Puri District

Puri District is the coastal district of Orissa. The district of Puri holds wealth of attraction for the visitors and at the same time boasts of a continuous history from the 3rd Century BC and its unique monuments like those of Lord Jagannath at Puri, the Sun God at Konark, which attained prominence and reputation not only in India but throughout the world. However, Puri District is known as the holy as the holy seat of the celebrated Lord Jagannath.

History of Puri District

Little information regarding the pre-historic cultures of this district is mainly derived from different types of stone tools collected from the surface. Under Mughal Rule (1592-1751), Orissa for the purpose of revenue administration was divided into three divisions. After their occupation of Orissa in 1751, the Marathas brought about some changes in the revenue divisions of the province. In June 1804, the province was divided into two divisions, namely the Northern and Southern Divisions, Mahanadi River forming the boundary. Finally on 23rd October 1828, the province was divided into three districts, namely Balasore, Cuttack and Jagannath, later known as Puri. In 1912 the new province of Bihar and Orissa was formed and subsequently Orissa became a separate province in 1936. After integration with Orissa an 1st January 1948 of the feudatory states of Nayagarh, Daspalla, Khandapara and Ranapur with a total area of 3941 sq kms a separate Sub-Division comprising these ex-states was added to Puri District with headquarters at Nayagarh. The old Puri District consisted of four sub-divisions namely Puri Sadar, Khurdha, Bhubaneswar and Nayagarh, Puri Sadar Sub-Division consists of four Tehsils - Krushna Prasad, Sadar, Pipili and Nimapara.

Geography of Puri District

Geography of Puri District may be divided into two dissimilar natural divisions - littoral tract and level alluvial tract. The littoral tract lies between the alluvial tract and the Bay of Bengal. The level alluvial tract is full of villages and rice fields. There is no hill in Puri District except a small cultivate land are under plough. The length of the sea-coast of the district is nearly 150.4 km. No Island is found in the coastal waters of Puri. All the rivers of Puri District have a common characteristic. In the hot weather they are beds of sand with tiny streams or none at all, while in the rains they receive more water than they can carry. Generally all rivers are distributaries of Mahanadi River. By virtue of its geographical location, the climate of Puri District is equable through out the year.

Culture of Puri District

Puri District is one of the fascinating littoral districts of Orissa .The cultural heritage of Puri with its long recorded history beginning from third century BC till present day, the monuments and religious sanctity, lifestyle of the people with their rich tradition posses emphatically to be the cultural heart of Orissa. Puri is considered as the cultural capital of Orissa. The culture here is flourished with its manifold activities. Puri District has the happy conglomerate of different religions, sects and faith in course of history. A number of fairs and festivals are organized in the district.

Tourism in Puri District

Puri District is regarded as the land of temples. Exquisite temples, superb monuments, inviting beaches and natural landscape are some of the major attractions for the tourists. Tourism in Puri District offers the rare opportunity of witnessing the sunrise and sunset on the same beach on its golden sands. Temples and sanctuaries, golden beaches and glorious lakes, crafts and the numerous festivals are added attractions for the visitors. Jagannath Temple, Sun Temple, Chilka Lake are some of the main tourist attractions offered by Puri District.

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