Puri

The Chariot Festival (Rath Yatra) of Puri, India

Puri is a city located on the coastal beach of the Bay of Bengal in the state of Odisha in eastern India. Puri is also the city of god Jaganath, famed for the chariot drive during the rainy months of July–August. The Chariot Festival of Puri attracts thousands of devotees and execrators who watch the procession of the deities enshrined in the Jagannath Temple. Three chariots carrying the statues of Lord Jagannath and his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra come out majestically hand drawn by devotees. The people all around profusely sweating in the sultry weather of the rainy season continue to draw the chariots looking majestic and really heavy to their destinations. The event is a part of an annual ritual not only for the city of Puri, but also in many other cities of India where there are temples dedicated to Lord Jagannath, and in all such cities the ritual is repeated annually at a smaller scale.

Tips for: backpackers • business travelers • luxury/exotic travel • hitchhikers • families • seniors • LBG travelers • pet owners

Hotels and lodging

Some of the hotels at Puri are:

• Hotel Arya Palace

Telephone: 91-6752-232688/ 232689

• Hotel Holiday Resort

Telephone: 91-6752-222440/ 224370/ 224371

• Hotel Samudra

Telephone: 91-6752-224155/ 222705

• Hotel Sonali:

Telephone: 91-6752-223545/ 223295

• Hotel Vijoya International

Telephone: 91-6752-222702/ 223705

Attractions

Puri is a town with a long religious tradition and most of the places in and around Puri have religious significance and the pride of the place is Jagannath Puri Temple. The presiding deity of this Temple is Krishna, a Hindu God and he is flanked by his brother Balabhadra and his sister, goddess Subhadra. The trinity of deities are enshrined on a bejewelled platform inside the main center of the temple complex. Only Hindus are allowed to enter the sprawling temple complex, but watching the annual chariot ride of the trinity across the streets of Puri once in a year during the rainy season is a spectacular affair.

External link

• Puri - details about many attractions of Puri.

Maps and transportation

Exploring Puri

Puri has mainly two distinct aspects to be explored and experienced. One is right inside the city, the Jagannath Temple, and the other is a couple of kilometers away at the seashore on the Bay of Bengal, the Sun Temple of Konark.

A Wheel of the Sun Temple, Konark, near Puri, India

Khajuraho in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has many temples with sculptures of men and women in most intimate and sensuous postures of lovemaking. This is done-to-death destination and whenever people think of erotic sculptures in India, Khajuraho would find a place amongst India’s most erotic locations. However, the Sun Temple of Konark, located about 35 km from Puri and 65 km from Bhubaneswar (the capital of the eastern Indian state of Orissa), has equally fine erotic depictions in stone. The Sun Temple is dedicated to the Sun God, and is constructed in a style of huge chariot with 24 wheels and drawn by seven horses. The beautiful Sun Temple was commissioned by a king named Narasimba Deva in the year 1278. There are three main deities so positioned that one each gets the rays of the sun at the sunrise, the noon, and at the sunset. This is an astronomical marvel of a kind! There is another aspect of the Sun Temple. There are 100s of, rather 1000s of other carvings and sculptures, which are part of the Sun Temple. These are highly erotic and voluptuous and many have been shown in very intimate position of lovemaking. Once you are near the temple, you shall be filled with a passion as well as a sense of admiration at seeing these figures, the poems in stone, indulging in acts of passion with all abandon in the company of a natural setting on the seashore of India overlooking the East. The perpetual lovemaking is in progress for hundreds of years and each year innumerable persons from many parts of India and the world visit the place to see the poetry carved in stone. Konark’s couples are larger than life whereas Khajuraho’s sculptures are mostly half-a-metre tall and this makes the experience Konark still more awesome.

Practical information and resources

• Currency: Indian Rupee
• Electric supply: 220 Volts
• Time zone: Indian Standard Time (IST), which is UTC +5:30
• Language: Oriya and Hindi. One can also manage with Simple English.

Nightlife

Actually Puri' nightlife is rather bland, and the city has almost no nightlife [1] as the term is generally understood in the countries of the West. Therefore, if you are searching for the usual nightlife activities in Puri, you would be disappointed thoroughly. For the general public and the visitors, the nightlife in Puri is confined to watching movies in the theaters. You would be quite lucky, if you find yourself in Puri at a time when some cultural troupe were performing, you may spend few evening hours watching the performing arts like classical dances and listen to classical music. However, Puri's nightlife offers a gastronomical extravaganza and if you love and like to eat, you shall get nice food here at several places.

Photo gallery

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Jagannath Temple

God Jagannath

Everything else

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External resources

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• Puri Online - a variety of information.

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