The ancient temple of Sri Lord Jagganath is the main attraction in Puri. Thousands of devotees thronged the temples daily to offer prayers and take divine blessings. Although non -Hindus are not allowed inside the temple.

Bags, mobile and electric gadgets are not allowed inside the temple. There are a baggage counter and shoes stand outside the temple where you can deposit these for a nominal fee.

To visit the temple, you have to take the help of Priests (Known as Panda) whom you can find in plenty at the main entrance of the temple. The Pandas dress in traditional Dhoti-Gamcha, so you can easily distinguish them.

The devotees mainly enter the temple through the main entrance which is known as Singhdwara or the Lion Gate after washing their feet in the flowing water. There is a magnificent monolithic pillar stands in front of the Singhdwara known as Arun Stambha.

The inner sanctum sanctorum houses the idol of Jagganath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. When I visited the temple first time, I could get a close view of the idols, touch them and circled around them. But, next time, we saw the idols from a distance and we got to know that the darshan is restricted from a distance only even in the morning.

You can take a guided tour of the entire temple premises with the Panda. The magnificent architecture of the main temple is quite fascinating. The courtyard is filled with numerous small temples. Besides main entrance, the temple has another three huge gates represented by three different animals.

The temple houses one of the largest kitchen in the world that prepared 56 variations of Bhog every day by hundreds of cooks. Earthen pots are used to cook it. 7 pots are placed one on top of another and interestingly the topmost pot gets cooked first and followed by the bottom pot. The Bhog then offer to Lord Jagannath and then it is called ‘Mahaprasad’ which is distributed among the devotees although it has to be booked in advance.

Flag changing ceremony is another interesting thing to witness. Every afternoon, two priests climb up the temple which is as tall as 45 storey buildings, without any help. They climb up swiftly while carrying the flags around their waste. After changing the holy flags, they bring back the previous day’s flag and it is distributed among the devotees in pieces on a payment basis.

Rathyatra or Chariot Festival or Car festival of this temple is one of the most world-renowned festivals that celebrates annually in June- July. This festival attracts millions visitors across the country and the world as well. It commemorates the Jagannath’s annual visit to Gundicha Temple which is known as the birthplace of the Lord. The three main idols were placed on beautifully decorated chariots and drawn by thousand of devotees.