Let's go to Puri-the place of Lord Jagannath
LET'S GO TO PURI
It is famous for Jagannath temple to many tourists. It lies in Puri district of Orissa and also on the Bay of Bengal. Bhubaneswar is the capital of Orissa. From Bhubaneshwar, Puri is 60km distance in south. It is also called as Jagannath Puri as the temple of Jagannath is located here. It is a holy city especially to all Hindus and said one dham of char (four) dham. According to Hindu mythology, going to any dham is a great sacred matter to all. So a large number of tourists come here to see the Jagannath temple and to swim in the Puri sea, as it is one of the best beach in India. One more special thing is from puri beach, sun rise and set both can be seen clearly.
Justification of name:
Puri is called in many names like SriKhestra, Shankhashetra, Neelachala, Purusottama Dham, Purusottama puri, Jagannath puri etc. The word Puri means a city or a town. It is said that Radha allay with Durga, Lakshmi ,Sati and Parvati abodes with lord Krishna , which is known as Jagannath.
Why is it famous?
Puri is famous for Ratha Jatra. It happens once in a year when Jaganath, Balaram and Subhadra are carried by a rath. This festival is held on July every year. The town is famous for many reasons. There are many mathas here like Pisir Bari and Masir Bari etc.
Beach is also very attractive as it remains clean and the sea waves are also very less dangerous.
Now some attractive places:
Konark:-
It is said as Sun Temple and takes approximately an hour journey to reach there from Puri. It was made with sandstone from the period of the King Narasimha Deva. This temple is bearing some old architecture. It is a famous world heritage site and a renowned temple. It has a myth that Samba, the son of Lord Krishna was affected by leprosy and was brought here. Then God Sun cured him and on his honor this temple was made and from then it is called as Sun temple. The architecture of this temple has many similarities with Khajuraho temple. Two statuses of lions, crushing on elephants are in the entrance gate. There are some small temples also inside this temple like Nata Mandir where dancers performed to pay homage to Sun God. The temple is famous for some wheel structures and also some poses of humans, birds and even animals, etc
Chilka:-
It is a famous lake near Puri, Orissa state on the east coast of India. It is said as the largest coastal lagoon of India. It is also famous for birds, which migrate from other places in winter to India. it is also famous for the large fishery resources. Chilka lake bird sanctuary is also famous for protection against birds.
Udaigiri and Kandagiri cave:-
It is also near about Puri and famous for its natural beauty. Some parts are artificial also to get more attraction. The two main caves are situated in two side hills. It is said that Jain monks used these caves to live in ancient period. These are 18 caves total in the Udaygiri and 15 caves in Khandagiri. These are some old inscriptions of Jain still now in Kandagiri caves. This is also another attractive place of Orissa also.
Dhabalgiri:-
It is also a very famous and attractive place. There is a nice temple in Dhabalgiri. It has some stairs to reach but when you will reach there, the fresh air and the natural beauty will fresh you and your mind.
Nandan Kanan:-
It is a zoological park with 400 hectare area and situated in Bhubaneswar. It is world famous zoo and aquarium centre. It is said that it is the garden of God. More surprising matter is more than 2 million tourists visit this Nandan Kanan every year. It is decleared as wildlife as wildlife sanctuary also. There are more than 1659 animals and 120 species live here including white tiger and some other endangered animals. Reptile park and orchid house is famous also.
From 2008 a program is being run here to adopt an animal by which anyone can help by involving themselves with this historical place.
How to reach there?
Puri railway station and Bhubaneshwar station are near by. It has many road connected facility also. First reach Puri or Bhubaneswar and then book a taxi and go to see site scene. All places are nearby. Orissa Government has Government tourist’s services also. They help to go to any destination in a very lower cast.
Culture:-
Every body knows or hears about Orissa dance in classical form. Music and art are also very famous. I have already said about the sand art of here. In beaches it is seen often. The major portion of people is in Hindu culture. Oriya cinema is also very famous to all. The state also has a popular cultural heritage.
Language:-
The spoken language of this place is Oriya. It has some similarities with that of Bengali and Assamese languages and Oriya is the official language of Orissa. People of Puri and Orissa know Bengali, Hindi and even English also. So Oriya language is popular here. The people living there are generally called as Oriya or Odiya. They worship sun mainly and other hindu Gods and Goddesses.
Festivals:
Rathajatra is one famous festival of whole Orissa. The whole Orissa people gather here to see the Rathajatra. Many tourists from other place even from foreign coutries also come in this occation. So it will be better if you wish to go there in that time first book hotel. There may be a crisis at that period. Above this the people of that state celebrate Durgapuja, Poma sankranti ( Baisakhi) and all regional festivals.
Food:
The food habit of Puri and Orissa people are same as Bengal. Rice and fish item is very popular and normally they take it. Sea fish is available here. Sweets like Rosgulla and chhena items ar also favorite dishes. For tourists there are many resturents here and all type of foods are available. One more thing One sweets named Khaja which is very popular here. This sweet is given to Lord Jagannath as bhog and distributed among all. This item is available in market also. This is made by fring besan and poured in sugar water and then again dried. This is very tasty item and tourists purchase it in large scale and carry to their own place. Cost is also very low.
Best time to visit:
All time is the best time for Puri. As it is a sea side area, the climate remains always good and healthy. So any time is enjoyable, but it is better to avoid rainy season and summer season.In day time of summer it is hot and in rainy season if rain starts then it may be difficult to go any where.
How many days required completing the total tour?
It depends on individual but to move comfortably seven days and six nights are required to complete the tour and to cover the all visssible places. Nanadan Kanan will take one day full, where Udaigiri and Khandagiri and Dhabalgiri will take another one day. To worship in Jagannath temple and to see the all side of temple it will take one day full. The kitchen house has another attraction here. Bhog is made in pot and it is used once. After making the Bhog it is thrown. One day will be required for Chilka also. No need to take any package. Just reach there and take a guide. The people of Puri and Orissa are very helpful and they respect the tourists always. Car or Taxi is available to go to see the side scene. Govt. buses and private buses and auto are also available there all time.
Sand work on beaches.
Now some tips for Puri trip:
- Take drinking water. Don’t drink water in anywhere.
- Smoking is prohibited in public places and transport. So don’t smoke in anywhere. If you caught then you have to give fine to administration.
- Take some routine medicine as some site seeing journey is very long and time taken matter.
- Take camera to keep all memories in stock.
- Don’t take too much sea fishes. Diarrhea may happen as you may be not habituated.
- Don’t trust any strangers; always go to any authorized agencies if you face any problem.
- Camera is prohibited in many temples, so be careful. Remove your shoes also where required.
- Take panda from temple. They will help and say to see the total temple with some past history of this place. This is very attractive also.
- Do marketing from any authorized center. Saree and some Kotki products are famous here.
So don’t hesitate to come to Puri . In one word this is a very nice place to visit with some low cost. Enjoy your travels. There is a good connectivity of Puri with all major cities though rail and buses.
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