Puri: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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All of Puri is built around one temple and one road. Once a year the three gods leave the temple and ride the Grand Road to Gundicha, and almost every stop on this walk belongs to that journey, up to the bridge where the pilgrims entered the town. About two and a half hours on a flat road; start at seven, before the heat and the crowds, and wear sandals you can take off at every door.

The ten best sights in Puri

1
Jagannath Temple
Only Hindus may enter; phones, cameras and leather stay outside even for them
2
Gundicha Temple
The garden temple at the end of the chariot road; empty for most of the year
3
Narendra Tank
The largest sacred tank in town; in spring the gods sail on it for three weeks
4
Markandeshwar Temple
A Shiva temple beside one of Puri’s five sacred bathing places
5
Loknath Temple
Shiva’s lingam here lies under water and is uncovered only before Shivaratri
6
Siddha Bakula
The old bakula tree of Haridas, the saint who would not enter the temple
7
Tota Gopinath Temple
A rare seated Krishna in a quiet garden, linked to the last days of Chaitanya
8
Swargadwar
The “gate of heaven”: the cremation ground on the beach and the busiest strip of the shore
9
Puri Lighthouse
The white tower at the quiet western end of the beach
10
Atharnala Bridge
The medieval stone bridge that pilgrims crossed into Puri; the name means eighteen channels

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The chariot road

Jagannath Temple, Lion Gate · The temple was built in the twelfth century under Anantavarman Chodaganga of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, and its tower rises about 65 metres. Set into the wall of the Lion Gate is Patitapavana, “saviour of the fallen”, an image of Jagannath placed there so that those who may not go in can still see the god.
Bada Danda, the Grand Road · The road is this wide for one day a year. On the Rath Yatra, in June or July, three wooden chariots are hauled along it by the crowd from the temple to Gundicha; they are built new every year, and work on them begins on Akshaya Tritiya, in spring. The English word “juggernaut” comes from Jagannath and this procession.
Narendra Tank · For twenty-one days from Akshaya Tritiya, in the Chandan Yatra, stand-ins for the temple gods are brought here each evening and rowed around the tank in decorated boats. It is the largest tank in Puri, with a small shrine on an island in the middle.
Gundicha Temple · The temple is named for Gundicha, queen of the legendary king Indradyumna who founded the cult, and the three gods spend a week here after the chariot procession. The day before they arrive, devotees scrub the whole temple by hand in a rite called Gundicha Marjana.
Indradyumna Tank · The tank beside Gundicha carries the name of the king in the legend, and it is one of the five sacred waters of Puri, together with Markandeya, Rohini Kunda, Swetaganga and the sea itself. Pilgrims bathe here during the week the gods stay at Gundicha.
Atharnala Bridge · This stone bridge from the thirteenth century was the old way into Puri from the north, and pilgrims who had walked across India saw the temple tower for the first time from here. Its name means eighteen channels, for the openings the water runs through.

Behind the great temple

Most visitors see the outside of Jagannath and leave, but the lanes around it hold the places of the saints who came to Puri and stayed. This walk follows Chaitanya, the Bengali mystic who lived here for his last years, and the Shiva shrines older than the stories about him. About two hours of narrow lanes; shoes come off at every shrine, and shoulders and knees should be covered.

Chaitanya Gaudiya Math · This is a house of the Gaudiya Math, the movement founded in Bengal in the 1920s by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati to carry Chaitanya’s teaching beyond Bengal. One of his disciples, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, founded ISKCON — the Hare Krishna movement — in New York in 1966, which is why so many of the foreign pilgrims in Puri follow Chaitanya.
Markandeshwar Temple · The tank and temple are named for Markandeya, the sage of the legend who was fated to die at sixteen and was saved by Shiva from the god of death. Markandeya is the first of the five sacred waters of Puri.
Loknath Temple · The Shiva lingam here sits under water fed by a spring and is hidden all year. It is uncovered once, a few days before Shivaratri, when the water is drained and the crowds come to see it.
Tota Gopinath Temple · Krishna is almost always shown standing; here, as Gopinath, he sits. One tradition of Chaitanya’s followers holds that the saint did not die but vanished into this image in 1533.
Gambhira · Chaitanya, the Bengali saint of the Krishna movement, lived his last years in this small room in the house of Kashi Mishra, the king’s priest. His wooden sandals and water pot are kept here; he died in Puri in 1533.
Siddha Bakula · Haridas, born a Muslim and a follower of Chaitanya, would not enter the temple so as not to upset its priests, and lived here instead. The story goes that Chaitanya planted a twig here that grew into this bakula tree to shade him, and came to see him every day.

The sea of the pilgrims

The sea is the fifth sacred water of Puri, and the beach is where the town lives: the cremation fires all day long, bathers and sand sculptors by day, fishermen at the eastern end. The walk goes along the shore from the tomb of Haridas to Chakra Tirtha. About two hours, partly on sand; go early, before the sun is high, and do not swim outside the guarded section — the current here is strong.

