Puri sits on the Bay of Bengal in Odisha, dominated by two great forces: the sea and the Jagannath Temple. The temple rises 65 metres above the old town and has been the most important Hindu pilgrimage site in eastern India for over a thousand years. Puri is one of the four sacred dhams — alongside Dwarka, Badrinath, and Rameswaram — meaning it draws devout Hindus from across the subcontinent year-round.
The temple itself is off-limits to non-Hindus, but the energy of the place permeates the whole city. A huge portion of Puri's population is connected to the temple — the pandas (hereditary priests) and purohits (ritual specialists), the garland-makers, the cooks preparing the famous mahaprasad, the workers maintaining the complex. Walking the streets around the Bada Deula gives you a sense of how completely a single sacred site can organise an entire urban economy.
Beyond the temple, Puri has a long beach — quieter at the northern end near the fishing village, livelier near the hotels — and is Odisha's most popular coastal resort. The sunrises and sunsets over the Bay of Bengal can be spectacular. Also worth visiting are the Lokanath Temple and the Gundicha Temple, where the chariots of the famous Rath Yatra festival are brought during the annual procession.