The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars, Worship is performed by the Bhil Sawar tribal priests as well as priests of other communities in the Jagannath temple. It is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites.

Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are a trio of deities worshipped at the temple. Adi ShankaraCHARYA established his Govardhana matha here.

The Advaita school of Hinduism established by Adi Shankara attributes the origin of Char Dham to the seer. The four monasteries are located across the four corners of India and their attendant temples are Badrinath Temple at Badrinath in the North, Jagannath Temple at Puri in the East, Dwarakadheesh Temple at Dwarka in the West and Rameshwaram at Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu in the South. Chardham of India- Jagganath Puri.