Puri

Puri is a city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometres south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the 12th-century Jagannath Temple located in the city. It is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Puri is known by several names since the ancient times, and was locally known as "Shrikhetra" and Lord Jagannath temple is known as "Badadeula". Puri and the Jagannath Temple were invaded 18 times by Hindu and Muslim rulers, from the 4th century AD till the early 19th century with the objective of looting the treasures of the temple. Odisha, including Puri and its temple, were under the British Raj from 1803 till India attained independence in August 1947. Even though princely states do not exist in India today the heirs of the Gajapati Dynasty of Khurda still perform the ritual duties of the temple. The temple town has many Hindu religious maths or monasteries. The economy of Puri town is dependent on the religious importance of the Jagannath Temple to the extent of nearly 80 percent.

Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar is an ancient city in India’s eastern state of Odisha, formerly Orissa. Many temples built from sandstone are dotted around Bindu Sagar Lake in the old city, including the 11th-century Hindu Lingaraja Temple. Outside Rajarani Temple are sculpted figures of the guardians of the 8 cardinal and ordinal directions. Jain antiques, weaponry and indigenous pattachitra paintings fill the Odisha State Museum. North of Bhubaneswar, Nandankanan Zoological Park on Kanjia Lake is home to lions and elephants, and includes a botanical garden. In the city’s west, the Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves are decorated rock-cut shelters and temples created by Jain worshipers. South of the city, the ancient rock-cut edicts at Dhauli Hills were reputedly engraved by Ashoka, a 3rd-century B.C. emperor, after he embraced Buddhism. Pipli village is known for its colorful appliqué work, originally created for the local temples. Near the city, Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary shelters elephants and other animals, with watchtowers to observe the wildlife.

Konark

Konark is a medium town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometers from the capital of the state, Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Sun Temple, also known as the Black Pagoda, built in black granite during the reign of Narasimhadeva-I. The temple is a World Heritage Site. The temple is now mostly in ruins, and a collection of its sculptures is housed in the Sun Temple Museum, which is run by the Archaeological Survey of India. Konark is also home to an annual dance festival called Konark Dance Festival, held every December, devoted to classical Indian dance forms, including the traditional classical dance of Odisha, Odissi. On 16 February 1980, Konark lay directly on the path of a total solar eclipse.

Odisha (Orissa) lying just South of the Tropic of Cancer, has a tropical climate. It is warm almost throughout the year in the Western districts of Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Baragarh, Bolangir, Kalahandi and Mayurbhanj with maximum temperature hovering between 40-46° C and in winter, it is intolerably cool.