Konark Sun Temple

The Konark Sun Temple is the best-known of the places to visit near Puri, a 13th-century stone chariot dedicated to Surya. This guide gives ASI ticket rates and hours where official sources state them.

The Konark Sun Temple was built around 1250 CE, attributed to King Narasingha Deva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. It is dedicated to the sun god Surya and designed as a giant chariot on 24 elaborately carved stone wheels, drawn by seven stone horses.

The sanctum tower, once far taller than the surviving audience hall (jagamohana), has fallen, but the hall, the platform and a detached dance hall (Nata Mandir) remain, covered in reliefs of musicians, deities, animals, everyday scenes and mithuna sculptures. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also describes two earlier shrines inside the grounds, the Mayadevi Temple and a Vaishnava temple, both dated to around the 11th century. UNESCO inscribed the site in 1984.

The ASI page lists the temple as open from sunrise to sunset. Online tickets are available through the ASI ticketing portal and are cheaper than cash rates for foreign visitors. The monument is about 35 km north-east of Puri on the Bay of Bengal coast, and Chandrabhaga Beach is about 3 km east. Late afternoon light suits photography of the stone carving; arrive early in summer, when the open platform has little shade.

ASI has restricted access to some parts of the monument for conservation, so check current access before visiting.