Jagannath Puri-best travel itinerary

The best trips are always unplanned. It was a Diwali (one of the biggest festivals of India) vacation when we visited our parent's place to celebrate it together.

My mom had always wished to see Jagannath Puri once in her lifetime. We had still 3 to 4 days to vacation gets over, so we thought of taking her to this one of the Tirth (pilgrimage) of Hindu's Jagannath Puri.

Jagannath Puri is famous for the ancient temple of Lord Jagannath, Balbadhra and Devi Subhadra. Lord Jagannath is one of the Avatara (form) of Lord Vishnu(one among the 3 trinity Gods of Hindu's). Most of the Hindu temples worship idols made up of stone Idols, but different to that tradition the Jagannatha Temple Idols are carved with wood. Every 12 to13 years the Lord's  Idols get replaced by new ones.

The building of Jagannatha Temple is initiated by Kalinga King AnantaVarman Chodaganga of Ganga Dynasty.

Jagannath Puri at a Glance :

Jagannath Puri is also famous for its RathYatra.If you want to experience mythology, history, culture, spirituality, and roots of Indian origin then the best place to travel is Jagannath Puri during Ratha Yatra(Chariot Procession ) in June or July on the day of Ram Navami.

The best travel tip is to get ready to see a very crowded place. During Ratha Yatra, the small city of Puri turned into a sea of human souls from all over the world. A number of pilgrimages, tourists, visitors, media everyone come to participate and cover the Grand Holy Ritual of India.

Puri Travel Guide:

Puri is situated at the eastern coastal belt of India on Bay Of Bengal.T he holy place is 60 km away from Bhubaneswar, capital of Orissa. Puri is well connected via train, bus, and air. Indian railways have many direct trains which are connecting to Puri city from other parts of India. The Nearest airport is Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar.  Puri is 1.20 hrs by road from Bhubaneswar, from their many buses, car rentals and taxi services are easily available. If you plan your trip in advance then check this useful Orissa Tourism link.

Puri is connected with all major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad through trains as well as flights.

Our Itinerary for Jagannath Puri:

We followed the Indian Railways route to reach Puri.T here are 12 major trains run from Raipur Junction (Chhattisgarh ) to holy city Puri Junction (Orissa). The train took approximately 14 hrs and we reached in morning hrs. The journey was hassle free. Puri railway junction was a small station, so transportation of luggage or wheelchair was easy for visitors. Outside the station, many autos and taxis were available for local transportation.

Our Stay:

Puri is one of the best tourist places as well as a pilgrimage, so there are many hotels, resorts, lodges are available to stay. We were searching for the nearest hotels from the temple, as our parents were with us.

While the online search, we found Jagannath temple trust, itself-provides accommodation for the devotees. The trust is having 3 guest houses at different locations in Puri.

1.Shree Gundicha Bhakta Nivas

2.Nilachala Bhakta and Yatri Nivas

3.Niladri Bhakta Nivas

We contacted them on that they asked us to mail the travel dates details so they can check the availability. Through mail, they confirmed our bookings for 2 days. We were bit relieved now, as we planned everything at the last minutes.

The day arrived when we reached Puri and the auto person took Rs.100/- from station to Shree Gundicha Bhakta Nivas. It was adjacent to  Shree Gundicha Temple and Bus stand. The guest house was hardly a km away from the Jagannath Temple.  We checked into the guesthouse, the person on the reception was polite and cooperative.

We found the guest house as an open peaceful place with lots of basil plants cultivated around. The Gundicha Bhakta Nivas was quite a big setup with 72 rooms, you will find once enter inside the place. The charges of the rooms were affordable, with different varieties and facilities included.T he guest house was also having a catering area, which used to serve decent and hygienic food menu to their guests.

Shree Gundicha Bhakta Nivas,Puri

Visiting Jagannath Temple :

On the same day of our arrival, we thought of visiting the temple. The Jagannath temple mostly gets open for all days of the week from early morning hours till midnight. In the afternoon for few hrs they consider as rest timing for the Gods, but devotees can be seen anytime inside the temple compound.

As per our knowledge darshan can be done 5 am to 12am  but for detailed rituals and timings can be visited here.

We took an auto from outside the guesthouse, thinking the temple would be 1 km away, but once we crossed the local market which must be 500 meters, the driver stopped the auto and asked us to walk till temple. As per the traffic rules, that particular distance had been marked as "no vehicle zone".So reaching the temple should either walk or using cycle rickshaw.

Being a spiritual travel site the temple's security is the topmost priority. Outside of the Jagannath temple is surrounded by state police and arm forces for the security purpose. One has to deposit their luggage including mobile phones, camera in the given lockers for the nominal fee. Edibles are also prohibited to take inside.

After thorough security checkup, they allowed us to enter inside the temple. If it is busy tourist season then entry itself can take some time because of the long queue(for us it took 15-20 minutes on that day).

