Spectacular places to visit in Puri, Odisha

Planning a trip to Jagannath Temple in Puri? Know more about these places to visit in Puri with my top tips from Golden Sea Beach and Jagannath Temple Puri with must-visit Puri sightseeing places.

Odisha is a land of spirituality and serenity with places like Jagannath Temple known for its massive religious value, Sea Beach on the shore of the Bay of Bengal and Chilika Lake Asia’s largest brackish lagoon welcoming migratory birds in winter annually among others. So I’m going to present some of the spectacular places to visit in Puri along with Puri sightseeing places. 

Spectacular Places to visit in Puri

Golden Sea Beach

Unlike other mainstream beaches in India, Sea Beach doesn’t have any water activities. This was a letdown for me because all we had to do was sit around in huge crowds and not be able to find solace. I observed another weird thing when I spotted a horse/camel giving rides to tourists – like is this a desert or what? Sorry if this was a spoiler, but aren’t beaches supposed to be fun and quiet places?

A beautiful beach on the shore of Bay of Bengal with majestic Golden Sands and varied hues of the sea.

The Golden Sea beach is somewhat clean but really dirty near the eateries and the evening markets. After clicking some pictures & roaming around for another hour we returned to the room for lunch with a will to return soon. Golden Sea Beach is another one of the best places to see in Puri, so don’t miss the clichéd sunrises & sunsets!

Quick Tips

• Local vendors lend chairs/shades to tourists at merely 20₹ per hour(20/30 cents/hour) 
• Ask about the price of everything before purchasing. 

• Beware of vendors selling pearls & gemstones claiming as original but are fake. 

• Try Bhel Puri – without oil -they use mustard oil – something not everyone can relish – at 15/20 ₹ per plate(~20 cents).

• Try Papdi Chat at 30₹ per plate (~30 cents). 

• Tea is wonderfully refreshing at most of the vendors and priced at a low 3/5 INR ~ 3/5 cents.

• If you love seafood, do try fish and crab pakodas – an alternative to fried fish and prawns. 

Worried about what to pack for a beach vacation? Read this guide about the best beach vacation packing list.

Jagannath Temple

The Jagannath temple dates back to the 12th century dedicated to Lord Jagannath or otherwise known as Lord Krishna. It is one of the char dhams – four divine temples suggested for all Hindus to visit once in a lifetime. Even, my mum is really desperate to visit all four dhams before she gets too old to travel. 

The hotel receptionist arranged a priest for to provide us with an insight into the temple. As it is a Hindu Temple, we had to remove our shoes outside and (to my shock) mobiles/cameras were also not allowed inside the temple premises and had to be deposited at a counter, so no pictures after the entry point.

Jagannath Temple

The Jagannath temple has four entrances indicating North, South, East & West. We started our tour from the South Gate, the priest told us that the main temple is surrounded by various small temples of other gods. On completing Parikrama and visiting most of the temples, we proceeded towards the main temple. The priest took us directly to the queue towards the main hall, and we offered our prayers there by watching the deities from a distance.

Rath Yatra

The temple is famous for its annual Rath Yatra/ Chariot festival where the idols from the temple are brought out on the main streets in Puri and usually occurs in June/July embracing huge amount of crowds from all over India. It is one the best places to visit in Puri and surely shouldn’t be missed, and if you like to admire its architecture you could go more than once just like us 😉 

*To my disappointment, the temple was not at all managed, with priests supervising everything, no crowd control and most/all the priests demanding huge amounts of donations in exchange for the blessings of God. I am a spiritual person(not a religious one), but these priests take undue advantage of people’s sentiments by making it their source of income.

All in all, I was amazed by the architecture of the main temple, how could they have possibly built such a huge structure in the 12th century was really mind-blowing. 

