When is the Puri Rath Yatra this year?

Typically June or July, following the lunar calendar. Confirm the exact date for your travel year. (confirmed on enquiry)

Can tourists watch, or is it participants only?

Tourists can watch, and often join in pulling the ropes at points along the route, though the crowd density is significant and a guide helps with positioning safely.

Are similar Rath Yatra festivals held elsewhere?

Yes, smaller-scale versions are held in various cities with Jagannath temples, but Puri's is the original and by far the largest.

Festival

Last updated: 1 September 2026

Rath Yatra, Puri

The Rath Yatra at Puri, Odisha, is a major Hindu chariot festival in which the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are pulled through the streets in three massive wooden chariots, built fresh each year. It falls on the second day of the bright lunar fortnight in the Hindu month of Ashadha, typically placing it in June or July.

By Experience My India Editorial Team

Destination specialists and licensed local guides

Three enormous wooden chariots, rebuilt each year to specific traditional dimensions, carry the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra from the Jagannath Temple through Puri's streets to the Gundicha Temple. Huge crowds gather to pull the ropes and to watch — it is one of the most physically dramatic public festivals in the country.

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Rath Yatra, Puri

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