  

Jagannath Puri Temple

Jagannath Puri Temple is having four different entrances facing four directions. Each door signifies the importance of life. Also, the gates are having statues of different animals.I read beautiful details about the gate here

1. On East Gate or Gurdwara, lion statues are present, so the gate is called Lion gates /Simha dwara  .

2. On West Gate or Paschimadwara, Tiger statues are present, so the gate is called Tiger-gate/Vyagrha gate

3. On North Gate or Uttardwara, both the sides of a gate, the colossal figure of elephant have been situated.

4.On South Gate / Dakhin dwara /Ashwa dwara

Once entered through the main gate saw many small temples around, dedicated to many Hindu God and Goddess. In the temple compound, we felt that someone has transported us to the different world of spirituality. Once we crossed the compound and reached to another gate, which takes to the inner centrum, where Lord Jagannatha, Balbhadra and Devi Subhadra's magnificent idols are situated. Due to the long queue entry to the main mandapa takes time. But once we entered the main temple we felt that our invested patience and time were completely worth paying.

 The devotees can get the prasad from assigned counters, they were controlled by a local priest. Also, they can pay here for special pooja or darshan .(rituals)

When we came out from the temple and walked  towards our exit, we reached to another side of  the temple, which looked like a small market for prasad (foor or meal offering to the Lord Jagannath), which includes khaja, khichdi, beaten rice , jaggery , laddoos, and many more other items were prepared freshly.

Khaja -Lord Jagannath's offering 

On that side of the temple, a gate had around 22 steps. We saw many devotees, doing Shashtang Namaskar and climbing the stairs. We could see how devotion gives strength and capability to pursue.

Before the Rath Yatra (mostly in July ) for few weeks the lord Idols are not for "Darshan" because of  "Bukaar"(Sick) ritual. So devotees can plan their trip accordingly

Outside the temples, we found vendors selling many local handicrafts and beautiful artifacts. We purchased few as souvenirs to cherish our religious travel trip of Jagannath Dham memory for a long time.

Local handicrafts at Jagannath Puri

Food near Jagannath Temple:

It was 3 pm in the afternoon, we were hungry and looking out for some good eatery nearby. There are many small food corners called "Bhojnalayas" were available at both the sides of the road. The food options were limited and the taste of the food was simple. We were a little disappointed in terms of hygiene of the eatery places. The local governing body can do something better to provide well-maintained places near the temple.

Once you go towards Marine drive or VIP road you may get better restaurants.

Puri is famous for its sweets. Many traditional sweet dishes like khaja,chena phoda,rasgulla, rabri,malpua and few more varieties of sweets made with milk are really tasty. Many sweet shops are available close to the Jagannath temple.

We returned back to the guest house by 4 pm. It becomes cloudy and started raining heavily in the evening. We had some good nap and felt relaxed.

It was 8 pm in the night and we approached guest house canteen for dinner. It was a soulful meal hot & simple freshly prepared, which gave all of us sense of satisfaction.

Day 2:

Puri Sea beach:

It was a bright sunny morning. We were planning to visit Konark Sun Temple (Konark was appx 30 km from Puri ). But seeing the weather forecast of raining again in the afternoon, we dropped our plan and decided to visit Puri beach, which is one the cleanest beach in India.

From Gundicha Bhakta Nivas to Puri Sea beach was nearly 4 km (3.8 km to 3.9 km). We took an auto from outside the guest house and it took 15 minutes to reach via Grand Road. It was a good time to observe the local life of the city.

Puri beach was a white sand beach with having high waves. The beach was easily accessible from the road. People were enjoying their family time on the beach. We got a canopy and chairs by a vendor on the beach so we could sit and relax. The beach was clean, we enjoyed the waves thoroughly. Beach was perfect for swimming.

On the beach, there was a series of shops for handmade stuff made out of seashells. We purchased some beautiful things that were completely cost friendly.

Jagannath Puri Beach 

At lunchtime, we came back to our guest house. After lunch, we packed our language and took rest for sometime.In the evening we had the train back to Raipur.

Handlooms and handicrafts:

Orissa is famous for its handlooms and handicraft. Outside of the Jagannath Temple, we saw many handloom shops, some of them were Govt authorized. Orissa's handlooms like Sambalpuri handprints, cotton and silk handlooms, Dokra metalart, ,wood and stone carving, jute & leaf products, ikat work, seashell, applique and many more are famous. If you are visiting Orissa we would recommend exploring its handicrafts. 

It was a short and fruitful trip for all of us. My parents were very happy, we spent family time together in such a religious place. Traveling via trains gives lots of memories and we all made a few of them too. 

My mother is having arthritis and walking is a pain for her. In the temple, we were expecting a ramp or wheelchair facility, which were unfortunately not available.In future hoping the local governing body will make it available especially for elders and special needs.