Quick Tips

• Enter the temple premises by the East gate(refer to pic above).
• If you have entered via the East gate, getting Prasad from outside is offered to the deities (inside the temple you get Prasad at highly overpriced rates). 
• Beware of the priests encroaching on you once you enter the temple on the pretext of showing you around the temple.
• Leave your mobile phones & cameras in the hotel/cloakroom as they’re not allowed in the temple.
• Turn deaf ear to the priests calling you out for donations to god in name of blessings.
• Once inside the main temple, take care of your wallets and donate only if you like (don’t do it under priests’ pressure) 

Swargadwar Beach

A rather less touristy beach with fewer crowds is the beach located near Swargadwar. With its proximity to Swargadwar, the beach conserves spirituality and is a serene one to enjoy the sun. Head to Swargadwar Beach on the rear ends of the Golden Sea Beach for relish tranquillity.

Chilika Lake

37 km of the southwest is a peaceful brackish water lake in Chilika merging its way ahead into the Bay of Bengal. Various small islands in the Chilika Lake host some of the prime attractions, including seafood, stones imported from Lakshadweep islands, and the Satpada Island dolphin tour. I highly recommend a tour of Chilika Lake as one of the best places to visit in Puri.

Things to do in Puri

Puri Sightseeing

Cuisine

Being a coastal city, Puri has a variety of seafood available, make sure to taste some of the best-fried fish & prawns available on the sea beach. Catch the sunset at the beach and watch the market being set up while the sun sets for the day. Mornings and afternoons usually get really hot on the beach and so in the evenings, the markets are really crowded. Food in the state is really cheap, you can get a samosa at 3 INR, tea at 5 INR (10 INR at the beach), and bhelpuri at 20 INR. While relaxing on the beach in the evening, do enjoy these little snacks from the religious city of Odisha.

Shopping

The state is famous for its hand-loom industry and clothes quality is beyond premium here. If you fancy a typical Indian-style cotton sari, a suit or simple bed sheets, Puri is the place to shop for them. The market just opposite the Sea beach is good for getting to know about the types of clothes. Even the market just opposite the East gate of the Jagannath temple also has nice shops on hand looms, but being the prime spot from the city, that’s a little expensive. Wander around the market surrounding the beach and I’m sure you will not be disappointed and probably wouldn’t return empty hand 😀

How to reach Puri

Puri is well-connected through flights, trains, and roads. If planes are your pick, Bhubaneswar is the nearest airport and it will take about 2 hours to reach here. Despite having an international terminal at Bhubaneswar Airport, it is a rather small airport. The baggage claim for us took as long as 30 minutes. So, keep this time frame in mind while planning your trip.

Puri is also connected by trains and you can book a train directly from IRCTC. If visiting via road, then the highway to Puri is well organized.

Thinking about Indian rail travel? Head to this amazing post about navigating the Indian IRCTC e-ticket booking system.

Where to stay in Puri

We stayed just opposite Golden Sea Beach so that the beach is relatively accessible on foot. We booked through OYO Hotel Landmark Swargadawar and it was an amazing stay. My love for Indian food is well established throughout the blog, and as we prefer vegetarians so we went back to the hotel’s restaurant(which I usually don’t like to do!!). The hotel provided meals in the rooms apart from their routine service also. Despite the nice food, the waiting time in the room was really high! So, we had to book our meals with a buffer of 30 – 45 mins in advance. It’s tough but recommended. 

Some of my other recommendations for the best places to stay in Puri are – 

– Rishan Guest House Swargadwar – They offer family rooms, parking, and airport shuttles as well. As it is located in Swargadwar, the Puri Sea beach is quite close and one can easily walk up to there!

– OYO 10046 Hotel Swarna Villa – An OYO hotel with a restaurant, restaurant facility, and non-smoking rooms is a perfect stay for a couple. Located close to the Golden Sea Beach, and restaurant with lots of breakfast choices can be a good pick. 

– OYO Rooms Golden Beach – Another couple-friendly hotel with the name clearly stating its closeness to Golden Beach. Free wifi is available in the hotel and room service facility, it can be a decent choice for couples and families. 

Have you been to Puri in Odisha? Do share your experience with me!

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