Jagannath Puri- The land of lord Jagannath
Puri is the holy place in Orissa. It is famous for its sea beach. The famous Jagannath temple is situated in Puri. Puri lies in eastern India of the Bay of Bengal. It is considered one among the four dhams. It is said that one's journey to the holy places is incomplete wiithout the journey to Puri. It is a popular beach resort. It is one of the important destinations of the pilgrimge. In this temple one could find the idols of gods Jagannath, Subhadra and Balaram. The idols are made of wood. The temple has its own uniqueness it is built in the Kalinga style. Daily six times offerings were made to god and six times Mahaprasad were offered to lord and later they distribute the Mahaprasad to the devotees.
Some tourist places of Puri
1. Bhubaneshwar- It is the capital of Orissa. The city has many holy and ancient temples and so it attracts lots of tourist every day.
2. State museum- It is the museum where one could find the ancient scriptures of 12th century which are found in the stone and copper plate. The museum depicts the Buddhist culture and the jewellery of that time. It also has a collection of historical and antiques of the ancient period.
3. Konark temple- The Konark Sun Temple is situated in Puri. this temple is very famous for its architecture. Though the temple has been destroyed but still one could find the art here. It is depicted in the name of Sun God. The main theme of art is drawn from the Kamasutra. The temple Architecture was built in the theme of a chariot and so one could get to see the big wheel of the chariot.
4. Chilka lake- The Lake is very famous for variety of species. Every year many birds like pelican, flamingoes and ruffs migrated to this lake.
5. Muktheswara temple- this is also famous for its architecture. The visitors enjoy the beauty of this temple. One could find the idol of lord Ganesha and Kartikeya.
6. Lingaraj temple- This temple is situated in Bhubaneswar which is one of the oldest temples constructed before the jagannath temple. Here idol of half Vishnu and half Shiva is worshipped.
7. Bindu Sagar- It is an artificial lake in Bhubaneswar. Here local people and tourist gathered to see the setting of the sun.
8. Vital Deul Mandir- This temple shows the Buddhist style of art. Here Goddess Durga is seen in new form of Chamunda with the garland made of skull worn around the neck and was accompanied by jackal and owl on both sides.
9. Puri sea beach- The main attraction of the tourist is the Puri beach. Where people enjoy the waves and take bath in the sea. Every evening and morning people gathered here to see the setting and the rising of the sun. The sky looks beautiful and tourist enjoy the view of this beautiful sight of nature. Tourist enjoys a lot in the beaches.
How to reach Puri
Puri is well connected with the railway services. To reach Puri by flight one has to book a flight upto Bhubaneswar which is a domestic airport 60 km from Puri. From Bhubaneswar one can take local train or can hire private car or bus service to reach Puri. Many superfast and fast trains are avalable from Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati, Howrah and other major cities of India. Many tourist buses run everyday from Kolkata. Tour and travels also arranged special packages for Puri.
Hotel and accomodation
Many small and luxury hotels are available in Puri. If you are interested to get the direct view of the sea all time its better to take the hotels near the sea side. It may cost you a bit but you could enjoy the view of the sea sitting inside the hotel. You could also get four stars hotel which may cost you much but you will get the full facility. Many holiday homes are available which are very reasonable. One could also get the budget hotel but it's not near the sea beach. Special tour packages are offered by the hotels for the sightseen. The hotels took proper care for the tourist and provide full facility to the tourist. Foods are also available inside thee hotels which are reasonable but if you don't want to have food from the hotels you could also find many small restaurants near the beach and outside the hotels. You could also enjoy the food from the seabeach stalls.
Climate
Puri has pleasant winters and tourist visit Puri in the winter months. The temperature here reaches maximum 36 and minimum is 15. But summers are very hot and hot wind blows throughout the summer which is unbearable and so its very difficult to spend time on the sea beach as the sand gets heated up quickly. In monsoon it receives heavy rainfall. So the best time is from October to March. Winter months attract tourist much and one must need to put on light woolen clothes in the evening but temperature remains quite pleasant in the afternoon.
Food and culture
In Puri one could enjoy different types of food. Many stalls are found near the sea beach where people could enjoy the taste of fried lobsters and other street foods. While visiting Puri I personally request to those nonveg lovers to try "dab chingri" which is a popular Bengali dish. Then one could enjoy the mughlai, Chinese and the Oriya cuisine. Various types of sweets are also found here. Tourist enjoys the sweets like rasmalai, rasgulla, khirmohons and the famous Puri khajas.
People here enjoy almost all the festivals. But they enjoy the "Rath Yatra" the most. Every year lots of people gathereed here during "Rath Yatra". Then there is the beach festival where traditional folk dances are performed, handicrafts items are sold and various food festivals are also arranged in Puri. People here also celebrate holi in grand way. People here worship Lord Jagannath and are devoted to this God.
Some useful information
- Before visiting Puri just plan for it and gather information about the place.
- Take proper care of yourself and your children while taking bath in the sea.
- Be careful while purchasing handicrafts items because they could charge from you high rate.
- Carry all necessary items you need during your journey.
- Book hotels, air and train or bus ticket before visiting this holy city.
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