Durga Puja 2026
Dates, Schedule & First-Timer's Guide

For five days each autumn, Kolkata stops being a city and becomes the largest open-air art gallery on Earth. Durga Puja — inscribed by UNESCO on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list — fills the streets with thousands of pandals, the thunder of the dhak, the smoke of dhunuchi, and a goddess in every neighbourhood. This is your complete planner for Durga Puja 2026: the exact dates, a day-by-day schedule of what happens and when, and an honest first-timer's guide to doing it well.

If you want the deep history and meaning of the festival, read our companion pieces — Durga Puja in Kolkata: The Complete Guide and The History of Durga Puja: From the Rigveda to UNESCO. This article is the practical one: dates, schedule, and how to actually be there.

When Is Durga Puja 2026?

Durga Puja follows the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so the dates move each year. In 2026 the festival falls in mid-October. It opens, in spirit, with Mahalaya on Saturday 10 October — the dawn that begins Devi Paksha, the fortnight of the Goddess, traditionally marked before sunrise by the radio recitation of the Mahishasura Mardini and, in the workshops of Kumartuli, by the painting of the idols' eyes.

The five days of public celebration run from Shashthi on 16 October to Vijaya Dashami on 21 October. Following the Kolkata almanac, the days are observed as below. Our Durga Puja 2027 packages are built around the festival window (5–10 October in 2027, provisional), placing you in the city for the unmissable Saptami-to-Dashami nights.

A note on the calendar: because lunar tithis rarely align neatly with the 24-hour day, you'll see small differences between almanacs — some begin Shashthi on the 16th, others on the 17th. The schedule above follows the Kolkata panchang, which is the one that governs the city's pujas. Confirm exact ritual timings with your host or pandal committee on the day. Both sets of Sandhi Puja times for 2026 are on our Durga Puja 2026 calendar.

The Festival, Day by Day

Durga Puja isn't a single event but a sequence — a slow build of welcome, worship, joy and farewell. Here is what each day holds, and how a visitor experiences it.

• Mahalaya — the invocation Saturday 10 October Devi Paksha begins. Before dawn, Bengal wakes to the broadcast of the Mahishasura Mardini, a recitation older than living memory. In Kumartuli, artisans perform Chokkhu Daan — painting the Goddess's eyes, the moment she is said to come alive. The pujas are still six days away, but the city's pulse changes from here.
• Maha Shashthi — the welcome (Bodhon) Friday–Saturday 16–17 October The Goddess is formally welcomed with Bodhon, Kalparambha, Amantran and Adhivas. The great theme pandals are unveiled, their faces lit for the first time, and the crowds begin. Shashthi evening is the gentlest night to start — pandals are fresh, the energy building but not yet overwhelming.
• Maha Saptami — worship begins Sunday 18 October At dawn the Navapatrika (Kolabou) — a bundle of nine sacred plants dressed as a bride — is carried to the river to be bathed, then installed beside Durga. Full ritual worship begins, and the city tips into proper pandal-hopping. By night the streets are a river of people moving from one masterpiece to the next.
• Maha Ashtami — the peak Monday 19 October The grandest day. Devotees offer Pushpanjali (flower offerings) in their finest, often new, clothes. Some pandals perform Kumari Puja, worshipping a young girl as the living Goddess. The spiritual summit is Sandhi Puja, performed in the 48 minutes spanning the end of Ashtami and the start of Navami — 108 lamps lit, 108 lotuses offered, the dhak at full thunder.
• Maha Navami — the celebration Tuesday 20 October The day of the Navami homa and the grand maha aarti, when the dhunuchi naach — the smoking-censer dance — is performed before the Goddess to the beat of the dhak. There is a bittersweetness to Navami: the last full day before she departs. Long bhog lunches, music, and dancing fill it.
• Vijaya Dashami — farewell Wednesday 21 October Married women perform Devi Boron and then Sindoor Khela, smearing one another with vermilion in joyful farewell. As evening falls, the idols are carried in singing, dancing processions to the Hooghly for bisarjan — immersion. The Goddess returns to her home in the mountains, and the city exchanges Bijoya embraces and sweets.

