Puri

Culture of Puri

Culture is a blend of mind and spirit where people exist in an environment with their growing art, customs and practices. Puri, in Odisha, adapts its culture from various festivals which are celebrated through the year. Amongst these festivals, Rath Yatra at Jagannath Temple is of great significance. In addition to these festivals, Puri extracts its culture from other festivals like the Snana Yatra, Chandan Yatra and the Car festival. The Chariot festival or Rath Yatra is however native to the state of Odisha, yet it is celebrated across India. Puri is also a birthplace of many religious cults such as Vaishnavism. The historic Jagannath culture of Puri was also sculpted out of Vaishnavism. Since Puri is situated on the shore of the state, its traditional art form includes seashell crafts. Puri’s culture is a symbolic representation of its history, architecture, literature, art and craft with a dominance of worship culture.

Beaches in Puri

Other than the famous Jagannath Temple, Ratha Yatra and various temples, Puri is also popular for its beaches. Puri Beaches are a great place to swim about or simply even lie around enjoying the lashing waves. Water lovers and pilgrims alike visit and relax at the tempting beaches in Puri.There are around five beaches of great prominence in Puri namely Balighai beach, Beleswar beach, Swargadwar beach, Puri beach, and the Chandrabhaga beach.

Puri beach or the Golden beach is considered as Hindu holy place which also organises the annual Puri Beach Festival in November. Furthermore, it is famous for sand sculptures made by Sudarsan Pattnaik, the world-famous sand artist.

Shopping for Souvenirs at Puri

Puri showcases a rich tradition of handicrafts. You could choose from a variety of handicraft items such as brass items, shell products, wood carvings, hand loom sarees, bangles and other handicraft and hand loom items.

Suggested Itinerary

Note: This itinerary is customizable . You can talk to the travel agent and further customize it as per your requirements.

Day 1: Arrive at Puri.

Start your day with visiting the famous Jagannath temple and its surrounding local markets. Later on, hang out and relax at Puri beach, see the sand sculptures, soak in the heat and enjoy the pleasing sunset view from the shore.

Day 2: Visit Konark.

The Sun temple and its architectural beauty. Revive your energy at Ramachandi and Chandrabhaga beaches situated at a distance of 30km from Puri and engage yourself in thrilling water sports like water skiing, parasailing etc.

Day 3: Revel in at Chilika lake.

Especially if you happen to visit the place in winters you can find different species of migratory birds as Chilika is the largest ground which supports more than 200 species of migratory birds. Furthermore, visit the Baliharachandi temple, Nalabana bird sanctuary and Satapada beach.

Day 4: Bid goodbye to your journey by visiting Bhubaneshwar and relish the local site seeing. Catch your train/flight.