Puri's beach runs for several kilometres along the Bay of Bengal, wide and sandy, with the sea stretching away to a horizon that seems further than it should. The beach faces east, which means the sunrise is extraordinary — on a clear morning the sun comes straight out of the water, turning the surf pink and copper. Get up early at least once to see it. Sunset from the beach is equally good, though you're watching it set behind the town rather than the sea; position yourself facing south along the waterline and catch the light on the water.
The character of the beach changes as you move along it. The southern stretch near the main hotel strip is busy with vendors selling corn, chai, and trinkets, and with the peculiarly Indian beach entertainments — horses for hire by the hour, camels, selfie opportunities with men in elaborate costumes. It's cheerful chaos. Move north towards the fishing village at Balighai and the crowds thin rapidly. Here the beach belongs to the local fishermen and their brightly painted wooden boats, drawn up on the sand in the mornings after the night's work. This end of the beach has a different texture entirely: working, practical, largely indifferent to tourism.
Swimming requires caution. The Bay of Bengal can be deceptively rough, and rip currents are a genuine hazard along this coast. Lifeguards in red uniforms patrol the beach during daylight hours, particularly in the main tourist section — follow their guidance on where it's safe to enter the water and heed the flags. During peak pilgrimage seasons, particularly around Rath Yatra in June or July, the beach population swells enormously as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims camp and cook along the shore, turning the whole waterfront into an improvised city.