Today, Hare Krishna devotees hold Ratha-yatra parades in many cities, usually culminating in a “Festival of India” set up in a city park, with festival tents, entertainment stages, free-feast booths, and a variety of cultural displays and exhibits. Contact your nearest Hare Krishna temple to find out about Ratha-yatras in your area.

During the summer of 1967, the city of San Francisco (which Srila Prabhupada called New Jagannatha Puri) saw the Western world’s 1st ever Ratha Yatra.

Though previously many other religious heads and yogis had journeyed to the West, none of them had brought the purity and devotion of Srila Prabhupada. And none of them had the vision of Srila Prabhupada: to establish Krishna conscious culture around the world on its own terms — not watered down, but as it is.

Later in life, from 1967 until his passing, Srila Prabhupada joined thousands of disciples in cities around the world as they celebrated elaborate Ratha-yatra chariot festivals in the streets of London, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and on New York’s prestigious Fifth Avenue.

Ratha-yatra signifies the Lord’s love for His devotees. He personally comes to visit His devotees and the public who welcome Him in the streets. Befitting the sentiment of its origins, Ratha-yatras in the Hare Krishna movement also serve as reunions for devotees who come from far and wide to participate, meeting up with old friends around their common goal of serving Lord Jagannatha, Sri Krishna.