Puri is a renowned city and headquarters of Puri District in the Indian state of Orissa, also known as The Abode of Lord Jagannath. Puri is one of the oldest cities in the eastern part of the country. It is situated on the coast of the Bay of Bengal and is a popular beach resort, positioned in a unique place so that both sunset and sunrise can be viewed from the beach. The word "puri" in the most ancient Sanskrit language stands for 'Town or City' but, in this case, it is derived from Jagannath Puri. Another belief is that the name Puri is derived from Purushottama one of 108 Shakti Peethas, Purushottama. It is the only shrine in India, where Goddess Radha also referred to as Durga, Sati, Parvati, Shakti abode here with Lord Krishna who is Jagannatha. Jagannath Puri or Purusottama Puri is a pilgrimage town with the famous temple of Lord Jagannath (means Lord of the Universe) and is a major tourist destination with all its beautiful and pleasant sights. There are many hotels, most overseas tourists stay near to Chakratirtha Road for the best of star hotels like hotel holiday resort, mayfair beach resort or you can ask rickshaws for 'Sea Beach Road or Swargadwara'. Some good hotels are Hotel Puri and Hotel New Sea Hawk (in Swargadwar) The Sun temple at Konark is also near by. If you go to Puri by road from Bhubaneswar you will go past Pipli with its beautiful applique handicrafts, worth a look. The Puri sea beach is a major attraction with its fantastic sea face view and golden sand, the water is a bit rough (which is good if you like to surf). http://wikitravel.org/en/Puri