Updated 22 September 2026
The temple opens around 5:30 in the morning and darshan runs, with gaps, until late at night. The gaps are the part worth understanding: the day is built around rituals, and darshan pauses whenever one is in progress.
The published darshan windows
These are the windows the administration publishes. Where you stand changes through the day: the Jagamohan is close to the deities, the Natamandir is further back.
| Time | Where from | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 05:30 – 07:30 | Up to the Jagamohan | After Mangala Alati, until the dressing is finished |
| 08:00 – 09:15 | No darshan | Gopala Ballava puja |
| 09:15 – 11:00 | From the Natamandir | Until Sakala Dhupa is complete |
| 11:00 – 13:00 | Up to the Jagamohan | Until the Bhoga Mandap offering is complete |
| 14:00 – 17:30 | Up to the Jagamohan | From Madhyanha Dhupa until Sandhya Alati |
| 20:00 – 21:00 | Up to the Jagamohan | From Sandhya Dhupa until the sandalwood ritual |
Why these are a plan, not a promise
The administration says so itself: it is generally not possible to keep to the prescribed time for each ritual, extra rituals are performed on festival days, and timings change as a result. The temple publishes the day's actual ritual times on its own "Today in the Temple" page — that is the thing to check on the morning of your visit, not any timetable, ours included.
Sahana Mela
Sahana Mela is the window in which the public may go right up to the Ratnavedi rather than viewing from further back — free, and without a separate queue. Travel sites usually place it early in the morning, around 7 to 8. We have not found it on the administration's own darshan page, and Odia press reports show it moving on festival days, once to the evening. Treat it as real but not fixed, and ask at the temple on the day.
Everything published is free
Every window above is free of charge, as are the shoe and mobile stands, the wheelchairs and the first aid. The administration publishes no darshan fee at all. The entry rules page covers what happens when somebody offers to sell you a faster one.
Festival days work differently
Around the big days the schedule is rewritten and darshan is often suspended for hours: before Snana Yatra, through the Anasara fortnight when the main images are not shown at all, and during the chariot rituals. These are announced a day or two ahead. See the Rath Yatra sequence and the calendar.