| A
place with many names over the centuries- Nilgiri, Niladri,
Nilachal, Purushotam, Sankhakshetra, Srikshetra, Jagannath
Dham, Jagannath Puri - Puri is dominated by two great
forces, one created by God, and the other by man. A
very large part of Puri's population is connected with
the Temple in one way or the other. Most
people go to Puri go to Puri for religious reasons-
it being one of the four most holy Hindu 'Dhams'. But
a very large number also go for both adventure as well
as restful holidays. Puri not only has scores of hotels,
but also hundreds of holiday homes owned by various
organisations and business houses. A new attraction
is the annual Beach
Festival
which has been included in the list of National
Festival. The week-long fest is a mix of cultural events,
sports shopping, food and fun, generally held in November.
Lord Jagannath Temple is a virtual
city within its compound surrounded by two walls with
four gates on four sides. Puri is popular all the year
round and must be receiving the maximum number of domestic
and foreign tourists as compared to any other destination
in the eastern region. Loknath
Temple
3 km from Jagannath Temple, is the next most important
temple in Puri. Gundicah
Ghar 2 km from Jagannath Temple. Indradyumna
Tank situated to the north west of the
Gundicha
Temple,
is the most sacred and the oldest of Puri's five sacred
tanks. Atharmala Bridge
the 13th century bridge over Matia stream at the entrance
of Puri town.
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