Plan your trip · Puri
What's on in Puri
Puri's calendar is the temple's calendar, and it builds to one event: Rath Yatra. Most dates follow the lunar calendar and shift by a few weeks each year.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Puri right now, so here is the year instead — the fixtures that come round annually, and what each one means for a visit.
The year in Puri
Puri's calendar works around the monsoon — the big outdoor events sit either side of it, and the wettest weeks are the quietest ones for anything held in the open. Broadly, Oct – Mar is when visiting is most comfortable here, and that is when the calendar is busiest — which also means accommodation is most expensive and books furthest ahead.
Most of these follow lunar calendars and move by weeks from year to year, so treat the windows below as the season rather than the date, and confirm the year’s dates before you book around one.
Signature to Puri
Rath Yatra
🗓️ June–JulyThe chariot festival — and the one day the deities can be seen by everyone, including non-Hindus.
Planning: Crowds on a scale that needs planning; book far ahead.
Across Odisha
Konark Dance Festival
🗓️ early DecemberClassical dance staged against the sun temple, with the sand-art festival on Chandrabhaga beach the same week.
Planning: Cool, dry and the best time of year to be on this coast.
Chandrabhaga Mela
🗓️ January–February (Magha Saptami)Pilgrims bathe at Chandrabhaga beach at dawn and face the rising sun, then walk to the sun temple.
Planning: The beach and the Konark road are packed from before sunrise; stay close or arrive the evening before.
Nationwide
Diwali
🗓️ October–NovemberThe biggest holiday of the year — lamps, sweets, fireworks and a week of visiting family. Cities are lit up and markets stay open late.
Holi
🗓️ MarchColoured powder and water, thrown at anyone within reach, mostly through the morning.
Navratri and Dussehra
🗓️ September–OctoberNine nights of fasting, music and dance, ending with Dussehra. What it looks like changes completely by region — garba in Gujarat, pandals in Bengal, processions in the south.
Eid al-Fitr
🗓️ shifts ~11 days earlier each yearThe end of Ramadan. The old quarters of Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bhopal are at their best in the evenings through the preceding month, when food streets run past midnight.
Makar Sankranti and Pongal
🗓️ mid-JanuaryThe harvest turn, marked with kites in the west and north and four days of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
Snana Purnima (June)
On the full moon of the month of Jyeshtha, the three deities are brought onto a raised platform and bathed with 108 pots of water in public view. Afterwards they are said to fall ill and are withdrawn from view for about two weeks, a period called Anasara.
Rath Yatra (June or July)
On the second day of the bright fortnight of Ashadha, Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are carried out and placed on three new wooden chariots, built every year. Hundreds of thousands of devotees pull them about 3 km up Grand Road to the Gundicha Temple. It is the one time non-Hindus can see the deities. In 2026 it fell on 16 July.
At Gundicha, and back
The deities stay at the Gundicha Temple for about a week. On the return journey, Bahuda Yatra, the chariots stop at the Mausi Maa temple, where the deities are offered poda pitha, a baked rice cake. The day after they return, the deities are dressed in gold on the chariots for Suna Besha.
Planning for Rath Yatra
- Book rooms months ahead; Bhubaneswar fills too.
- Expect heat, rain and crowds at once.
- Stay on the side lanes rather than in the crush near the chariots.
- Keep phones and valuables in a zipped pocket.
Nearby on the coast
- Konark Festival, 1 to 5 December: classical dance on an open-air stage facing the Sun Temple, with the International Sand Art Festival on Chandrabhaga beach at the same time.
- Chandrabhaga Mela (January or February): on Magha Saptami, pilgrims bathe at Chandrabhaga beach near Konark at sunrise.
- Kalijai Makar Mela (mid-January): boats carry devotees to the island temple in Chilika at Makar Sankranti.
Other dates
Diwali, Durga Puja and Kartik Purnima, when people float small boats on the sea at dawn, are also marked in Puri.
Check the year's dates with the temple administration or Odisha Tourism before you book.
Questions
Puri — FAQ
How long does Rath Yatra last?
About nine days from the outward journey to the return, with Suna Besha the day after the chariots come back.
Can I pull the chariot during Rath Yatra?
Devotees do, and anyone may join in principle, but the crush is dangerous. Most visitors watch from a rooftop or side street.
When is the Konark Festival?
Every year from 1 to 5 December at the open-air auditorium beside the Sun Temple, about 35 km from Puri.
What is Anasara?
The two weeks after Snana Purnima when the deities are hidden from view while they are said to recover. Temple darshan changes during this time.