A First-Timer's Guide to Durga Puja

When to arrive and how long to stay

Aim to arrive by Shashthi (16–17 October) and stay through Vijaya Dashami (21 October) — four to five nights. That window gives you Saptami's opening, the grand Ashtami and Sandhi Puja, Navami's dance and music, and the unforgettable Dashami immersions. Arriving a day earlier lets you visit Kumartuli and settle in before the crowds peak.

Where to stay

Kolkata's pujas split, broadly, into the traditional grandeur of North Kolkata and the theme-art spectacle of South Kolkata. Staying centrally — around Park Street, Esplanade or the AJC Bose Road corridor — keeps both within reach. Be warned: five-star hotels sell out months ahead for Puja week and rates climb steeply. Book early. (We hold hotel allocations for our Durga Puja 2027 guests, which removes the single biggest planning headache.)

Getting around

During Puja the Kolkata Metro runs extended hours and is often the fastest way to cross the city; roads near major pandals are closed to traffic and rerouted. For first-timers, the winning combination is the Metro for distance plus walking for the pandal clusters — with a pre-arranged car and driver who knows the closures for late nights. Expect to walk a lot; this is a festival best met on foot. Our Durga Puja 2026 guidebook builds its 18 pandal-hopping circuits exactly this way, with the nearest Metro for every puja.

Pandal-hopping, the smart way

There are tens of thousands of pandals; you cannot see them all, and trying will exhaust you. Choose a handful per day and move at a human pace. A few first-timer favourites:

North Kolkata (tradition): Bagbazar Sarbojanin, Kumartuli Park, Mohammad Ali Park, College Square (with its lake reflection), and Hatibagan Sarbojanin. South Kolkata (theme art): Suruchi Sangha, Mudiali Club, Tridhara Sammilani, Ekdalia Evergreen, Singhi Park, Ballygunge Cultural, and the ever-thronged Sreebhumi Sporting Club. For something quieter and older, seek out a bonedi bari — an aristocratic family puja held in a private mansion, where the rituals are intimate and centuries deep.

Our rule: see the giant theme pandals by day when queues are shorter, and save the atmospheric, lantern-lit neighbourhood pujas for night. The biggest names operate VIP or priority-pass entry that's worth arranging in advance.

Etiquette & what to wear

Durga Puja is welcoming to visitors, but it is first a religious observance. Dress modestly and comfortably — lightweight cotton, and shoes you can slip off, since you'll remove them to approach many idols. Many travellers love wearing Indian dress (a saree or kurta); it's appreciated, never required. Ask before photographing people mid-ritual, don't block the priests during aarti or Sandhi Puja, and accept prasad or bhog with your right hand if offered. A little warmth goes a long way here.

What to eat

Puja is as much a food festival as a religious one. Don't miss community bhog — khichuri with labra, chutney and payesh, served on Ashtami and Navami. On the street, work through kathi rolls, Kolkata biryani with its signature potato and egg, phuchka (the city's sharper, tangier pani puri), and a parade of mishti — rosogolla, sandesh, mishti doi. Pace yourself; the streets are a moveable feast for five days straight.

Weather, crowds & practical notes

Mid-October in Kolkata is warm and humid — expect days around 30°C, mild nights, and the small chance of a late-monsoon shower; pack light, breathable clothes and a compact umbrella. The crowds are immense after dark on Ashtami and Navami, so keep valuables close, agree a meeting point with your group, and build rest into your plan. Mornings are the secret window: the same pandals, a fraction of the people, and softer light for photographs.

You don't watch Durga Puja so much as get swept into it. The trick for a first visit isn't to see everything — it's to slow down enough to feel one or two moments fully: the 108 lamps of Sandhi Puja, a dhak at dawn, a goddess carried to the river.

Frequently Asked Questions