The holy city of Puri is located 60-km from Bhubaneswar on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. It is one of the four holy dhamas of India - Puri, Dwarka, Rameswaram and Badrinath . It is considered that a pilgrimage of the temples of India is not complete without making the journey to Puri.

Puri is a city in the east Indian state of Orissa. The city is famous for its Jagannath temple. The temple was built in the late eleventh century. Puri is one of the oldest cities in the eastern part of the country. It is situated on the coast of Bay of Bengal and is a popular beach resort.

Puri is the site of the Govardhana matha, one of the four cardinal institutions established by Sri Adi Shankaracharya, the others being those at Sringeri, Dwaraka and Jyotirmath.

Puri is also famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or "Festival of Chariots", when the deities Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra, are brought out of the temple, and placed in a chariot procession. This festival occurs on various dates of the Gregorian calendar, typically in the month of July.

The town if famous for its many Mathas (monasteris of tha various Hindu sects). It also houses the relics of many Hindu saints as traditionally it is seen as a holy place to die in or to get cremated in. As a result it have had a disproportionate number of widows. Like other old Hindu religious towns it has a lot of character that is difficult to be glimpsed by a casual visitor.

Lord Jagannatha Temple

The temple of Lord Jagannatha or Jagannath temple ('Lord of the Universe') at Puri is one of the most sacred pilgrimage spots in India, one of the four abodes ('Dhamas') of the divine that lie on the four directions of the compass. The present temple structure was built in the 12th century by the 'Ganga' King 'Choda Ganga Deva', replacing an earlier structure, which probably dated to the 10th century.

Until recently, almost the entire temple was covered in white plaster, so much so that European sailors in previous centuries used it as a navigation point, referring to it as the "White Pagoda" in contrast to the "Black Pagoda" of Konark , further up the coast.

Gundicha Mandir (Temple)

This temple is located at the end of Grad road (the main road) about 3-km northeast of the Jagannatha temple . At the time of the 'Ratha-Yatra' festival , Lord Jagannatha goes to the Gundicha temple and stays there for one week. After one week He returns to His original temple. It is said that the wife of 'Indradyumna', the king who originally established the temple of Jagannatha, was known as "Gundicha". The cleansing of the Gundicha temple takes place the day before the Ratha-Yatra festival as mentioned in "Chaitanya-Caritamrita".

Non-Hindus can walk within the walls and see the beautiful garden, but they are not allowed in the temple building.

By Air

The nearest airport is 62-km away at Bhubaneswar. There are Indian Airlines flights from there to Delhi, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Madras, and Bombay. Indian Airlines, Bhubaneswar city, Airport, Reservations.

By Rail

Puri has direct train service to and from Calcutta, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupati.

By Road

The bus stand is by the Gundicha Mandira on Grand Road. The canter minibuses to and from Bhubaneswar are quicker than the larger buses. Minibuses from Bhubaneswar to Puri leave regularly from the Baramunda Bus stand, the Old Bus Stand, and from by the petrol station opposite the Ashok Hotel from 5.30am to 9.30pm. To get to Bhubaneswar it takes at least two hours by train, and only an hour and a half by bus. The non-stop buses, which stop once or twice, are the quickest. There are regular hourly buses to Konark. Some of the private buses leave from the junction of Grand Road and Hospital Road.