple called Chandana mandapa connected to the south bank with a bridge. This largest tank of Puri is 2 km from Jagannath Temple.
Art & Museum
Museum and Sudarshan Workshop
Established in 1977 by famous Shri Sudarshan Sahoo, Sudharshan Craft Museum is located in the Station Road in Puri. The Museum displays famous artistic works of Shri Sudarshan Sahoo and other contemporary artists. Significant exhibits consist of handicraft items, paintings and sculptures in stone, wood and fiberglass. The museum premise is worth visiting, a Japanese style Buddhist temple, a Workshop and a library are enclosed in the premise. The workshop provides a first hand and direct experience on the craft and sculpture.
Art lovers, enthusiasts and connoisseurs are offered with a nice opportunity to learn, to understand and to follow the variety of sculptures and its evolution. Those who are naïve in art are encouraged here to pursue artistic profession in this centre.
Religious
Ganesha Temple
Archeologically important temples in Puri are many. One of them is the Ganesha temple, dedicated to Sri. Vinayaka. The temple is assumed to be built long back has many carvings showcasing Hindu religious beliefs and cultural heritage. Hindu devotees visit frequently this temple to offer their prayers.
A nearby attraction is Kapalamochana Temple, a small shrine of Lord Shiva at Puri. The sacred well of Manikarnika is located here. Lord Ganesh is also enshrined at this temple.
Gundicha Temple
Gundicha temple got its fame due to the seven days during the Jagannath Rath Yathra. The Idols are kept for one week in this small sanctum known as Gundicha Mandir alias Aunt’s House. This sanctum is built in the middle of a beautiful garden and hence is known as Garden House also. The garden around the temple is attractive and the many devotees reach here during the seven days worshipping (pooja) of idols. This temple is renowned as sacred shrines with devotees believe that visiting this temple during rath yathra period offers them with all good wishes in life.
Lakshmi Temple
A small temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, situated near to Jagnaath temple, plays a very important place in Rath Yathra. It is assumed that the marriage of Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati is occuring on the sixth day of bright fortnight of Jyeshta, during May-June, on the day known as Jyestha Sukla Sasthi. On this occasion, Goddess Lakshmi happily invites the couple Shiva and Parvathy in this temple.
This Lakshmi temple stands for the well being of people in Puri and is attracted by many devotees visiting Puri. This is one of the many important small shrines surrounding the Jagannath temple.
Lokenath Temple
The well-known Shiva temple of Puri, constructed in the 11th century, Loknath Temple is very close to and to the west of the Jagannath Temple. Mythology claims that the sacred shivling of this temple had been founded by Lord Ram. The spectacular specialty of this shivling is that it always happens to be under the water, belief says that Goddess Ganga flows as a stream of water through the head of the shivling.
The main festival of this temple is ‘Saranti-Somobar-mela’, during which thousands of devotees throng to the temple. It is of high belief that the shivling here has the devotional power of curing and giving relief from many diseases, if the sufferers visit here to seek darshan of Lord Loknath.
Mausi Ma Temple
Mausi Ma, Mother’s sister of Lord Jagannath, Temple is one of the most ancient temples nearby Puri and is located at Kulada in Ganjam District of Orissa. As the name suggests the presiding deity is Mausi Ma. This is really a worth visiting pilgrim centre and is the only temple dedicated to the sister of Mother of Lord Jagannath. The temple annual rituals and celebrations are along with the Annual Rath Yathra of Jagannath temple.
Important nearby pilgrim centers include Upper Bagh Devi Temple and Ratneswar Mahadev temple.
Shree Jagannath Puri Temple
Shree Jagannath Puri temple, one of the most impressing monuments of the Indian State Orissa, was constructed by a famous king of Ganga Dynasty Ananta Varman Chodaganga Deva dating back to 12th century at the seashore Puri. This astounding Vaishnava temple enshrines Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Balabhadra. The main temple of Jagannath is an impressing and amazing structure constructed in Kalinga architecture, with a height of 65 meters placed on an elevated platform.
Lord Jagannath is believed to be the symbol of Universal peace, love and brotherhood and is a manifestation of Lord Krishna. The important annual festival here is the ritual of Rath Yatra, during which thousands of devotees throng to this temple.
In 1975, Archeological Survey of India took over the temple as a protected monument and ASI carries out the up keeping, preservation and maintenance. The tourists who are fond of cultural heritage, archeology and Historical monuments regularly visit this place apart from the large inflow of devotees of Lord Jagannath.
Vimala Temple
Vimala temple, Shaktipitha a shrine of Shakti, was constructed by the great kings of Somavamsi Kingdonm in tenth century. This temple enshrines seven Mother Goddesses, Shaktis, namely Brahmi, Maheswari, Andri, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi and Chamunda. Goddess Vimala is the presiding deity of this renowned temple. This temple stands as a monument for the foregone years when Puri was an authentic Sakthipitha. There is a sacred pond assumed to be of Markanda near the temple. This temple provides facility for daily prayers and offerings. Many devotees visit this temple to secure the blessings of Mother Goddesses.
Getaway
Sakshi Gopal
Sakshi Gopal Temple, one of the ancient temples in Orissa resembling the Puri Jagannath temple as a miniature version, is located at Satyabadi near Puri and considered as a highly revered shrine. The temple idols brought by King Prataprudra Deva after winning over Kanchi depict the eternal love of Krishna and Radha, with a life size image of Krishna playing the flute together with Radha on the left. The images of Radha and Krishna are very remarkable.
It is believed that the pilgrimage to the Jagannath temple will not be complete without offering prayers at this imposing shrine. An annual fair celebrated here on the Anla Navami day in the month of Kritika is a major draw.
Miscellaneous
Jagannath Rath Yatra
Rath Yatra, the car festival, is an annual ritual celebrated at Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa. ‘Rath’ means ‘chariot’ and ‘Yatra’ means a ‘pilgrimage’ or ‘procession’. Starting from the second day of the waxing phase of the moon of the Ashadha month (mid June – mid July), the festival lasts for ten days. The festival starts with high pitched celebrations with drums, trumpets and cymbals. The idols of Lord Jagannath, brother Balabhadra and the sister Subhadra, adorned beautifully and placed on decorated chariots pulled manually by thousands of devotees, are taken to the garden temple Gundicha Ghar, during the Rath Yatra Period.
Lord Jagannath was taken out in a sixteen wheeled yellowish chariot of size 35 ft square, 45 ft high and 7 ft in diameter, is distinct with four white horses, a chakra and garuda. The procession lasts for ten days and on the tenth day the lord reaches the main temple. Every year new chariots are made for the festival, without losing any traditional structures and decorations.
The festival has a mythological back ground and is dating back to 10th century. One mythology relates the chariot procession to the journey of Lord Krishna to Mathura. There are other beliefs also associated with this festival. This is a grand festival which no visitor to Puri can miss.