Haridas Samadhi · Haridas, born a Muslim, was one of Chaitanya’s closest followers. When he died, the story in the Chaitanya Charitamrita goes, Chaitanya carried his body to the shore himself, dug the grave in the sand with his own hands and danced around it; the small math by the sea stands over the spot.
Swargadwar · Swargadwar means the gate of heaven, and Hindus from across eastern India bring their dead to be cremated here, in the belief that it frees the soul from rebirth. The pyres burn a few steps from the tea stalls; no photographs.
Niladri Beach · Puri is the home town of Sudarshan Pattnaik, the sand sculptor who has built huge figures on this beach since he was a boy and received the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honours, in 2014. On this groomed stretch there are lifeguards; elsewhere the waves come straight in from the open Bay of Bengal.
Marine Drive · Here the coast road leaves town for Konark, about 35 km away. Along the way it passes the Balukhand–Konark Wildlife Sanctuary, a belt of casuarina and cashew plantations planted against the wind and sand.
Bedi Hanuman Temple · Bedi means fetters: this Hanuman is shown in chains. The story says Jagannath set him to guard Puri from the sea, Hanuman slipped off to Ayodhya, the sea came into the town, and from then on he was chained to his post.
Chakra Tirtha · This end of the beach is one of the old bathing places, and it is quieter than Swargadwar. The fishing boats are drawn up on the sand here, and the guesthouses are cheaper.

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Getting to Puri and getting around

Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneswar · Puri has no airport; this is the nearest, about 60 km and an hour and a half by road
Puri station · The end of the line: overnight trains from Kolkata, and the Vande Bharat from Howrah since 2023
Bhubaneswar station · More trains stop here than in Puri; local trains and buses do the last 60 km
Malatipatpur bus stand · The town bus stand, on the highway north of Puri: buses to Bhubaneswar and Konark

Cheap eats in Puri

Odia food is rice food: dalma, lentils cooked with vegetables, on a heap of rice; pakhala, cooked rice left to ferment in water, eaten through the summer; and fish in mustard on the coast. Puri adds two things of its own. The temple kitchen cooks the Mahaprasad, the god’s food, in earthen pots on wood fires and sells it inside the temple; and the town is a city of sweets — khaja, chhena poda and the rasagola, which Odisha claims as its own and which received a geographical indication as “Odisha Rasagola” in 2019. Street food costs tens of rupees.

Khaja shops by the Lion Gate · Khaja, a few hundred rupees a kilo
Sweet shops on Grand Road · Rasagola and chhena poda, about 20 to 40 rupees a piece
Swargadwar stalls · Gupchup, about 20 to 30 rupees a plate
Carts by the station · Dahibara aloodum, about 30 to 50 rupees
Coconut sellers on Niladri Beach · Green coconut, about 50 to 70 rupees
Fish stalls at Chakra Tirtha · Fried fish or prawns, about 100 to 200 rupees a plate
Stalls at the Konark gate · Chai and samosa, about 10 to 30 rupees

Holy places in Puri

Puri is one of the four great pilgrimage seats of Hinduism, the Char Dham, and the whole town works for one god — Jagannath, “lord of the universe”, carved in wood with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. Around him stand the shrines of Shiva, the monastery of Shankaracharya and the temples on the pilgrims’ road.

Jagannath Temple · The god of wood
Gundicha Temple · The end of the chariot road
Alarnath Temple · When the god is ill
Sakshigopal Temple · Krishna the witness
Loknath Temple · The lingam under water

Nature and day trips near Puri

Puri sits on a straight sandy coast with the Bay of Bengal in front and river mouths on both sides; to the south-west is Chilika, the largest coastal lagoon in India, and to the north-east Marine Drive runs between casuarina woods and empty beaches to Konark.

Satapada, Chilika Lake · The dolphins of the lagoon
Chandrabhaga Beach · Sunrise for the sun god
Balighai Beach · Casuarinas and an empty shore

Museums in Puri

Around Puri the museums are the temple at Konark and the villages that still make the god’s art: the painters of Raghurajpur and the appliqué workers of Pipli.

Konark Sun Temple · The chariot of the sun
Raghurajpur · A village of painters
Pipli · Appliqué for the gods
Konark Archaeological Museum · The fallen sculptures
Konark Interpretation Centre · How the temple was built

Things to do in Puri with kids

With children: sand sculptures on the beach, fishing boats in the surf, stone wheels taller than a grown-up at Konark, and dolphins in the lagoon.

Niladri Beach · Sand art on the beach
Konark Sun Temple · Wheels taller than a person
Satapada · Dolphins by boat
Puri Lighthouse · The white tower

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Frequently asked questions about Puri

What is there to see in Puri?

The top sights in Puri are Jagannath Temple, Gundicha Temple and Narendra Tank. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Puri?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Puri without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Puri?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Puri, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The chariot road.

How do you get to Puri and get around?

The main ways are Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneswar, Puri station and Bhubaneswar station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Puri, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Puri that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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