Rath Yatra, Puri

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.

Rath Yatra falls on the second day of the bright lunar fortnight (Shukla Paksha Dwitiya) in the Hindu month of Ashadha, typically placing it in June or July, and shifts on the Gregorian calendar each year. (confirmed on enquiry)

Puri gets extremely crowded around the festival, with road closures and a genuinely intense crush near the chariots themselves. This is a festival better watched from a planned vantage point with a guide than navigated independently for a first-time visitor.